NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES
3 3433 08044152 4
Uo unSbeTX^I
NORTH DAKOTA
HISTORY AND PEOPLE
OUTLINES OF AMERICAN
HISTORY
ILLUSTRATED
VOLUME II
CHICAGO
THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY
1917
99230n
A.'.r:::, li;::u.\ amp
TlLUtN liUL.NUAlJU.NS
WrnUAM H. \VinTE
Biographical
WILLIAM H. WHITE.
When death called William H. White on the -1th of September, 1916, no resident of North
Dakota had been continuously engaged in business within the borders of the state for a longer
period than he and none enjoyed a more unassailable reputation for business integrity or had
a more creditable record for enterprise. He was the founder and promoter of the William H.
White Lumber Company, which owned twenty-four diii'erent yards in North Dakota and
Minnesota, but business constituted but one phase of his activity. He never neglected the
higher, holier duties of life and became one of the charter members of the First Methodist
church, the first church established in the state, remaining therafter one of Its most helpful
representatives. His religious belief guided him in everj' relation of life and found expression
in his conduct at all times. Thus it is that his memory is enshrined in the halo of a gracious
presence and of the highest principles and remains as a blessed benediction to all who knew
him.
Mr. White was born in Whiting, Vermont, July 31, 1851, a son of Lyman P. and Phoebe
(Keeler) White, who were also natives of the Green Mountain state and representatives of old
New England families. His paternal grandfather, Elijah White, a native of Massachusetts,
served as a commissioned officer in the Revolutionary war and later removed to Vermont. The
father was at one time president of the Rutland & Burlington Railroad and subsequently
became chief fuel agent for the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company, witli headquarters
in Chicago. In 1869 he removed to Brainerd, Minnesota, where he continued his residence until
his death several years ago.
The boyhood and youth of William H. White were spent in Vermont and Wisconsin, his
education being completed at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. At one time he
was a resident of Chicago, where his father was engaged in the lumber business. In October,
1871, when a young man of twenty years, he reached Brainerd, Minnesota, and on the 1st of
May, l'872, arrived at Moorhead, Minnesota, with the timber for the approaches of the North-
ern Pacific railroad bridge, which made possible the laying of the tracks into what is now the
state of North Dakota and provided the highwaj' for the advent of civilization into the then
wild western territory, there being no railroads or bridges built in the state previous to that
time. In 1872 Mr. White took lumber by fiatboats down the Red river, supplying the first
lumber for the cities of Grand Forks, Elm River, Pembina and Emerson. In 1873 he shipped
lumber to Sixteenth Siding, or Steele, thirty miles east of Bismarck, and thence forwarded
it to Bismarck to be used in the construction of the first houses builded in that city. It was
at that time that he became acquainted with Colonel C. A. Lounsberry, to whom he furnished
lumber to build the first newspaper plant in what is now North Dakota. After remaining in
the lumber trade at Bismarck for a year he returned to Moorhead and in 1874 he operated flat-
boats on the Red river. It was in that year that Mr. White became a resident of Fargo and
began the development of the extensive lumber business in which he was for so many years
continuously engaged. In fact he was connected with the lumber trade of the state from 1872
and was sole owner of twenty-four lumber yards in North Dakota and Minnesota, with head-
quarters in Fargo. His business was developed along substantial lines. He readily discrimi-
nated between the essential and the non-essential and his utilization of advantages which
6 HISTORY OF xXORTH DAKOTA
came to him brought liim success, while his even paced energy and unremitting industry carried
him into important trade relations. In no small measure he contributed to material progress,
for he was one of the founders and directors of the First National Bank of Fargo, the oldest
banking institution in the state, and he organized and set in motion the clerical work of the
city auditor's and treasurer's offices in Fargo.
ilr. White was also intimately identified with nearly every early enterprise for the
upbuilding of the state and had the unique and unusual reputation of having refused practi-
cally every political oilice within the gift of the people of North Dakota, being absolutely
averse to accepting any political preferment. Moreover, he had the distinction of being the
first and oldest church member representing any denomination in the state and he devoted
much time to the promotion and development of religious and educational institutions, being
especially interested in the work of advancing the well-being and care of aged ministers and
teachers who wore themselves out in the early service during the formative period of North
Dakota's history. He took a most helpful part in upbuilding the first Methodist Episcopal
congregation of North Dakota. The little society built its first house of worship in 1874
and a portion of that building is still standing, being now a part of the large frame structure
at the corner of Eighth street and First avenue. South, in Fargo. He was a prominent factor
in the building of the four houses of worship of the First Methodist Episcopal church which
have occupied the original site and he purchased and placed in the belfry of the first church
the first bell which proclaimed that Christianity had been established in North Dakota — a bell
that is still in use. For several years he was president of the board of trustees of the North
Dakota Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church, was for forty years president of the
board of trustees of the Methodist Episcopal church of Fargo, was at one time president of the
board of trustees of the Methodist Episcopal University at Wahpetou, which is now Wesley
College and is located at Grand Forks, and was also at one time a member of the board of
trustees of Hamline University at St. Paul. In many ways he contributed to educational
progress and his inlluence along many lines was at all times beneficial and resultant. In all
of his church work he had the assistance and encouragement of his devoted wife, whom he
wedded in Philadelphia, July 20, 1876, and who in her maidenhood was Miss Anna M. Wil-
liams, a native of that city.
In the field of philanthropy Mr. White was most active, but withal most modest, ever
endeavoring to follow the biblical injunction not to let the left hand know what the right
hand doeth. He never sought recognition of his charity or spoke of the good acts which he
performed, but it is well known that he and his wife went about doing good deeds and acts
of kindness and that there are many who have reason to bless and cherish his memory for his
timely assistance. He became one of the organizers of the Young Men's Christian Associa-
tion of Fargo and served on its board of trustees. For many years he was president of the Old
Settlers Association of North Dakota and for many years was associated with Colonel Louns-
berry in the work of the State Historical Society, of which he was a charter and life member
and a director. He was connected with the various Masonic bodies of Fargo, having attained
the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Kite, and in fact there has been no element of public
progress or improvement or of humanitarian work in Fargo that has not found in him an
important factor. Public honors would have been multiplied unto him had not his wish been
otherwise, for he shunned every phase of public preferment and modestly kept in the back-
ground, but the public recognized the worth of the man, ever regarding William II. White as
one of the foremost citizens of Fargo and of North Dakota. In his later years he and his
wife traveled extensively and it is said that there is not a country on the face of the globe
that he did not visit. At a meeting of the quarterly conference of the First Methodist Epis-
copal church subsequent to his death the following resolutions were adopted:
"A brother, counsellor and friend has gone to his reward. Whether in matters of church,
city or state, he was always a safe leader.
"Successful in business, his prosperity was never gained by the slightest im worthy act or
deed. Generous in the extreme, he sought to help where help was most needed. Probably the
hour never passed when the thought of aiding the poor and unfortunate did not possess his
soul.
"Naturally of a religious nature, his life developed equally in matters spiritual and
temporal.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 7
"The good, brave wife who has walked by his side in adversity as well as prosperity, now
survives, possessed of the glad knowledge tliat it was hers to be the companion and adviser
of a brave and truly noble man.
"To him the church of his choice took first place as an institution for the promotion of
good.
"He was probably the oldest Methodist in Korth Dakota in point of continuous member-
ship. He was indeed the founder of Methodism in northern Dakota territory and the state
of North Dakota.
"For over forty years he was a member of the official board of this church and chairman
of its board of trustees. He gave his time lavishlj' to further the interests of Christ's king-
dom in our midst.
"His last conversation was in his office with our district superintendent, concerning the
interests of our local church.
"Therefore, as members of the official board of the First Methodist Episcopal church,
now assembled as a quarterly conference, we here record our appreciation of the high cliaraeter
and sterling worth of our departed brother, William H. White, and place these few feeble
words upon our records as a slight token of our love and unalloyed afl'ection for a worthy
brother this day gone to his home on high." In an editorial which appeared in the Daily
Courier-News it was said:
"A prince and a mighty man has gone down like a great tree suddenlj' felled by the wood-
man's axe, leaving a lonesome place against the sky.
"The title of Walt Whitman's famous poem rings in the ear as we think of this tall, clear
eyed, stanch man: 'Pioneers, oh Pioneers' — for the men who first carved the path for hunter
and for husbandman are fast passing away. These come first to mind, not onl}' because he was
one prominent among them, but because Mr. Wliite gave first place in his affections to those
hardy adventurers who were with him in the early days at 'the crossing,' and its vicinity.
They were creative spirits, and among them he was a chief.
"The business life of North Dakota felt his creative hand through all its plastic years, and
the network of his business interests interlaces a lai'ge territory, wherein he was respected
and honored. He lived too largely to be confined in business, and a great deal of his energy
and ability was expended in religious work. Superintendent of the first Sunday school in the
state, he remained a member of it until his death, and saw a large religious denomination
grow out of the first little 'class.' as the Methodists then called it, of which he was a member,
when Fargo was just beginning.
"To him religion was not a mere profession, for the first comment made by many upon
his life, was the significant statement: 'He was a just man.' His attorney who cared for his
large and vexatious interests in the days following Fargo's collapsed boom, states that his
habit was to bring the papers which required legal attention to him and give him the instruc-
tion: 'Do what is just; nothing else.' and that freely, when not required by the letter of the
law, Mr. AVhite did justice, and more. Lifelong associates apply the words of the ancient
prophet to him: he 'dealt justly, loved mercy (kindness) and walked humbly with his God.'
Every honor in the great Methodist denomination which is accessible to a layman was con-
ferred upon him by the volition of his fellow churchmen, and unsought upon his part, for he
was modest as well as capable.
"He was broader than to be a mere chvuchman. ^lis sympathies were so catholic that he
frequently mingled with other church gatherings than his own and enjoyed them, even those
frequently considered heterodox, and his expressions of religious conviction made in the times
when he laid aside his reserve and spoke of them, were generous and appreciative of the good
wherever found. This breadth of mind was found in his ordinary relations with his fellowmen,
wherein he differed. He held to principles tenaciously, but never allowed differences to sever
friendship.
"He lived largely and well, and was a fine type of the true manhood which is the founda-
tion of the commonwealth. It was fitting that he should pass without long, lingering illness
or pitiful weakness. His last words showed the tender solicitude always felt for the wife who
had walked by his side through the long, golden years, and whose terrible shock at his sudden
passing is the chief regret concerning the manner of it.
8 IIISTURV OF XORTH DAKOTA
".Mr. White lived largely, wrought strongly in business and social life; leaves a good
record behind him and will not be forgotten by the community in which he spent all of his
life, but his extreme youth."
Tlie following tributes were paid ilr. \Vhite at the time of his death.
Like the quick vanishing of a light, leaving impenetrable darkness; like gray clouds
obscuring a clear .sky; like glad joy converted into sadful sorrow, was the effect of the
startling announcement that the soul of our dear brother, William H. White, had suddenly
withdrawn from the earthly life to the eternal.
The ladies of the Pastor's Aid Society of the First Methodist Episcopal Cliurch, of Fargo,
North Dakota, would pay a last tribute of respect and appreciation to the memory of a
good and true man.
He was friend, adviser, brother. Every appeal for assistance met favorable response.
Intense interest in all plans \vas manifested. The fine compliment of being financially
responsible was frequently accorded us. We will miss his cheery presence, his courteous
kindness, his valuable counsel, his ready helpfulness.
His manifold beneficences are his enduring inonumiiit. Let us place thereon wreaths
woven from the blossoms of love and benevolence, wliii-h he so generously planted and whose
exhalations will be grateful and everlasting.
May his life be an example and inspiration in devotion and philanthropy. May we
keep the faith as he did, so that when our summons comes to join the innumerable caravan,
we may wrap the drapery of our couch about us and lie down to pleasant dreams.
To his wife our dear sister, we oU'er our consolation without reserve. We share her
grief. Our sympathies encircle her. With bowed heads we commend her to the Heavenly
Fathei-, Who will answer sometime, somewhere, all our questionings of why and wherefore.
Pastor's Aid Society.
Mrs. E. F. Moore (Secy.).
Fargo, North Dakota.
Sept. 12, 191C.
Sometimes in consiilering the born leaders of a country 1 am reminded of that great
wheel in a large factory through which power is distributed to the various machines, large
and small, assembled to do the tasks of that factory.
An examination of the wheel will show it to contain innumerable cogs, so arranged,
that in turning, they fit into the cogs of other wheels, whicli themselves are used in the
vast work of distributing power.
Into such wheels the master builder intends to place only the very best material. But
the jar, the necessary friction produced by constant motion, the loss of power occasioned
from other inaccurate wheels and machines, frequently render impossible the highest per-
fection of operation. Even in the master wheel, by reason of some latent and unknown
defect in itself, more often, perhaps, because of the necessary and constant contact with its
environment, is found an imperfect or broken cog, which render operation difficult, followed
by a necessarily heavy strain upon the perfect cogs to keep in motion the mighty factory
so dependent upon the larger wheel, for constant and perfect action.
■Judged, however, from results,— the only accurate measurement,— there is accorded to
the products of that factory the highest degree of perfection.
So in this great world of ours. Providence places human machines, not perfect, nor
yet fiee from error, into their respective spheres of action. To some He gives great ability
coupled witli large responsibilities; to others less power, but consequently with less expec-
tancy of return. The old illustration of what is given and what is required taken from
the parable of the talents, tells the story of God's demands made of the men an<l women,
with wliom He has peopled this great world in which we live.
Jfeasured by these standards, William H. White— in Northern Dakota Territory and
the State of North Dakota, was a master wheel,— a mighty leader in the development of
what is destined to become one of the greatest States (if this Union.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 9
Fortunate indeed, that so early in the life of the Territory and State, this man of God
came to establish his home, he possessed the inspirational and educational instinct, and in all
he did, tempered his movements, keeping in mind the spiritual, intellectual and physical
development of the people, with whom he was destined to grow, increase and become a
leader.
He was a business man of the very highest type. Before going upon the bench, for
over fifteen years, I was honored by being his confidential legal adviser. It Was during the
earlier portions of that career, while the boom days were on in this country, we first met.
It was at that period when Rum was King, when he sat upon the throne of power on these
fertile prairies; when to speak in opposition to his unreasonable yet incessant demands,
often meant serious business complications and dire disaster; in a word, "the days that
tried men's souls," then it was that the sturdy Cliristian character of the man, whose
memory we now honor, sparkled with the greatest brilliancy.
Justice and righteousness were his watchwords. Often times, after the boom burst,
when fortunes were melting away like snow under the summer sun, Bro. White would stand
amid the wreck and ruin about him, while his small earthly belongings were being fast
depleted by the universal decline about him, and say to his counsellor, when advising con-
cerning obligations long since past due, "Give them time if necessary, take no penny not
absolutely mine, but above all you be a judge as well as a lawyer, and do justice between
us both." I remember upon one occasion he lost $8,000.00 because he would not do an act
which might be construed in a wrong light by a former benefactor and friend, when I
advised him that he was legally entitled to every dollar of that amount.
For such clients all lawyers ought daily to be thankful. When their number increases
there will be a corresponding decrease in what many call the "Crooked lawyers." Lawyers
rise, in the discharge of private and public duty, little above the general level of the capa-
bility and desires of the clients for whom they woik. The greater and nobler the client —
the better and the more conscientious the attorney.
But I must not dwell too long upon the business side of Bro. White's career, however
interesting and delightful it was, because in fact he was not only a successful business man
but also a religious leader in this great State of ours.
W'hile he was broad and liberal in his religious convictions, and had the warmest
respect for and gave liberally to aid other denominations, he was essentially a Methodist.
Indeed, I believe there is justly accorded to him, by every one, the position he so uniquely
filled, that of The Pioneer— the First Methodist of Northern Dakota Territory and the
State of North Dakota. Influenced in early life by the homes of such Methodists as Bishop
Simpson and Alpha J. Kynette, little wonder he sought to plant some of their Methodist
influence and inspiration to the virgin soil of this new Territory.
He was successful. This Conference tells the story. Upon your minutes appear the
tables which show in members and property the development of the seed thus early sown
by the hardy hand of the pioneers who peopled this State.
Like Daniel Webster, who in that famous speech in opposition to the admitting to pro-
bate of the Girard will in the Courts of Philadelphia, Bro. White took the ground — that
Christianity was in fact a part of the Common law of the land, and that the Clergy were
the representatives of that religion here below — that a strike at the Minister of the Gospel
such as was found in the will was a blow at the Gospel itself. No wonder then that in
the heart of Brother White was found a warm place for the ministry, not only of his own,
but of all Churches, those who were true heralds of the Christian religion he so devoutly
espoused.
The "William H. White Superannuate fund' which belongs to you, not only evidences
his financial wisdom but also bears testimony to his devotion to that great body of men
who have labored and served in this part of the moral vineyard.
Perhaps I ought to close with this brief description of what should be termed his
public life, but a true representation of a great career would be incomplete, did it fail to
point to what might be called his private life.
10 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
In the sacred precincts of the home and tlie church, he met as friend to friend all those
who crossed the threshold of either, with that manly interest and those kindly greetings
which could only emanate from the large and affectionate nature, he so richly possessed.
And here too, I am halted by those delicate relations which ought not to be exposed to
public view. At this place and at this moment I stand with uncovered head, bowed with
grief over the loss of a friend, whose companionship began over 35 years ago and con-
tinued unremittingly until his pure white soul winged its way to "that city not built with
hands eternal in the heavens." What blessed years of association. To this occasion, and
as it were beside his bier, I bring these few paltry words, attempting to do honor to his
memory, conscious of the poverty of language to express our real thought and lay them,
where, he had survived me, I know he would have said and laid the simple words which
tell of a profound respect and an ever abiding affection.
The home life of Brother White, fortunately presided over by one whose womanly
instinct was capable of thoroughly understanding the depths of his nature, was all that
could be desired. For health and other reasons Mr. and Mrs. White traveled far and wide.
They were thus enabled to see all countries of the globe. It would be interesting indeed to read
at length "The tale of the two travelers," as it could be developed by a description of their
journeys around the world. Suffice it to say, they would furnish a medium through which
could be contemplated the sources of the accumulated wisdom concerning world wide affairs,
with which he was so familiar.
Brother White was a keen observer of men and things. He possessed also a rare
literary discernment, which, aided by what he saw and heard made him a profound student
and lover of the best literature of the day. In his home library, in the daily companion-
ship of his books and his wife, he spent most of his spare moments. Thus it was that all
the resources, he so richly possessed were accumulated and apparently husbanded to aid
him in becoming a useful citizen.
It is of such a character we speak at this moment; for such a life we utter a tribute
of esteem; to such a religious leader, we add words of respect; for such a husband and
friend we pause to give merited praise. Methodism moui-ns this day the loss of a great
leader; t\u; State a princely citizen and the wife and friend a real companion — gone on a
little before — to prepare the way for those who will follow. As he would wish so we say
"Tliough the workmen fall the work goes on."
OLUF NELSON.
Oluf Nelson is conducting a blacksmith and repair .shop at Clifford and has been very
successful in that connection, building up a large and profitable patronage. His birth
occurred near Bergen, Norway, April 26, 1864. and he is a son of Nels and Helga (Oleson)
Nelson, the former of whom is still living in Norway, while the latter passed away in
that country.
Oluf Nelson, who is one of seven living children of a family of fifteen, was reared
and educated in Norway, where he remained until he was about twenty-three years of age.
He emigrated to America in 1887 and, making his way at once to the northwest, located ,
in Traill county, North Dakota. He learned the blacksmith's trade while in Norway and
after arriving here established a shop in Clifford. He does all kinds of blacksmithing and
his shop is well equipped for general repair work. He is a very skillful artisan and is well
patronized by the people of Clifford and the surrounding country. He not only does
general machine repairing but has specialized to some extent in automobile repairing. He
owns stock in the Farmers Elevator Company and in the Traill County Telephone Company
and is in very comfortable circumstances.
In 1902 Mr. Nelson was united in marriage to Miss Mary Erickson, also a native of
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 11
Norway, by whom lie had live children, Hilda, Xoimaii, Otto, Mabel and Olga. The wife
and mother passed away in 1911 and was laid to rest in the Norman cemetery.
Mr. Xelson endorses the principles of the republican party and is now serving as one
of the supervisors of Norman township. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran church
and its teachings guide his life. His success is doubly creditable in that it is due entirely to
his own efforts and although he has given the greater part of his time and attention to the
building up of his business interests he has found opportunity to cooperate with move-
ments seeking the general welfare and is recognized as a man of public spirit.
RUSH S. ADAMS.
Rush S. Adams, president of the First National Bank of Lisbon and president of the
Adams & Frees Company, a landholding company, ranks with the foremost business men
of his part of the state. He is the oldest bank president of southern North Dakota and his
activities along this and other lines have proven a potent element in advancing the material
progress of the section in which he lives. He was born near Union Grove, Kenosha county,
Wisconsin, on tlic 18th of November, 1854, a son of Homer and Philinda (Cadwell) Adams,
both of whom were natives of the state of New York, whence they removed with their
respective parents to Wisconsin in the year 1846. There they were subsequently married
and the father for many years followed farming in that locality but afterward retired
and took up his abode in Union Grove, where he passed away.
Rush S. Adams was a pupil in the district schools of his native county and afterward
attended the preparatory department of Beloit College. He next entered the employ of the
firm of J. Miller & Company, boot and shoe manufacturers of Racine, Wisconsin, in the
capacity of bookkeeper. In 1875 he became a member of the firm, with which he was actively
associated until 1883, when he sold his interest in the business and came to North Dakota,
settling in Lisbon, where, in company with B. M. Frees, of Chicago, and H. K. Adams, of
Racine, he organized the Ransom County Bank under the firm style of Adams & Frees. He
became president of the institution, with Mr. Frees as the vice president and H. K. Adams
as the cashier. In 1887 the bank was nationalized with the same officers and there was no
change in the personnel from 1883 until 1915. On the 1st of January of the latter year
H. K. Adams retired and his son, AV. S. Adams, succeeded him in the position of cashier. Mr.
Frees, who resides in San Diego, California, is still vice president of the bank, with Rush S.
Adams as the president and chief executive officer. For a third of a century he has now been
active in control of the institution and has made it one of the safe financial concerns of the
state, its business maintaining ever an even balance between conservatism and progressiveness.
In 1876 Mr. Adams was married to Miss Susan W. Sage, of Racine, Wisconsin, and to
them were born six children, of whom three are living: Sidney D., a prominent attorney,
who is practicing as a member of the firm of Rourke, Kvello & Adams in Lisbon; Gertrude L.,
the wife of Dr. John B. Kinne, of Aberdeen, Washington; and Marie, who is connected with
the Associated Charities of Chicago. Mrs. Adams died in New Orleans in December, 1911,
and in March, 1914, Mr. Adams was married to Miss Alma Whitman, of Boston, Massachusetts.
In his political views Mr. Adams is a republican and for six years he served as a member
of the state board of pardons, while for many years he has been treasurer of the State
Soldiers' Home. He was mayor of Lisbon for one year and served for several years as a
member of the board of education, of which for tw'o years he was president. He. has ever
maintained a most progressive attitude in public affairs, standing loyally for those forces
which are of greatest value to the community and the commonwealth at large. He belongs
to Sheyenne Valley Lodge, No. 12, F. & A. M.; Lisbon Chapter, No. 7, R. A. M.; and to Ivanhoe
Commandery, No. 8, K. T., and has made his life an expression of Masonic teachings and
purposes. He also belongs to Lisbon Lodge, No. 63, A. 0. U. W. He has been grand receiver
of the Grand Lodge of North Dakota since July, 1895. During this time he has paid out to
the widows and orphans over two million dollars. He is also chairman of the investment
committee, which has over a million and a half of invested funds. He and his wife are mem-
bers of the Presbyterian church and they are continually reaching out a helping hand to
12 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
those less fortunate. Tluir woik lias been a potent force for public benefit and for the
support of high standards and wherever they are known they are spoken of in terms of
highest respect and regard. Their genuine worth entitles thein to mention as representative
citi/.ens of this great state, tlieir work along many lines being of value in promoting the
material, intellectual, social, politiial and nioial progress of Ndrtli Dakota.
0. J. OLSOX.
0. .J. Olson, of Wahpeton, is now serving a third term as register of deeds of Richland
county, and is very enTicient in the discharge, of his duties in that capacity, and he is also
president of the Commercial Club. He is a native son of the county and was born on Sep-
tember 24. 1S85, of the marriage of Chris and Lena (Olson) Olson. The father was born in
Denmark and the mother in Mower county, Minnesota, and their marriage occurred in Adams,
that state. About 1882 they came to North Dakota and settled at Dwiglit, where the father
«as engaged in the grain, machinery and farm implement business for a number of years.
Having accumulated a competence, he is living retired in Galchutt. He is a republican in
politics and fraternally is a Woodman, while his religious faith is that of the Lutheran
church. To him and his wife were born seven children, namely: George, who is engaged in
the lumber business in Canada; O. J.; Mrs. Johnson, of Galchutt, whose husband is a general
merchant there; Clara, at home; Mrs. Sch>iltz, of Minot, this state, whose husband is man-
ager of a hardware store; Cora, who is a teacher and resides at home; and Clarence, also at
home. The paternal grandparents passed their entire lives in Denmark.
O. J. Olson received his education through attending the common schools and the Ked
River Valley University at Wahpeton, from which he was graduated in 1904. Thereafter ho
remained at home for a short time and then became a collector and salesman for the Henne-
pin Lumber Company, leaving their employ to accept a position as clerk in the office of register
of deeds. In 1907 he was appointed deputy and three years later was elected register of
deeds. His previous experience in the office well qualified him for the position and he has
made such an excellent record that he has been twice re-elected and is still serving in that
capacity. He is systematic, prompt and accurate and there has never been the slightest
question as to his integrity.
On the 29th of April, 1914, Mr. Olson was married to Jliss Susie Rettig, a native of
Wahpeton. Both are members of the Lutheran church, in the work of which they take a
commendable interest. He is active in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is now
trustee of the home fund board of the state. His political beliefs are in accord with the
principles of the republican party, which he supports loyally. He is president of the Com-
mercial Club and under his leadership that organization has accomplished much for the
civic and business expansion of the town and he hopes for still greater achievement.
HKNRY fflLDRETH.
Among the substantial citizens of Argusville is Henry llildreth, who became identified
with the agricultural development of Cass county in pioneer times and for a considerable
period carried on general farming. He afterward became connected with business affairs in
Argusville and at the present time is living retired, his labors having been crowned with a
measure of success that permits him to enjoy well earned rest. He was born in Wisconsin,
January 15, 1852. a son of Henry and Sarah 0. (Perkins) llildreth. both of whom were
natives of New York. Coming to the west in 1850, they settled on a farm in the Badger
state and there lived until called to the home beyond.
They had two children but Henry llildreth is the only member of the family now living.
He was reared and educated in Wisconsin, remaining in that state until he attained his
majority. In March, 1873, he went to Nebraska, but returned to Wisconsin in A\igust of the
same year. In 1878 he removed to Cass county, North Dakota, establishing his home in
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 13
Berlin township. He secured a claim and at once began to break the sod and till the fields,
residing thereon until 1883. His first dwelling was a sod house and he made other primitive
improvements, but in the year last mentioned he returned to Wisconsin, where he worked
in a lumber mill for three years and afterward farmed the old homestead for five years. In
1891 he again came to Xorth Dakota and settled upon his farm, which he occupied and
further improved until 1894. In that year he removed to Argusville, where he established
a store and also conducted a hotel, continuing in the business for four years. In 1913 he
became one of the organizers of the Argusville State Bank, of which he is yet one of the
directors, although at the present time he is practically retired from active business connec-
tions. He was also one of the organizers of the Argusville Farmers Elevator Company and
is now president of its board of directors, owning one-fifth of the stock of that company.
This was the second farmers' elevator in the state. In addition to this he and his wife still
own one hundred and sixty acres of land at Gardner, now included within the corporation
limits of that village.
Mr. Hildreth has been married twice. In 1879 he wedded Miss .Josephine Krom, a native of
New York and a daughter of Hiram and Rebecca (Depew) Krom. By this union there were
four children, as follows: Edna A. and Sarah B.. both of whom reside in Portland, Oregon;
Mary, who is the wife of Charles Abernathy and lives in Oregon; and Hiram G., who makes
his home at Argusville, North Dakota. The wife and mother died on the 4th of December,
1901, and her remains were interred in the Harwood cemetery. In 1904 Mr. Hildreth was
again married, his second union being with Miss Ella S. Buckland, a native of Wisconsin and
-a daughter of German and JMary Buckland, both of whom were born in Vermont. They
removed to Wisconsin in the year 1848 and in that state the father passed away, but the
•mother still survives at the age of eighty-two.
Mr. Hildreth votes with the republican party, which finds in bim a strong and stalwart
advocate. He served on the township board for two terras and has also been town assessor.
For twelve years he was a member of the school board and the cause of education found in
him a stalwart champion. His wife is a member of the Congregational church and both are
highly esteemed, enjoying the goodwill and confidence of friends and neighbors. Mr. Hildreth
deserves much credit for what he has accomplished, as he started out in life empty handed
and today is the possessor of a comfortable competence, which is the legitimate reward of
well directed energy and thrift.
CLARENCE R. BIERLY.
Clarence R. Bierly, president of the Minot Realty Company, has thus been engaged in
business since July, 1906, and is thoroughly acquainted with every phase of the work which
claims his attention and which is bringing to him substantial success because of capable
management, keen discrimination and unfaltering enterprise. They conduct a real estate and
loan business and their clientage has reached gratifying proportions.
Mr. Bierly was born at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, September 29, 1875, a son of
Willis R. and Sarah L. (Bosard) Bierly, who were also natives of the Keystone state, born
July 30, 1847, and July 28, 1853, respectively. The father was an attorney and newspaper
writer who continued his residence in the east until 1883, when he removed to Texas. There
he continued in the practice of law and acted as attorney for a number of companies in
northwestern Texas. He left that state to take the position of managing editor of the
Orand Forks Herald, arriving in North Dakota on the 1st of January, 1884. For twelve years
he maintained his abode there but in 1896 returned to Pennsylvania and since that time has
been engaged in revising and codifying the laws of that state, making his home at Rebers-
burg. Ih the year 1906 Sirs. Bierly went to Canada and there passed away in February, 1907.
Clarence R. Bierly is the eldest of a family of seven children. He attended school in
Crand Forks. North Dakota, and was graduated from the high school with the class of 1893.
When his father left North Dakota in 1896, because of impaired health, he engaged in the
fire insurance business at Grand Forks in connection with W. A. Gordon for eighteen months
and on the expiration of that period accepted the position of bookkeeper with the Barnes
1^ HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Grocery Company. After a short timo, liowevor. lie was offered a position at Larimore,
Xortli Dakota, in the land and loan business with J. B. Streeter, Jr., Company, one of the
largest companies operating in land in the state at that time. He occupied a position of
responsibility and trust with Mr. Streeter for about eight years and then resigned to enter
business in Minot. In July, 1906, he organized tlie Minot Realty Company, at which time he
became president and so continues. This is a close corporation capitalized for twenty
thousand dollars, owning and operating about eighteen hundred acres of land besides con-
ducting a general loan and insurance business. Mr. Bierly devotes his entire time to the
realty company and the operation of its properties and is thoroughly acquainted with
conditions of the real estate market, knows the property that is for sale and is an expert
valuator. Another point in his business career worthy of mention is that during the first
three months of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 he was engaged in
decorative art work in connection with the North Dakota and other state exhibits.
On the 15th of July, 190.3, occurred the marriage of Mr. Bierly and Mrs. Edith R. Mory,
a daughter of Albert C. and Sarah E. (McNeill) .Johnson. She was born in Jloulton, Iowa!
and her parents were also natives of that state. They removed to Kansas and in 1893 came
to North Dakota, whence they made their way to California in 1901, their home being now
in Sonora, that state. Mrs. Bierly first married Edward R. Mory, who was a druggist of
Larimore, North Dakota. To Mr. and Mrs. Bierly have been born two children, namely:
Sydney H., whose birth occurred at Larimore, North Dakota, July 25, 1904; and Reed, born
in Minot, October 9, 1908.
In his political views Mr. Bierly is a democrat. He is a special assessment commissioner,
in which capacity he has acted for three years. The members of this commission are
appointed by the city commissioners, the city being under a commission government. When
he took charge of the work he organized a system similar to the one in use in Minneapolis,
whereby each piece of property has a complete record which can be digested at a glance.
This system, although expensive to install, will save the taxpayers a gi-eat deal of money
as the old system was so unwieldy that a great many assessments were overlooked. He is
ambitious, energetic and persistent, qualities which are indispensable elements in the attain-
ment of business prosperity. At the same time he is thoroughly reliable and trustworthy
and his integrity as well as his activity has placed him among the leading and substantial
business men of Minot.
JUDGE LEO J. PALDA.
Judge Leo J. Palda, who is engaged in the jiractice of law at Minot as the senior j.artner
in the firm of Palda & Aaker. and who has also served on the district bench, was born in
Cleveland, Ohio, March 4, 1873, his parents being Leo and Theresa (Sladky) Palda, both of
whom were natives of Bohemia Init were married in the new world. The father engaged in
newspaper work in early life and about the year 18fi.> crossed the Atlantic, establisliing his
home in the state of New York, where he engaged in the newspajier business. He was married
in New York and afterward continued connection with newspaper publication in New York,
Oiicago, Cleveland and in Cedar Rapids. Iowa, publishing Bohemian papers. Both he and his
wife spent their remaining days in Cedar Rapids and he was a man of wide influence among
people of his nationality. He never aspired to office, although he held some local positions
and was regarded as a valued citizen of the community in which he made his home.
Judge Palda, the only living child of Leo Palda, was reared in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where
he largely pursued his education, his public school course there, however, being supplemented
by study in the State University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. At the age of fifteen vears he
began dealing in cigars and newspapers at Cedar Rapids and continued activelv in tliat line
until he reached the age of eighteen years. He thi-n entered the Michigan University from
which he was graduated in .Tunc. 1893. He then engaged in law practice at Cedar Rapids,
where he remained for about a year, after which he removed to Elgin, Iowa, where he fol-
lowed his profession for about five years. In 1900 he arrived in North Dakota, settling at
Kenmare. Ward cmmty, where he continued for three years. On the expiration of that pe'riod
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 15
he removed to Minot, having been appointed to serve on the district bencli while practicing
at Kenmare. He remained upon the bench for two years, making a creditable record in
office. He then formed a partnership with John E. Burke, which association was main-
tained until 1908, when he became the senior member of the law firm of Palda & Aaker and
in that connection has since engaged in the general practice of law. He is recognized as a
man of pronounced ability in his chosen field. His efforts have been attended with success,
for he is a clear and logical reasoncr and his study of his cases is thorough and exhaustive.
He presents a situation with great clearness and the logic of his arguments is one of the
strong and abiding elements in his practice. He is also a landowner in North Dakota and
personally operates a part of his farm property.
In January, 1898, Judge Palda was married to Miss Mae G. Lyon, a native of Fayette
county, Iowa, and a daughter of Willis and Mary (Randall) Lyon, both of whom were born
in the eastern part of the United States. Willis Lyon, an agriculturist by occupation, died
almost immediately after the Civil war as the result of diseases contracted in service at the
front. He was a member of an Iowa regiment. Mr. and Mrs. Palda have two children,
namely: Charles H., born December 19, 1898; and Robert W., whose natal day was July 22,
1900.
Politically Judge Palda is a republican and aside from serving as district judge he has
filled various local offices, including that of mayor of Kenmare, being the first incumbent in
the position. Fraternally he is connected with the Masonic lodge at Minot, with the Elks
and with the Knights of Pythias, also the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Modern
Woodmen of America. In the Elks organization he has held both local and state offices.
Through the steps of an orderly progression Judge Palda has steadily advanced and his
position is one which is accorded him by the consensus of public opinion in recognition of
Ills ability and his devotion to the highest standards of the profession.
HON. JOHN W. HANSEL.
Hon. John W. Hansel, president of Fargo College and an honored resident of Fargo, is
regarded as one of the able educators of North Dakota, holding to the highest standards
and ever recognizing the fact that physical, intellectual and moral progress go hand in hand.
A native of Peoria, Illinois, he was born March 6, 1853, a son of John W. and Mary A.
(Little) Hansel, who were natives of Ohio and were married in Newark, that state. The
father was a cabinetmaker by trade and at the time of the gold excitement in California
crossed the plains to that state in 1849 with a mule team. After spending three years in
the gold fields, where he met with moderate success, he returned by way of the Isthmus of
Panama to the middle west, settling in Peoria, Illinois, where for many years he was
engaged in the hardware business. Subsequently he turned his attention to the manufacture
of his own patents, for he possessed inventive genius and gave to the world several
valuable devices. He died in Indianapolis, Indiana, at the very venerable age of eighty-seven
years, while his wife passed away in Oak Park, Illinois, at the age of seventy-eight.
President John W. Hansel spent his youthful days in the home of his parents at Peoria,
where he acquired a public school education, after which he was variously employed, begin-
ning life's work in a machine shop as an engineer. Eventually he became associated with a
wholesale drug firm of Peoria and continued successfully in that business until 1883. In the
meantime he had become actively interested in the work of the Young Men's Christian
Association and in 1882 he accepted the position of general secretary of the association at
St. Joseph, Missouri, where he was instrumental in erecting the first association building
west of the Mississippi river, securing funds sufficient to make all payments upon this build-
ing, which was erected at a cost of one hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Hansel remained for
five years at St. Joseph and then went to Kansas Cit.y, where he remained for three years,
during which time he was instrumental in raising the funds and building the superstructure
of the Young Men's Cliristian Association building, already begun, the cost of which was
two hundred and ten thousand dollars. When he undertook the work conditions seemed
very unfavorable, for finances were at a low ebb and the outlook was discouraging, but he
IG HISTORY OF NORTPI DAKOTA
fired the workers with his own zeal and courage and the task was carried forward to
successful completion. Mr. Hansel afterward cooperated with some of the association
secretaries and laymen of the west in the organization of the Young Men's Christian Asso-
ciation College at Chicago with summer schools at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Upon the
completion of the organization of the college he was chosen its first general secretary and
later its president and continued in that capacity for fifteen years, when he was compelled
to resign on account of his healtli. He was instrumental in making the school one of the
two great institutions of its kind in the world. lie cooperated in organizing tlie Lake
Geneva Student Conference, wliieli has since become famous throughout the world. After
severing his connection with the Chicago school Ur. Hansel spent three years on the Gulf
coast and in September, 1913, accepted a call to the presidency of Fargo College, in which
capacity he is now serving. This institution offers one of the strongest four year liberal
arts courses in the northwest. It has had two Rhodes scholarships in the last four years
and all of the work of the college receives full credit recognition in the eastern universities.
In 1875 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Hansel and Miss Christina Watson Mowat,
of Peoria, and they have become the parents of seven children, of whom three are living:
Agnes Mowat, tlie wife of Lloyd E. Harter, sales-manager for Hales & Edwards Grain Com-
pany of Chicago; :Mary Anna, the wife of Professor Fred C. Brown, of the Bradley Polytechnic
Institute of Peoria, Illinois; and John Washington, advertising manager in the middle west
for the Good Housekeeping magazine. Mr. and Mrs. Hansel are members of the Congrega-
tional church. She is a lady of broad and liberal culture and has been of great assistance to
her husband.
In his political views Mr. Hansel has always been an earnest republican and progressive
and his opinions are the result of close study of the questions of the day. He participated in
the progressive convention which nominated Theodore Roosevelt in 1912. One of the Fargo
papers said of him: "Mr. Hansel's services to Fargo College already command the gratitude
of every friend of the institution and of education. He has laid the foundation for a sound
business procedure adequate to the large growth and coming needs; he has gone far to
correct the prejudices that have handicapped the college hitherto; he has helped largely in
freeing the college from a burden of debt; he has won a sympathetic hearing out of the
state; he has won the confidence of us all by his candor, his kindly manner, his business-like
methods and by his large faith and optimism."
ARTHUR M. THOMPSON'.
Arthur M. Thompson, member of the state legislature for the third term and a prominent
member of the North Dakota bar, practicing at Minot, is leaving the impress of his individu-
ality upon the history of the state both as a lawyer and law maker. He was born in
Chicago, Illinois, December 11, 1877, a son of Charles and Antoinette (Sakrison) Thompson,
both of whom were natives of Norway, born in 1850 and 1852 respectively. Jn 1866 when a
youth of sixteen years. Charles Thompson crossed the Atlantic to the new world and settled
in Gjicago, where he became a builder and contractor. There he resided until 1879, when he
removed to Deer Park. Wisconsin, .ind continued in the same line of business. In early
manhood he wedded Antoinette Sakrison but both are now deceased. Mr. Thompson held
various local offices and was postmaster at Deer Park at the time of his death.
Arthur M. Thompson was the third in order of birth in a family of nine children. He
attended the Kiver Falls Normal School and the University of Minnesota, pursuing a two
years' course in special work in the academic department, and later entering vipon the study
of law, which he completed by graduation with the class of 1905. Long before this, however, he
had started out in the business world. At the age of sixteen years he secured a clerkship
in a store at Deer Park, with which he was connected for two and a half years. He after-
ward taught school for a year and later spent a year and a half as a clerk at Bruce,
Wisconsin. For three or four years he was upon the road during vacation periods while he
was pursuing his normal school and university courses. He completed his education in 1905
but practiced little before coming to Minot in the early part of 1906. Here he has since
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 17
remained in general practice and his ability has brought him prominently to the front in the
successful conduct of important litigation. The thoroughness and care with which he pre-
pares his cases is one of the strong elements in his growing success. His arguments are logical,
his reasoning sound and his deductions clear and forceful. In addition to his practice he has
business interests as the owner of considerable farm land both improved and unimproved in
this state and much of this he has now rented.
On the 4th of August, 1909, Mr. Thompson married Miss Eleanor R. McElfresli, who was
born in Emporia, Kansas, a daughter of Dr. John McElfresh, a native of Maryland, who
has now passed away. They have become parents of one son, named for her father, John
McElfresh, born August 19, 1913.
Fraternally Mr. Thompson is connected with the Elks lodge at Minot, in which he has
filled most of the offices, being next in line for exalted ruler. He holds membership with the
Modern Woodmen of America and the Knights of Pythias and he gives his political allegiance
to the republican party, being a recognized leader in its ranks in his part of the state.
Well fitted for leadership, he has been called upon for legislative duty and is now serving for
the third term as a member of the general assembh'. giving careful consideration to all
questions which come up for settlement.
GEORGE CARLSON.
George Carlson, cashier of the Farmers Bank at Gwinner, Sargent county, was born in
Renville county, Minnesota, September 17, 1887, a son of K. and Stina (Johnson) Carlson, who
were natives of Norway. The father was born in 1853 and became an early resident of
]\Iinnesota, whence he removed to North Dakota in 1888. In this state he secured a home-
stead claim situated on section 34, township 133, range 54, Sargent county, and thereon he
remained until 1903, at which time he removed to Milnor, where he is now living retired. He
was prominently connected with the agricultural development of his county for many years
and contributed in substantial measure to the advancement of the interests of that district.
His wife was bom in Norway in 1849 and both she and her husband came to the United
States with their respective parents when quite young, both families settling in Minnesota.
Mr. and Mrs. Carlson are now living in Milnor, Sargent county.
George Carlson is the youngest in a family of seven children, all of whom are yet living.
In the acquirement of his education he passed through consecutive grades in the public
schools and after completing the high school course at Milnor he devoted two years to study in
the North Dakota State Normal and Industrial School at Ellendale. Still later he pursued a
business course in Fargo and in 1907 he entered the First National Bank of Milnor, in which
institution he held the position of assistant cashier, remaining in that connection for four
years. During the succeeding four years, or until 1915, he was vice president of the First
National Bank of Milnor. In October, 1915, the Farmers Bank of Gwinner was organized
by Mr. Carlson and two business associates, C. Cooper and R. P. Johnson. Mr. Cooper is now
president of the bank, with Mr. Johnson as vice president and Mr. Carlson as cashier. The
company has recently erected a modern bank building thoroughly equipped, furnishing an
attractive home for the bank, which is being developed along substantial lines, displaying
nothing that partakes of frenzied finance but on the contrary carefully safeguarding the
interests of depositors as well as protecting the interests of the institution. Mr. Carlson not
only is active in managing and controlling the bank but is also the owner of farm property
in Sargent county, situated on section 38, township 133, range 56. He also has an attractive
residence in Gwinner which he has recently completed and which is supplied with all modern
conveniences and accessories.
In 1913 Mr. Carlson was united in marriage to Miss Liffie Intlehouse, who was born in
Richland county, this state, in 1888 and is a daughter of Peter and Guri Intlehouse, both of
whom were old residents of this state. The father was a butcher by trade, following that
pursuit until his death, which occurred in 1903. The mother is now making her home with
her daughter, Mrs. Carlson, who is the youngest of a family of five children, four of whom
survive. Mr. and Mrs. Carlson have one child, Wanda, born August 15, 1913. Both are
18 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
members of the Lutlieiaii tliurch and Mr. Carlson gives his political allegiance to the
republican party. Praiticiilly his entire life has been spent in Sargent county and with its
substantial development he has been closely associated, while in its business conditions he
has found the opportunity for the attainment of substantial success.
JAMES JOHNSON.
The life record of James Johnson is another proof of the fact that the accident of birth
does not determine the position of the individual in the business world but that success
depends upon utilization of opportunity. Laudable ambition has carried James Johnson
steadily forward and the position which he occupies in business circles of Minot and Ward
county is one of prominence and inlluence. He was born at Viele, Denmark, on the 1st of
Vlay, 1850, a son of James and Katherine (Paulson) Johnson, who were also natives of
Denmark, in which country they spent their entire lives, the father there following the occu-
pation of farming. Their son James attended school in his native counti-y, pursuing a
course in the Wibij Military School in Copenhagen. When a mere lad he worked for others
and has since been dependent upon his own resources. He went to sea, sailing for about
four years, and afterward served for two years in the Danish navy.
In 1873 he arrived in America, landing at New York. He had learned some English and
this aided him in a measure in making a start in the new world. He did not tarry on the
Atlantic coast but proceeded w^estward until he reached the Red river. He settled in Otter-
tail county, Minnesota, where he secured a claim and engaged in farming for nine years. He
then removed to Burlington, North Dakota. At that period the town of Minot was not in
existence. He engaged in the stock business to some extent and still resides upon his place,
continuing his interests in live stock. In the meantime he had furthered his education by
study in the State University of Minnesota, in which he pursued a law course, and for a
number of years he practiced law but at present he devotes his entire time to looking after
his individual interests. He is one of the stockholders and president of the First State Bank
at Burlington and the chairman of the board of directors of the Second National Bank at
Minot and has extensive ))ro])erty holdings in both towns. In fact his business interests are
important and in their control he displays sound judgment, keen enterprise and careful
management. Success is following his undertakings and his reliability and trustworthiness
have insured to him the confidence and goodwill of his fellow citizens.
In 1879 Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Ada J. Colton, a native of Colton,
St. Lawrence county, New York, and a daughter of Joseph L. and Diana (Robinson) Colton,
both of whom are deceased. The Coltons are of English lineage and the first of the name
who came from England to the new world was married' in Massachusetts in 1644. Mrs.
Johnson's father was a capitalist, real estate dealer, merchant and prominent business man.
In 1872 he removed westward to Minnesota and afterward came to North Dakota, where
he founded the city of Lisbon, there remaining for a number of years. He afterward removed
to Burlington, where both lie and his wife jiassed away. He was a soldier of the Civil war
and his wife served for three years as a nurse in the field hospital. Mr. Colton was a member
of the One Hundred and Forty-seventh New York Volunteer Regiment and participated in a
number of hotly contested engagements, being wounded in the third year of his service. He
was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and returned to his home with a most creditable
military record. To Mr. and Mrs. .Johnson have been born nine children, as follows: Arthur
De Forest, who is deceased; Carrie, the wife of Henry Kluver, who is cashier of the First
State Bank of Burlington; Harvey, an agriculturist residing in Burlington; Kflie, the wife of
Daniel Connan, of Sannix, who is engaged in business as a contractor; Rollie, who is engaged
in the lumber business at Burlington; George, who lives on the home ranch and is engaged
in the stock business; Grace, at home; Loyal, who is attending school and lives in Burlington;
and one who died in infancy.
Mr. Johnson is well known in Masonic circles, being a charter member of Minot Lodge,
F. & A. M., and having taken various higher degrees of Masonry. He has passed the chairs
in the difTcrent branches of the order and is a member of the Jlystic Shrine. His religious
JAMES JOHNSON
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA . 21
faith is that of the Lutheran church and his political belief that of the republican party.
In territorial days he served as clerk of the court for four years or until North Dakota was
admitted to statehood; for two years, 1889-1890, he was probate judge and in 1891 and 1892
he was state senator. At the end of that time he was elected state's attorney and held
that office for twelve years, during which period and afterward he was chairman of the
county republican central committee. Later he was chairman of the state central committee.
As a true American citizen should do, he keeps well informed on the questions and issues
of the day and has cooperated in many plans and projects to promote the welfare and good
of the community in which he lives. Wherever known he is held in the highest esteem and
most of all where he is best known. He deserves much credit for what he has accomplished,
for he has been dependent upon his own resources from early boyhood. At a youthful age
he recognized those things which are of real value and worth — industry, integrity, perse-
verance and sterling character — and his course has utilized these with the passing years,
making him a citizen of worth in the community in which he makes his home.
ANDREW KNUDSON.
Andrew Knudson, who is making an excellent record as cashier of the Galesburg State
Bank of Galesburg, Traill county, is a native of Norway and displays the excellent qualities
characteristic of his race. He was born on the 28th of March, 1860, a son of Knud and
Barbara Knudson, the former of whom died in that country, while the latter is still living
there. They were the parents of twelve children, of whom four are deceased.
Andrew Knudson attended the common schools in the acquirement of an education and
remained at home until he was nineteen years of age, when, having heard much concerning
the unusual opportunities offered to a young man in the United States, he emigrated to this
country. He first located in Wisconsin and remained there for about two years, working
during the summers and attending school during the winters, thus perfecting his knowledge of
English. At the end of that time he went to Minnesota, where he spent a year, but in
1881 he came to Traill county. North Dakota, where he has since lived. He homesteaded land
on section 20, Galesburg township, and concentrated his energies upon its improvement and
cultivation until 1902, when he removed to Galesburg. In 1901 he had aided in organizing the
Galesburg State Bank, of which he became a director. In 1905 the bank was sold and in 1907
he was made cashier, in which capacity he has since served. He has been judicious in the
management of its affairs, following a progressive policy tempered by a conservatism that
safeguards the interests of depositors and stockholders. He also finds time to supervise the
operation of his fine farm of four hundred acres, from which he derives a gratifying addition
to his income. He is also a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator and in the Traill County
Telephone Company, of which he is a director.
Mr. Knudson was married in 1906 to Miss Christine Agotness, who was born in Norway
but was brought to America when but four years of age. They both hold membership in the
Lutheran church and he is connected with the Sons of Norway. His political allegiance is
given to the republican party and he has served as assessor and as treasurer of Galesburg
township. He has been a resident of Traill county for thirty-five years and during that time
has done all in his power to further the advancement of the community along not only
material but also moral and civic lines.
HANS LARSON.
Hans Larson, who owns more than eight hundred acres of land and is now living retired
in Harwood township, Cass county, was one of the early settlers of the county and has from
his arrival in the state had firm faith in the greatness of its future although in the early days
such faith required unusual farsightedness as North Dakota was then a wild and forbidding
Vol. n— 2
22 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
region. He was born on the island of Laaland, Denmark, October 1, 1850, a son of Lars
Ili'ndrickson, who died when his son Hans was thirteen years of age.
Tlie latter continued to reside in his native country until he was seventeen years ohi,
when in company with liis mother he came to the United States. For two years they
resided at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, but at tlie end of that time he and his brother Henry
removed to Dakota territory in 1870. After spending one year at Fort Kandall, in what is
now South Dakota, tliey came to the present state of North Dakota. For a short time
they worked on the construction of tlie Northern Pacific Railroad but as expenses were
high and wages low they made their way to what is now Cass county and took upi
squatters' claims, on which Hans Larson filed in 1S73. He worked for the Northern Pacific for
thirteen months, thus meeting his living expenses. He first entered bis quarter section as a
preemption claim but as money was bard to obtain he commuted on eighty acres, which he
took up as a homestead. Later he filed on a quarter section under tlie timber act, which
he later commuted and scripped and paid for in subsequent years. He was a very practical
and eilicient farmer and his land yielded large crops, the sale of which netted him a good profit.
From time to time he invested in more land and now owns eight hundred and twenty-nine
acres. lie resided upon his original homestead for forty-three years, or until March, 1914,
when he retired from active work, renting his farm to others and taking up his abode on the
Nicholas A. Peterson farm, on section 14, Harwood township. He is financially independent
and the period of leisure which he is now enjoying is the deserved reward of many years
of well directed labor.
On the 11th of January, 1882, Mr. Larson was united in marriage to Miss Julia
Harrison, of Arena, Wisconsin, who, however, was born in Norway. Three of their six
children survive, namely: Josephine, the wife of M. C. Smith, of Cloverdale, British Columbia;
William H., at home; and Lulu M., the wife of George Ostby. of Cass county.
Mr. Larson is a stanch republican but has never taken a very active part in politics
although he has held a number of minor offices and has served as chairman of the township
board for ten years. Fraternally he belongs to Sliiloh Lodge, No. 1, A. F. & A. M.; Key-
stone Chapter, No. 5, R. A. M.; Auvergne Commandery, No. 2, K. T.; and El Zagal Temple,
A. A. 0. N. M. S. Mr. Larson is progressive and up-to-date and has been a factor not only
in the agricultural development of his county but also in its advancement along other lines.
He is widely and favorably known and those who have been intimately associated witli him
hold him in warm personal regard.
LAWRENCE P. VOISIN.
Lawrence P. Voisin, president of the Citizens State Bank of Lisbon, is a farsighted,
energetic business man and banker and in addition to his control of financial alVairs be is
serving as a member of the board of directors of the Equity Elevator Company, having
retired from the presidency after five year^' service, in June, 1915. He was born in
Bruce county, Ontario, Canada, on the 21st of February, 1873, his parents being Jacob and
Rose (Schuett) Voisin, the former of French descent, while the latter was of German lineage.
Both, however, were born in Canada, where the father followed the occuiiation of farming
up to the time of his death in 1885. His widow still occupies the old home place there.
Lawrence P. Voisin was educated in the common schools and in St. Jerome's College
at Berlin. Ontario, where he completed a three years' course, which he supplemented by a
course in the Northern Business College at Owen Sound, Ontario. On the completion of his
studies in that institution in 1891 he came west to seek a fortune and for two months
remained in Duluth, where he was employed in various w'ays. He then made Iiis way to
Sheldon, North Dakota, and in that locality secured employment as a farm hand, remaining
for seven years in the employ of one man. He married his employer's sister. Miss Mathilda
Kaspari, on the 5th of April, 1900. Two years before, or in the summer of 1898, he engaged
in the grain buying business in Venlo, North Dakota, and devoted the greater part of his
attention to that work for three years. In 1900 he purchased a farm of three hundred and
twenty acres six miles cast of Lisbon and turned his attention to general agricultural
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 23
pursuits, altliough he continued also to buy grain for another year. At the end of that
period he devoted his entire attention to the tilling of he soil. In the early days farming
in the state was an uncertain quantity and through several winters he was compelled to go to
the Minnesota woods and work in the lumber camps in order to keep the wolf from the
door, but his perseverance and determination at length brought to him their legitimate
reward. The tide turned in his favor and he acquired two sections of land and also an
equity in two other farms. At length he sold five quarter sections of his land and in the
spring of 1916 he left his farm and established his home in Lisbon. In the meantime, or
in 1910, he had purchased an interest in the Citizens State Bank of Lisbon and a year
later he was elected to the presidency of that institution, in which connection he has since
continued, directing its policy along well defined lines that lead to growth and success.
He is also a member of the board of directors of the Equity Elevator Company and proved
most capable during his five j'ears' presidency, from which he retired in June, 1915.
Mr. and Mrs. Voisin are members of tlie Catliolic cliurch and he belongs also to the
Knights of Columbus. He is regarded as one of the influential residents of Lisbon, belonging
to that class of men who have not only built up their own fortunes but at the same time
have been active in advancing the welfare and promoting the progress of the district in
which they live. He has stood shoulder to shoulder with those who have struggled on to
make this a habitable region, in which business activity is a synonym for material advance-
ment and prosperity.
HON. 0. H. DE S. IRGENS.
Hon. 0. H. de S. Irgons, county judge of Barnes county, residing at Valley City, was
born in Chicago, Illinois, June 8, 1855, a son of John S. Irgens, a native of Norway, who at
the age of seventeen years came to America, attracted by the fact that he had an uncle
living in New York. It was his intention to study civil engineering and then return to
Norway, where tlie family is an old and prominent one, having records which date back in
an unbroken line to 1657. Previous to the fatlier his ancestors had been representatives of
the professions, being clergymen, doctors, etc. The grandfather was graduated as a
theological student but did not follow the ministry, becoming a mining engineer and
manager. In the late '50s the father removed to St. Ansgar, Iowa, where he remained for a
year and then journeyed by team to Minnesota. He secured a claim in Adams. Mower
county, where he remained until the early '70s, devoting his attention to the development and
cultivation of his farm. He was then elected' county treasurer, which position he filled for
a number of years, and he was also elected to represent his district in the state legislature,
while still higher honors came to him in his election as secretary of state. He retired from
office on the 1st of .January, 1879, and then removed to a claim which he had entered in the
fall of 1878 two miles southwest' of '^''alley City. Several years later he sold his farm
and removed to Norfolk, Virginia, where he spent five years engaged in farming. Returning
to North Dakota, he settled west of Ellendale, where he and his sons engaged in stock
raising for five years, and on the expiration of that period he sold out and went to Valley
City, where for four years he acted as deputy county treasurer. On his retirement from
office he established his home at San Diego, California, where he remained until his death
in 1902. His widow still enjoys good health a^t the age of eighty-nine years. In his youth
the father had been liberally educated in both German and Norwegian by private tutors and
was a man of marked ability, possessing splendid natural gifts which he used to excellent
advantage, not only for the benefit of his own interests but also for the state.
Judge Irgens, the eldest of the family of four sons and a daughter, acquired his early
education in the primitive schools of Mower county, Minnesota, where in pioneer days a
teacher would give instruction to the children of the neighborhood in one of the liomes of
the locality. Later a log schoolhouse was built and after mastering the preliminary
branches of learning under such conditions .Tudge Irgens attended the public schools of
Austin, Minnesota, where he passed through consecutive grades until he completed a high
school course, wlien lie returned to the farm. At the age of nineteen years he went to
24 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Lyic, Minnesota, where he was employed iu a general store for four years, and in November,
1878, he became a clerk in the store of J. S. Weiser, a pioneer merchant of Valley City, with
wliom he remained for two years. He was next employed by W. F. Jones, a lumber merchant,
and after two years spent in that connection he was appointed deputy county treasurer
under C. A. Uenson. and occupied the office for four years, when he became the candidate
for and was elected county treasurer, in which oHice he was continue<l by reelection for
foiu- years, making an excellent record by the prompt and cai)able manner in which he dis-
charged his duties. He and his brother, Lewis C. Irgens, then bought ovit a drug business,
which they conducted for ten years, meeting with fair success. The brother, however, took
up tlie study of dentistry and after winning his degi-ee removed to Oakland, California.
Judge Irgens continued to conduct the drug store for two years thereafter and then sold
out, turning his attention to the abstract business, also conducting a general store at
Roger, Barnes county. In the fall of in04 he was elected county judge and so fair and
impartial were liis decisions wliile on the bench that lie has been reelected at each biennial
electi(m since that time, so that lie has already been upon the bench for twelve years, while
his present term will continue until 1917. Since liis first election there lias been no
contest for the position, which has come to him by acclamation.
On the 18tli of .lanuary, 1878, Judge Irgens was married to Miss Annie M. Wilson,
of Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, a daughter of M. 0. Wilson, and their children are: Lillian
Mabel, now the wife of G. H. Getchell; Henrietta A., who is a clerk in the bank at Williston,
North Dakota: Clara Belle, the wife of T. Piatt Williams, of Pocatellii, Idaho: Flora F., at
home: and Kdwin A. R.. also under the parental roof.
The parents are members of All Saints Kpiscopal church. ,Iudge Irgens' record is
certainly one of which he has every reason to be proud, as public opinion has placed its stamp
of approval upon his record at seven different elections. In politics he is a republican. He is
a member of the Masonic order, having taken the blue lodge, chapter and commandery
degrees, and he is also a member of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is recorder in the
commandery and secretary of the chapter and blue lodge. He is also a member of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has held some offices in this society. Abraham Lincoln
said: "You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the
time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time," and the career of Judge Irgens
with his six reelections indicates clearly that his course has justified public confidence and
that he has stood for the highest standards of law and order, not forgetting that the
purpose of the law is not only to protect the law-abiding citizen but to reclaim the erring
one as well as to punish him, and thus he always tempers justice with mercy, making a
strong appeal to the best instincts of the individual.
PETER MADISON.
Peter Madison, wiio is residing on section 22, Harwood township, has gained a gratifying
measure of success as a farmer. He wiis born in Sweden on the 22d of May, 1850, a son of
Mr. and Mrs. Matthias Madison, but his mother died when he was an infant, and he has
no recollection of her. In 1873 he came to the United States as he had heard much con-
cerning the unusually good opportunities which this country offers to an energetic and
industrious young man. He located in Diiluth. Minnesota, where he worked on lake boats
for a time and later was emploj-ed at ofT-bearing for brick and stone masons. In 1874,
however, he came to Dakota territory, settling at Fargo, and for seven years he was
employed there at plastering and building. He then turned his attention to farming and
worked for S. V. Hoag for one year, after which he took up as a homestead the farm on
which he still lives. Subsequently he bought eighty acres of land and liis holdings now
total two hundred and forty acres, all of which is well improved. Through the intervening
years he has worked diligently and as he has followed up-to-date methods and has managed
his affair.i well his resources have constantly increased. He owns stock in the Fartners
Elevator Company and in the Independent Harvester Company.
In 1881 ilr. Madison was united in marriage to Miss Mary ilarguerite Peterson, also a
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA _ 25
native of Sweden, t^-Iio came to this country in 1880. They have become the parents of
eight children: Albin, a rancher of Montana; Nellie, the wife of A. T. Ostrom, also a resident
of that state; Emil and Ralph, at home; Lillian, who is employed by the Ford Motor Com-
pany at Fargo; and Estelle, Myrtle and Walter, all at home.
Mr. Madison is an adherent of the republican party and for several years served as a
member of the school board. Both he and his wife are affiliated with the Swedish Baptist
church and in their religious faith is found the guiding force of their lives. When
Mr. Madison came to the United States he was without money, but he possessed ambition,
enterprise and sound judgment and the exercise of these qualities has enabled him to gain
a gratifying measure of success.
FRANIC W. ROACH.
Frank W. Roach, vice president of the Second National Bank of Minot. is one of the
coterie of enterprising and substantial men who are officers of the bank and have made it
one of the strong moneyed institutions of that part of the state. He was born at Castle
Rock, Minnesota, March 19, 1871, a son of Joseph and Eleanor S. (Clague) Roach, repre-
sented elsewhere in this work.
Frank W. Roach attended the public schools of Northfield, Minnesota, and afterward
continued his education in the Shattuck Military Academy at Faribault, Minnesota. When
twenty years of age he engaged in the grain business at Castle Rock and there remained
for two years, on the expiration of which period he removed to Minot, where for three years
he was an active representative of the grain trade. He then became associated with his
father in the live stock business, in which he continued until 1908, when he entered the
Second National Bank as teller. He has since concentrated his energies upon the banking
business and in .January, 1914, was elected vice president and a director, in which capacities
he is now serving. He is a man of marked business ability and enterprise and in addition
to his other interests is connected with the Denbigh Brick Company, of Denbigh, North
Dakota, as a director and is also the owner of considerable land in this state.
On the 19th of February, 1907, Mr. Roach was married to Miss Florence E. Waggoner,
who was bom at Dubuque, Iowa, a daughter of Henry H. and Eleanor (Forney) Waggoner.
Her father was born in the east and following his removal to the west engaged in farming
and merchandising and in the undertaking business. Both he and his wife have now
passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Roach have become the parents of a son, Frank Waggoner, who
was born in August, 1911.
Fraternally Mr. Roach is well known as a representative of Masonry. He belongs to
the lodge at Minot, also to the chapter and commandery there, and to the Mystic Shrine at
Grand Forks. His fraternal connections extend to the Elks and the Knights of Pythias lodges
of Minot. His religious faith is that of the Episcopal church and his political belief that of
the republican party, but he does not desire nor seek office, as he has ever felt the pursuits
of private life in themselves abundantly worthy of his best efforts. Concentration of
purpose, close application and indefatigable energy have been the salient features in his
growing success, enabling him to advance from point to point in his business career until he
is now numbered among the substantial citizens of Minot.
AUGUST BERGMAN.
August Bergman, of Wahpeton, who has made such an excellent record as clerk of the
courts that he Las been three times reelected to that office, in which he is now serving, was
born on the 31st of December, 1874. His parents, Herman and Anna (HoefTken) Bergman,
were both natives of Germany, the former born in 1831 and the latter in 1836. The paternal
grandfather died when his son Herman was but a small boy, but the maternal grandfather,
Gerhard Hoeffken. also a native of Germany, came to the United States and located at
26 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Norwood, Minnesota, wlicie lie engaged in fiuniing. Tlic parents of our subject were
married in Germany and in tlie same month emigrated to the United States, making their
way to Norwood, Minnesota, wliere tliey lived until called to their final rest. The father
homesteaded land, which he farmed for many 'years, but eventually, having accumulated a
competence, he retired. In early manhood he voted the republican ticket, but later became a
democrat. His religious faith was that of the Evangelical chuich. When he came to this
country he had no capital, but his energy and sound judgment enabled him to win success,
lie passed away in 1911 and was suiVived by his wife for but a year. They were the
parents of eight children: Herman, who conducts a lumberyard in Kulm, North Dakota;
Gerhard, a grain buyer at Hankinson, North Dakota; Henry, who is a flour, feed and grain
buyer at Norwood, Minnesota; Fred, who is foreman in a linseed oil mill of Minneapolis;
"William, a truck farmer living near Minneapolis; Jacob, of Glencoe, Minnesota, who is now
serving as county treasurer; Lizzie, the wife of Peter Plankers, who is foreman in the
Ornamental Iron Works at Minneapolis; and August.
The last named was reared at home and attended the public schools of Norwood and
■(ilencoe, Jlinnesota. During the summer uuinths he worked upon the home farm and after
leaving school continued to follow agric\iltural pursuits until he was sixteen years of age,
when he removed to Stiles, North Dakota, and found employment as clerk in a store. He
remained connected with mercantile pursuits for many years, but in 1910 was elected
clerk of the courts, in which office he is still serving by reelection. He is systematic
and accurate in his work and his record is one of which he has just cause to be proud.
On the 23d of November, 1894, Mr. Bergman was united in maniage to Miss Mary
.Tereszek, a native of Winona, Minnesota, by whom he has two children, William Kdward
and Lillian Anna, both of whom are teaching.
Mr. Bergman holds membership in the Catholic church and in the Woodmen of the
World and in Fergus Falls Lodge, No. 1093, B. P. 0. E., of Fergus Falls. Ho is an
adherent of the democratic party and since becoming of age has taken" an active part
in politics. He is widely known and highly respected throughout the county.
ALEXANDER McDONALD.
Ah'.xander McDonald was connected with agricultural interests in Cass county for a
considerable period but is now operating the oil station in the village of Gardner. He was
born in Canada, August 19, 1855, and is a son of John and Margaret (Sterling) McDonald,
both of whom were natives of Scotland. They came to Canada about 1823 and there lived
throughout their remaining days, rearing their family of eleven children, eight of whom
survive.
Alexander McDonald spent his ynutliful days in his native country and is indebted to
the public school system for the educational opportunities which he enjoyed. He remained in
Canada to the age of twenty-four years and in 18T9 made his way from that country to
North Dakota, at which time he took up his abode upon the farm in Cass county that h"
still owns, comprising three hundred and twenty acres of land on section 10, Gardner town-
ship. This was then a pioneer region and there was little evidence that the work of iniprove-
ment and progress had been begun. With characteristic energy he began to till the soil and
develop his fields and as time passed he added many improvements to the property, which
he converted into a productive and valuable farm. Year after year he carried on the task
of plowing, planting and harvesting and gathered rich crops, but at length he put aside the
work of the field and removed to Gardner, where for one year he engaged in merchandising.
.•\t the end of that time he took the oil station which ho has since operated and has built
up a good b\isiness in this connection.
In 1SS3 Mr. McDonald was united in marriage to Miss Kate Curry, a native of Canada
and a daughter of John and Margaret Curry. To them have been born two children, namely:
William .J., who lives on the homestead place; and Margaret May, who is still with her
parents.
Mr. McDonald is a republican in his political views and that he is a loyal, faithful and
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 27
capable officer is indicated in the fact tliat he has served as supervisor for twenty years.
He has also been a member of the school board and is a warm friend of the cause of education.
He belongs to the Yeomen lodge and the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and in both has
filled all of the chairs. He has never had occasion to regret leaving his native country and
seeking the opportunities offered in the growing northwest, for here he found good business
chances and in their utilization has worked his way steadily upward.
EDWARD S. PERSON.
The financial interests which center at Minot are carefully guarded by men who
recognize their responsibilities and are well qualified for the discharge of their duties.
Amojig this number is Edward S. Person, the president of the Union National Bank and
as its executive head he is directing its policy so as to most carefully safeguard the interests
of depositors and at the same time promote the success of the institution. A native of
Minnesota, he was born at Zumbrota, March 7, 1873, his parents being George and Mary
(Boyles) Person. The father's birth occurred in the state of Vermont, December B, 1833,
and the mother was born in Maine, March 6, 1S36. In early manhood Mr. Person engaged
in the hardware business and devoted the greater part of his after life to that trade. In
1857 he became a resident of Minnesota, which was then a frontier state. In the spring
of that year the town of Zumbrota started and he cast in his lot with its first settlers,
<;ontinuing his residence there until his death, which occurred in the year 1907. Mrs. Person
passed away in Minot November 30, 1915, and was interred in Zumbrota cemetery.
Edward S. Person, the second in order of birth in a family of three children, pursued
his education in the public schools of Zumbrota and when he reached the age of eighteen
years started out in the banking business as a clerk, securing a position in October, 1890,
in the old Bank of Zumbrota, with which he was connected for three years. He was after-
ward elected assistant cashier of the First State Bank of Zumbrota and in 1900 was advanced
to the position of cashier, continuing in that position until January, 1907. At that date
he arrived in Minot and accepted the position of cashier in the Union National Bank, which
position he filled for two years, or until 1009, when he was chosen vice president of the
institution. Later he was elected to the presidency and has since continued in that
capacity. During the nine years of his connection with this bank his labors have been an
element in its growing success and in the establisliment of its well deserved reputation as
one of the substantial and reliable moneyed institutions of the state. Mr. Person also
owns considerable land in North Dakota and is operating a farm near Minot, on which
he resides through the summer months. He is there engaged in breeding registered
Belgian horses and Guernsey cattle, keeping a number of pure bred stock, owning at the
present time the champion cow of the state, Lura Bettina, which produced six hundred
and twenty-three pounds of butter fat in 1914 by the official test as put forth by the
Agricultural College of North Dakota. The following year she made the remarkable
record of fourteen thousand, two and two-hundredths pounds of milk and seven hundred and
thirty-nine and fifty-eight hundredths pounds of butter fat.
On the 2d of April. 1903, Mr. Person was married to Miss Stella H. Holland, who was
born on a farm near Zumbrota, a daughter- of Stanford and Julia (Allen) Holland, who
were also early settlers of Minnesota, natives of New York and New Hampshire respec-
tively. The father was a farmer by occupation, but at the time of the Civil war put
aside all personal interests and considerations to join the army, becoming a private in the
Seventh Minnesota Volunteer Regiment. He returned home uninjured and Iiis remaining
days were spent at Zumbrota. His widow still survives and is now living at Long Prairie,
Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Person have one child, Elizabeth Stella, born September 30, 1911.
Mr. Person is a prominent representative of the Masonic fraternity. He is a past
master of his lodge, is the present eminent commander of the Knights Templar commandery
at Minot and is a member of Kem Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., at Grand Forks. He also has
an interesting military chapter in his life record. In November, 1887, he enlisted in the
National Guard of Minnesota as a member of Company D of the Third Regiment and
28 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
was advanced through various grades and was elected captain in 1893. Five years after-
ward he was promoted to the rank of major. In 1898 lie was mustered into the United
States service as a major of tlie Fourteentli Minnesota Infantry during the Spanish-
American war, being stationed at Cliiclianiauga, Georgia, and at Knoxville, Tennessee,
until mustered out in November of tlio same year. In 1907 when he moved to North Dakota
lie retired from the Minnesota National Guard, but is still on the list of its retired
officers. It was in August, 1908. that lie enlisted as a private of Company D of the First
North Dakota Regiment, was elected captain of the company in February, 1909, and was
transferred to the supernumerary list in 1912. In his political views Mr. Person has
always been a republican, believing that the adoption of the principles of that party
Avould insure safety and permanency in public affairs. He was the first president of the
Minot Association of Commerce and is now a director thereof. No duty or obligation
resting upon him has been neglected in the slightest degree and whether in public service
or in private life ho stands for all that is most worth while in his city and state.
NEWTON K. HUBBARD.
It is not difficult to speak of the late Newton K. Hubbard, of Fargo, for his life and
his character were as clear as the sunlight. No man came in contact with him but speedily
appreciated liini at his true worth and knew ho was a man who not only cherished a high
ideal of duty, but who lived up to it. He constantly labored for the right and from his
earliest youth devoted a large portion of his time to the service of others. He became a
pioneer settler of North Dakota and was closely associated with many movements which
led to the rapid and substantial growth and development of the state. He knew the experi-
ences of pioneer life and he lived to enjoy the fruits of settlement and. civilization when
North Dakota was transformed from a wilderness into a great commonwealth. His busi-
ness activities were put forth along various lines, his political work was effective and his
influence on the side of righteousness, justice and truth counted for much.
Mr. Hubbard was a native of Massachusetts, his birth having occurred at Agawam,
Hanipilcn county, on the 17th of December, 1839. He lacked but one day of reaching the
Psalmist's allotted span of three score years and ten when deatli claimed him on the IGth
of December, 1909. His parents were George J. and Marian (Adams) Hubbard, natives of
Massachusetts and Connecticut, respective!}'. It is said that his father, who was a pros-
perous and well-known farmer of Agawam, was noted for his business ability and his force
of character. He passed his entire life in New England and was a typical citizen of that
region. His grandfather. Captain George Hubbard, who was born in Middletown, Conecti-
cut, served with the Connecticut line in the Revolutionary war and thereby won his title.
After mastering the braiiclios of learning taught in the common schools of Massachusetts,
Newton K. Hubbard continued his education in the Providence Conference College of East
Greenwich, Rhode Island, and when his textbooks were put aside he went to Painesville, Ohio,
where he was teaching a district scluinl when the excitement in the Pcnnsjlvania oil fields
attracted his attention. He wrote to his father that he believed he might make profitable
investment in oil if the father would send him a thousand dollars, but before the check reached
him, as it did later, the Civil war had been inaugurated and Newton Hubbard felt that his first
duty was to his country. He therefore returned his father's check, stating at the same time
that on the 22d of April, 1861. he had responded to the call for troops to aid in the defense
of the Union and had cnli.sted at Painesville, Ohio, as a private, for three months' service
with Company D, Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry. On the 19th of .Tune following he reen-
listed for three years' service and was promoted to the rank of corporal. On the 26th of
August, 1861, he was captured at the battle of Cross Lanes, Virginia, together with two
oiriecrs and one hundred and fifteen enlisted men and for nine months and six days was
lield as a prisoner of war, being incarcerated for different periods at Richmond, Virginia,
New Orleans, Louisiana, and Salisbury, North Carolina, so that he had all of the hard and
bitter experiences of the southern prison pens. In January, 1863, he was exchanged and
rejoining bis regiment participated in the battles of Cliancellorsville, Virginia; Gettysburg,
NKWTON K. HUBBARD
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 31
Pennsylvania; Lookout Mountain, Tennessee; Missionary Ridge, Tennessee; Ringgold, Dalton,
Rocky Face Ridge and Dallas, Georgia.
At the close of his three years' term Mr. Hubbard was mustered out on the 6th of
July, 1864, with the rank of sergeant major of his regiment. He was appointed purveyor
of General Casements' brigade and thereafter remained in Raleigh, North Carolina, until
hostilities had ceased. He opened the first store in Raleigh after the Union troops were
sent to that city but a few months later sold out, for the sectional feeling was so great
as not only to render his stay unpleasant, but also to place his life in jeopardy.
Returning to Ohio, Mr. Hubbard opened a store in Geneva, which he profitably conducted
until the spring of 1870, when he disposed of his stock there and became identified with
the development of the northwest, proceeding first to Duluth, Minnesota. The Northern
Pacific Railroad was then being built and its construction meant the opening of the great
territory to the west. Mr. Hubbard possessed the pioneer spirit and felt that here was
the chance for wise and judicious investment. He went to Georgetown, Minnesota, accom-
panied by L. H. Tennj^ making the trip on horseback from St. Cloud. It had been inti-
mated that Georgetown would probably be the place where the Northern Pacific road would
cross the Red river. During the summer Mr. Hubbard received a dispatch from Pitt Cooke,
brother of Jay Cooke, that the Northern Pacific crossing of the Red river would be at the
mouth of Elm river, about twenty miles north of Georgetown. Therefore, with several
companions who had been waiting for this information, he went immediately to Elm river,
where he and the others took government claims and built log cabins. On returning to the
claim after a two months' trip in the east he found that it had been jumped. There was
a man occupying the cabin who demanded six hundred dollars before he would give posses-
sion. Mr. Hubbard replied that he could keep the claim, for in the meantime he had learned
that the railroad crossing would be moved twenty-seven miles south to what is now Moor-
head, Minnesota. Elm river was therefore abandoned and the prospectors made their way
to Moorhead. securing such land as they could in that vicinity.
Mr. Hubbard embraced every opportunity for business development that was offered
by the conditions of the west. In the spring of 1871 he opened a store in a tent at Oak
Lake, now Lake Park, Minnesota, and there with a stock of general merchandise he fur-
nished supplies to the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, having hauled his goods by ox
teams from St. Cloud. As the railroad was extended he followed the line and under the
firm name of Hubbard & Raymond successfully carried on business at Brainerd, Glyndon,
Moorhead and .Jamestown. After two years the partnership was dissolved, while Mr. Hub-
bard concentrated his interests at Moorhead. The Indian land located on the west side of the
river at Fargo was not open for actual settlement until 1873, at which time Mr. Hubbard
became purchaser of the first two business lots sold in the city and after disposing of his
store in Moorhead took up his permanent abode in Fargo, where he embarked in merchan-
dising, admitting his former bookkeeper, E. S. Tyler, to a partnership. From that time
forward he was a most active, prominent and influential factor in the upbuilding and develop-
ment of the city. In the spring of 1874 the firm purchased the furniture of the Headquar-
ters Hotel, which had been begun by the railroad company in 1871 and was completed the
following year. W. A. Carson was placed in charge of the hotel, which, however, was destroyed
by fire three months later. The failure of Jay Cooke in 1873 brought temporary embarrass-
ment to railroad operations in the west and caused business to be slack in many lines, but
after getting the concessions asked for, the firm of Hubbard & Tyler rebuilt the hotel in
sixty days at a cost of twenty thousand dollars. Its reopening was the occasion of great
festivity, and for years afterward it remained the social center of the town and surrounding
country.
Into other fields of activity Hubbard & Tyler extended their efforts. In the back part
of their store they conducted the banking business of the town and cared for the express
business, and when in 1878 capitalists from Racine, Wisconsin, visited Fargo, Mr. Hubbard
joined them in organizing and establishing the First National Bank, of which he became the
first vice president, remaining as one of its directors from the beginning until failing health
compelled him to withdraw twenty years later. It was characteristic of him that he never
hesitated to take a forward step when the way was open and he readily recognized and util-
ized opportunities that others passed heedlessly by. When financial resources permitted he
52 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
opened a store in Casselton in the early '80s and erected several brick business blocks there,
also becoming a director of the Cass County National Bank at Casselton, in which connec-
tion he continued until his demise. The town of Hunter sprang into existence as the result
of his enterprising spirit and business ability, for he bought and platted the townsite on
the Great Northern Railroad and he became the proprietor of the first stores in Blancliard
and Mayville, North Dakota, shipping the lumber for the buildings on the first flat car
that entered the towns. In 1881 he organized and became president of the Goose River
Bank of Mayville, a private banking institution, conducted under the name of N. K. Hub-
bard & Company. This was successfully conducted by him for ten yours, when ill health
forced him to sell out. The bank, however, remains as one of the substantial financial insti-
tutions of the state. In addition to all of liis other interests Mr. Hubbard became an investor
in lands, making extensive purchases of choice farm projjerty in Minneosta and North
Dakota. As the cultivation of wheat increased he entered the grain trade as a member Of
the firm of Hubbard & Gibbs, with headquarters at Fargo, and he also gave much time
to his real-estate operations, handling, however, only his own property. His keen sagacity
enabled him to recognize every advantage of the state and he became one of the organizers
and the first president of the Fargo vSouthern Railroad Company, which is now the brancli
line of the Chicago, Jlilwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, extending to the capital.
In 1876 Jlr. Hubbard was married to Miss Elizabeth Clayton, daughter of David B. and
Mary A. (Hitchcock) Clayton, of Painesville, Ohio. One daughter, Mabel Louise, was born
to them. She was married July 10, 1912, to Lieutenant Walter W. Lorshbough of tlie
United States navy.
In his political views Mr. Hubbard was long a stalwart republican and in 1894 was
prominently mentioned in connection with the candidacy for governor of his state, but his ill
health would not allow him to entertain the idea. He was a political leader but never an
office seeker. He fearlessly spoke his views and his position was never an equivocal one.
He was one of the four delegates from Dakotr. to the Chicago convention, which nominateu
Benjamin Harrison for tlie presidency, and for eight years he served on the board of direc-
tors of the State Asylum for the Insane. No one doubted his position on the temperance
question. He frankly and fearlessly advocated the cause and he stood for reform and improve-
ment in politics, in governmental affairs and in all those things which touch the general
interests of society and affect the welfare of mankind. Of him a contemporary biographer
Tias written: "In all his dealings Mr. Hubbard was noted for his fairness as well as for
his splendid business ability. He was a man of ripe judgment, strict integrity and displayed a
fearlessness in doing right that won for him the confidence of all his associates. • • •
He was a good soldier to the last, fighting a good fight, enduring his physical limitations
and almost constant pain and weariness with the same gixjd cheer, patience and heroic
optimism that was his chief characteristic." While he was at the head of large business
interests which he managed successfully, yet it was his rule to set apart some time each
day for the labors of love to which he was so devoted. His friends miss him, but the memory
of his sweet and beautiful life, of his sincerity and simplicity, will not be forgotten. He
laid down his task in the twilight of the day, when all that he had to do had been nobly,
beautifully and fully completed.
GEORGE R. COOK.
In every comnmnity and in every phase of activity there arc a few men who stand
■out as leaders and by general consent George R. Cook is one of the foremost business
men of Gardner and of Cass county. He owns a large general store, is president of the
Gardner State Rank and also holds title to valuable real estate. His birth occurred in
Portage, Wisconsin, on the 18th of .lannary, 1855, and he is a son of Sanuiel and Mary
(Williams) Cook, both natives of England. They were reared in tliat country and there
their marriage occurred, but in 1815 they emigrated to the United States and settled
in Portage, Wisconsin. Although the f.ather was a wagon maker by trade, after his re-
moval to this country he devoted his attention mainly to farming. In 1802 he removed
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 33
with his family to the vicinity of Rochester, Minnesota, where he lived until his demise
in December, 1914, at the venerable age of ninety-four years and six months. His wife
is still living and has also reached a notable old age, as she is now in her ninetieth year.
George R. Cook grew to manhood under the parental roof and received his education
in the district schools of Minnesota. In 1880, the year following his marriage, he came to
what is now the state of North Dakota and took up a homestead in Wiser township, Cass
county, on which he resided for twelve years. In December, 1892, he removed to Gardner,
where lie had conducted a butcher shop for some time previously, killing his meat on the
farm and marketing it in Gardner. Later he entered the drug business and some time
afterward, recognizing an excellent business opportunity, he added a stock of general mer-
chandise and has since conducted a general store. In 1909 his building was destroyed
by fire, but in the following jear he rebuilt and his store is not only one of the largest,
but also one of the most up-to-date and completely equipped one in Gardner township.
In 1908 he organized the State Bank of Gardner, of which he has continuously served as
president, and the gratifying growth of the business of the institution has been in a large
measure due to his ability and to the care which he has given to the conduct of the bank.
In addition to the important interests which have already been mentioned he owns the
townsite of Gardner, comprising eighty acres; Six hundred and forty acres of excellent
farm land in Gardner township; and a section of land in eastern Colorado. It is needless
to say that he is a man of independent means and an important factor in the business
and commercial life of his county.
Mr. Cook was married in Minnesota in 1S79 to Miss Evelyn Mitchell, and to them
were born seven children, six of whom survive: Claude John, who owns the garage and
blacksmith shop in Gardner; Erma Ann, the wife of John A. McDonald, of Wheatland,
Wyoming; Roy Gould, who is an owner of Porterfield & Company, an incorporated drug
company of Fargo; Maidie Blanch, the wife of Karl L. Hjort, an attorney of Hillsboro, this
state; Glenn Mitchell who is manager of his father's store and is also serving as post-
master of Gardner and who married Miss Beulah Buckholtz; and Tedd William, at home. •
Mr. Cook is a stalwart republican and is the present efficient clerk of the town board.
For seventeen years he was postmaster of Gardner and in all of his official capacities he
has manifested the same good judgment and enterprise which have characterized him in the
conduct of his private business affairs. His wife is a member of the Congregational church,
which Mr. Cook attends and to the support of which he contributes generousl}'. In attain-
ing success he has scrupulously lived up to high standards of commercial ethics, and his
integrity and probitj' have gained him the sincere respect of all who have come in contact
with him.
SOREN J. RASMUSSEN.
Soren J. Rasmussen has been manager of the loan department of the Second National
Bank of Minot since 1913 and his business affairs are wisely and capably conducted, con-
tributing much to the success of the institution, of which he is now a representative.
He was born in Bergen, Norway, January 13, 1866, a son of N. C. and Johanna (Johnson)
Rasmussen, who were likewise natives of the land of the midnight sun. In early man-
hood the father engaged in the hat business and continued active therein, occupying the
same building until a recent date, when he retired from business. He started upon his
biisiness career as a barefoot boy and through his own labor, diligence and determination
worked his way upward until he became one of the prosperous merchants and leading
business men of his city. He also held various local offices and contributed in large
measure to the material, municipal and political progress of his city.
Soren J. Rasmussen was the eldest of a family of fifteen children. He pursued his
education in the schools of Bergen, Norway, and after completing his course there studied
for a year in Hamburg, Germany. He was a youth of eighteen years, when in 1884 he
bade adieu to friends and native land and sailed for America, arriving in Chicago in 1884.
There he remained for a few months, after which he removed to River Falls, Wisconsin,
34 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
where lie was employed in a store for three years. In 1887 he returned to Norway on a
visit and when he again came to the new world he made his way to River Falls, where he
secured employment in a bank as bookkeeper and teller. Later he became director and
assistant cashier and there continued until 1898, when he removed to Starbuck, Minne-
sota, and became actively interested in the banking business there as president and
manager of the Bank of Starbuck. For six years he directed the policy of that bank, but
in 1904 sold out and purchased a controlling interest in the First National Bank at
Perhani. Minnesota. Not liking conditions there he afterwards disposed of his stock
and in 1905 removed to North Dakota, settling at Carpio, where he became president of
the First National Bank of that city. He there spent six years and he still retains his in-
terest in the business as a large stockholder and as president of the bank, but in the fall
of 1911 he removed to Minot and became connected with the Second National Bank, acting
as manager of its loan department since 1913. He has had extensive and varied experi-
ence in the banking business and is familiar with every phase thereof. He readily and
successfully solves intricate financial problems and his success is the result of a ready
discrimination between the essential and the non-essential. He has become an extensive
land owner of the state, but has his land rented, while he devotes his entire time to
his interests at Minot and Caq)io. •
On the 7th of April, 1895, Mr. Rasmusscn was united in marriage to Miss Lu Gibbs,
who was born at River Falls, Wisconsin, a daughter of Moses and Mary (McGow) Gibbs,
both now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Rasmussen have become parents of two children: John,
who is attending the University of North Dakota; and Mary, who is a pupil in the high
school at Minot.
Fraternally Mr. Rasmussen is connected with the Masons, holding membership with the
lodge and the chapter at River Falls. He is also identified with the Modern Woodmen of
America. His political allegiance is given to the republican party but he has never sought
nor filled political offices. He has served, however, as president of the school board at
Carpio and that he is interested in the moral progress of the community is indicated in the
fact that he is a member of the Lutheran church. He has never regretted his determination
to seek his fortune in the new world, for in this country he found good business opportunities
and in their utilization has worked his way steadily upward. He early realized that in
America labor is king and that the enviable title which this king bestows is that of "self-
made man."
GUNDER HOWARD.
Gunder Howard has built up a large business as a dealer in agricultural implements in
Hillsboro and is also one of the most extensive landowners of the county, owning sixteen
hundred acres of fine land in North Dakota and Minnesota. He has not only been con-
nected with the agricultural and business interests of his locality, but he has also taken
an active part in public affairs, having represented his district in the state legislature.
Mr. Howard was born in Fyrisdal, Norway, on the 28th of August, 1855, a son of
Gunderson and Anna (Bcndikson) Howard. The father passed away in his native land
but the mother emigrated to the United States with her four sons in 1872. She located
on a preemption claim in Clay county, Minnesota, near Moorhead, where she remained
until 1882, when she came to Hillsboro. She is still living here and is held in the highest
esteem by all who knew her. Three of her sons are also living, namely: Gunder; Ole,
who is associated with our subject in business; and Jorgen, a resident of Kildeer, North
Dakota.
Gunder Howard received the greater part of his education in Norway, attending the
7)iiblic and high schools there. After coming to the United States he only attended
school for eighteen days. Soon after his arrival in Minnesota he squatted on a claim ad-
joining that of his mother and later proved up on that place as a preemption. Until 1875
he divided his time between farming and steamboating, being employed on boats running
between Moorhead and Winnipeg. In the fall of 1875 he entered the employ of Barrett &
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 35
Company of Fargo as a salesman of farm implements and remained witli them until the
tall of 1880. During that time he had become thoroughly familiar with the implement
business and decided to establish a store of his own. He came to Hillsboro and founded
liis present business, wliich has developed into one of the leading commercial enterprises
of Traill county. He carries a large stock of the best farm machinery made, understands
the points of superiority of each line liandled and is able to assist his patrons in choosing
the implements best fitted for their purposes. He recognizes tlie fact that real estate
is an excellent investment and that as the public land has been largely taken up realty
values are certain to increase and he has invested lieavily in land both in tliis state and in
Minnesota, owning in all sixteen lamdred acres.
In 1899 Mr. Howard was united in marriage to Miss Andrea Treet, wlio was born in
Norway but came to this country with her parents when five or six years of age, the
family home being established atvMoorhead, Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Howard have four
chiidren, Ellen, Ruth, Bernice and Gertrude.
Mr. Howard supports the republican party and is recognized as a leader in local
political circles. In 1897 and 1898 he represented his district in the state legislature and
his record as a member of that body was highly creditable to his insight into public affairs
and his devotion to the general good. He has also served in local offices, having been an
alderman of Hillsboro for several terms and having served as president of the school board
for years. He has had much to do in promoting the advancement of his community along
material and also along civic lines, and he holds the high esteem and the warm regard of
all who have been closely associated with him.
HENRY LARSON.
Henrj' Larson, residing on section 12, Gardner township, is one of those who since
pioneer times have contributed much toward the development of Cass county and who have
also gained individual success. He owns eight hundred acres of excellent land and is one
of the foremost citizens of his township. A native of Denmark, he was born on the 5th
of April, 1845, a son of Lars and Maren Cliristina (Hanson) Hendrickson. The father
died in Denmark in 1863, and five years later the mother came to the United States and
during the remainder of her life made her home with her two sons, Henry and Hans. She
passed away at tlie home of our subject in April. 1888, at the advanced age of eighty-
three years.
Henry Larson was educated in tlie public schools of Denmark and remained in that
country until 1866, when, as a young man of twenty-one years, he emigrated to the
United States, coming by way of Quebec and New York city. He continued his journey
westward and settled at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Not long afterward he spent some time in
Kansas and Missouri, but returned to Oshkosh in the summer of 1867. He was variously
employed there, sailing on Lake Winnebago and working in the lime kilns, in the lumber
and shingle mills and in the gas works until May. 1870, wlien he came to Dakota territory.
From Sioux City, Iowa, he made his way on foot through Vermilion and Yankton to Fort
Randall. There they were rebuilding the fort and on his applying for work he was asked
if he could burn lime. He replied that he had just come from the lime kilns and was
immediately given work. Not having a kiln, he dug a hole in the ground and burned about
eight hundred barrels at a cost of sixty cents a barrel. The contractor who was furnishing
the lime brought it from Sioux City and had the contract at six dollars per barrel.
In the spring of 1871 Mr. Larson went to Yankton and purchased a team of mules,
with which he started for what is now North Dakota on the 6th of April, arriving on the
Sheyenne river in what is now Cass county in the latter part of that month. He took up a
squatter's claim, the present southwest quarter of section 10, Harwood township, and he
made his home upon that place for a number of years. The country was at that time
sparsely settled conditions of life were in all respects those of a frontier region. His
wife missed the comforts and conveniences of an older settled district and returned to
Oshkosh, where our subject, joined her in the fall of 1873. He remained there for about a
36 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
year, when he again came to North Dakota, driving through with a four horse team, and
not long afterward his family followed him. When the land was formally opened for
settlement ilr. Larson filed soldier's additional rights on his claim and in 1878 took up a tree
claim which is liis present home farm. In the following year he filed on a homestead,
upon which he lived until he had secured his iiatent thereto, when he removed to the tree
claim, which is nearer town and which alforded his children better school advantages. In
the intervening years he has bought three hundred and twenty acres and his present
holdings total eight hundred acres, a quarter section in Wiser township, a quarter section
in Harwood township and three-quarter sections in Gardner township. He also owns stock
in the Tarmers Cooperative Store of Gardner and in the Independent Harvester Company.
In 1868 Mr. Larson was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Connors, a native of Ireland,
and they became the parents of a son, Arthur, who is now farming in Clay county, Jlinne-
sota. The wife and mother died in 18!)5 and in 1897 Mr. Larson married Miss Carrie
Kishcrt. a native of Norway, and they have become the parents of six children, namely.
Frank, at home; Charles, who is farming his father's place in Harwood township; ami
Albert, Mary, William and John, at home.
Mr. Larson supports the measures and candidates of the republican |)aity at the
polls and for twenty-eiglit years served as a member of the board of township trustees,
his long retention i)roving the acceptability of his services. He is at present a member
of the Cass county drainage board. Fraternally he is identified with the American Yeomen,
and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran
cliurch, and he assisted in the building of the Norwegian Lutheran church in Wiser, which
he and his wife attend. He also gave generously to the building fund of the Congregational
church in Gardner, as he recognizes the fact that all denominations have the same aims
and work in behalf of the same cause.
WILLIS S. ADAMS.
Willis S. Adams, cashier of thct First National Bank of Lisbon, is well known to his
fellow townsmen, for his entire life has been passed in that city, his birth having there
occurred April 27, 1887. His parents are Henry K. and Frances (Sage) Adams. His
father was born on a farm near Union Grove, Wisconsin, and was the son of a physician,
who wlien Henry K. Adams was two years of age removed with his family to the city of
Union Grove, where the boy was reared and there remained until he entered Beloit
College, from which he was subsequently graduated. He accepted a position as book-
keeper in the Manufacturers Bank of Racine and through close attention to duty and
marked capability be worked his way upward to the position of assistant cashier. The
opportunities of the northwest attracted him and in 1883 he removed to Lisbon, North
Dakota, where, in company with his cousin, R. S. Adams, he organized the Ransom County
State Bank, which was nationalized about three years later under the name of the First
National Bank. From the beginning Henry K. Adams served as cashier until he retired in
1914 on account of ill health, which was brought on by an automobile accident which he
sustained in 1908, causing the loss of one of his legs. He now resides in Minneapolis and
has regained his health.
Willis S. Adams was educated in tlic Lisbon high school and in the University of
Chicago, from which he was gradiuited with the degree Ph. D. as a member of the class
of 1909. Following his graduation he was employed by the firm of Collier & Sons, pub-
lishers, for about eighteen months and then returned to Lisbon, where he entered the First
National Bank as assistant cashier, and after his father's retirement he was elected lashicr on
the 1st of .Tanuary. 1015, and is now acting in that capacity. He is a courteous and
obliging ollicial, carefully safegimrding the interests of the bank and at the same time
putting forth every possible effort to favor and assist its patrons.
In June, 1912, Mr. Adams was married to Miss Gladys Taylor, a daughter of A. B.
Taylor, assistant cashier of the Fargo National Bank, of Fargo, North Dakota. They have
two children, Bruce Kirk and Dean Taylor.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 37
In politics Mr. Adams is a republican, stanch in liis support of the party principlea
but not an aspirant for office. He belongs to the Commercial Club and is a past master of
Slieyenne Valley Lodge, No. 13, F. & A. M., a member of Lisbon Chapter, No. 6, R. A. M.,
Ivanlioe Commandery, No. S. K. T., and El Zagal Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S. He is likewise
a member of the State Panaletic Societj' and of the Sons of the American Revolution,
being eligible through the paternal line. He holds membership in the Presbyterian church,
while his wife is an Episcopalian. They are highly esteemed in Lisbon, where they reside,
and their own home is celebrated for the warm-hearted hospitality that is cordially
extended to their many friends.
JOHN J. LEE.
John J. Lee was formerly busily and actively engaged in general farming in Ward
county, but is now living retired in Jlinot. He was born in Norway near Stavanger,
December 35, 1874, his parents being John and Gertie (Sarhus) Lee, who were likewise
natives of Norway, where they yet retain there residence. The father has devoted his
life to the occupation of farming save for the period when he served in the regular army.
John J. Lee is the third in order of birth in a family of seven children. He attended
school in Norway and continued his education in Illinois and in the Valparaiso (Indiana)
Normal School, in which he remained through one term. He crossed the Atlantic to
America when but fifteen years of age, bringing with him a younger brother, then eleven
years of age. They made their way direct to Illinois, remaining for a time in Livingston
county, where John J. Lee secured employment as a farm hand. He could not speak
English then and he had little business experience or training to qualify him for the heavy
responsibilities which he assumed in providing for his own support and the care of his
brother. He continued a resident of Illinois until about 1897, when he removed to Texas,
settling west of Houston, where he operated a farm for a cousin through a period of two
years. On the expiration of that period he arrived in North Dakota and filed on a home-
stead until he proved upon the property. He afterward entered the employ of a lumber
company, with which lie remained until he was elected sheriff. In 1903 he built the
telephone line from Carpio to Mohall and has done much to further material progress and
upbuilding in this part of the state. He disposed of his business interests when
elected to the office of sheriff, at which time he became a resident of Minot. He occupied
that position for four years and made an excellent record in oflB.ce through his promptness,
efficiency and fidelity. Later he made a visit to Norway, spending the summer of 1909
in his native land. Upon his return he concentrated his attention and energies upon
farming and stock raising and continued the cultivation of eight hundred acres of land
about eight miles southwest of Minot until the year 1915, when he rented the property. In
the fall of 1909 he erected his present residence at No. 424 First street, Northeast, in
Minot and this he now occupies, enjoying the fruits of his former toil, which enables him
to rest from further labor and vet have all the comforts and some of the luxuries of
life.
On the 8th of April, 1905, Mr. Lee was united in marriage to Miss Clara Foss, who was
born in Traill county. North Dakota, a daughter of Olaf and Ellen (Asheim) Foss who were
natives of Norway. Coming to America in early life they settled near Ossian. Iowa, and about
1875 removed to North Dakota, casting in their lot with the early settlers of Traill county,
where they still occupy the old homestead farm. The father has held various local offices
in that locality. Mr. and Mrs Lee have five children: Julfa Gertrude, Olive Ellen, Rakkel,
John Clarence and Irvin Arthur.
Mr. Lee is a worthy member of the blue lodge and chapter of Masonry in Minot. He
also belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Sons of Norway and is
the president of the Sons of Norway Building Assocation. He holds membership in the
Lutheran church and his political allegiance is given to the republican party. For four
years he served as sherifl" of Ward county, was elected a member of the state legislature
in 1911 and served for one term and is at present a member of the city street commission.
38 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
His activities liavo boon a iliiott force in iutlioiiii^i |)iil>lio progress aloii^ matriial, intellec-
tual, political, social and moral lines and his worth to his community is widely recognized by
all who know aught of his career.
KNUTK H. BRUNSDALE.
Knute H. Brunsdalc, one of the prominent figures in the development of North Dakota,
was born in Iowa county, Wisconsin, Jlay 1, 1855, and passed away January 16, 1899.
Although his life record was of comparatively short duration, covering a little less than
forty-four years, he accomplished much in the attainment of success and in his contribution
to the world's work. He was a son of Knute Halverson Brunsdale, who took his family
name from the place of his birtli, the latter syllal)le signifying "dalen" or dale and the first
syllable meaning ''brun" or well. The name, however, has been anglicized in its present
form. The father was born in Norway about 1820 and came to the United States in 1840.
About tlie same time Miss Gunild Olson Veglie crossed the Atlantic and they were subse-
quently married. Representatives of the Brunsdale family in the United States were of
sturdy stock and were fairly well educated and thrifty people. They gave their children all
the advantages of the common schools and as Knute H. Brunsdale was a studious youth he
made the most of his educational privileges. He was also a diligent student of the Bible
and acquired a broad fund of information on scriptural subjects. After completing liis com-
mon school studies he took a business course in a commercial college at La Crosse, Wisconsin,
and in 1882 he came to the territory of Dakota, acquiring land in Steele county. There he
began the work of reclaiming the land from the prairie and met all of the hardships and
privations incident to residence on the frontier, but his labors were wisely, carefully and
systematically directed and brought splendid resvilts as the years went on.
In 18SG Mr. Brunsdale was elected county treasurer of Steele county by a very large
majority and was twice reelected to the office. His efficiency in business methods demon-
strated itself in his organization of the financial system of the county, which was long
remembered by his fellow citizens. He retired from office to resume the pursuits of agricul-
tural life and became one of the foremost farmers of the county, acquiring one and a half
sections of land nine miles west of Hatton. upon which farm he resided until his death,
devoting his time to the further development and improvement of his land, which he con-
verted into a valuable farm property. He was also one of the pioneers in I)anking circles
in North Dakota and in teaching the public those lessons of finance which have made his part
of the state unusually prosperous. He became a leader in local banking circles, figuring
actively in the successful conduct of a number of banking institutions. He was president
of the State Bank of Portland, president of the State Bank of Finley and vice president of
the Goose River Bank, and his sound judgment was a feature in their suceesstyl manage-
ment and control.
At Dccorah, Iowa, on the 29th of May, 1888. ;Mr. Brunsdale was married to Miss Mar-
garet Nordgaard, a daughter of Ncls and Kline Nordgaard. She was born in Norway, June
5, 18G0, a year before her parents came to tlie United States, at which time they made
settlement in Iowa. Mr. and Mrs. Brunsdale became the parents of seven children, of whom
two are deceased. Those who survive are George Elmer. Clarence Norman. Kristian Edward,
Anna Elizabeth and Karl Henry.
The death of the husband and father occurred January 16, 1899, subsequent to which
time Mrs. Brunsdale took charge of the large estate and her administration thereof has
been charaeterized by marked business ability. It is said that the property under her man-
agement has been increased many times in value. She is the presiding genius and active
business manager of the estate, which comprises a very large area of fertile and valuable
farm lands in Steele and Traill counties, besides many other important interests and invest-
ments, over which she holds the stewardship. She was a worthy helpmate to her husband
during his lifetime and has been a capable successor to him in the management of the
business affairs which he left. Mrs. Brunsdale and her family are members of the Eutheran
church and her children have been educated at the Luthpran College. Mr. Brunsdale was
KNUTE H. BRUNSDALE
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 41
always a firm believer in the cause of education and it was his desire that his children should
have excellent advantages along that' line. For several years and up to the time of his
death he was a member of the board of trustees of the State Normal School and an eloquent
tribute was paid his memory by resolutions that were passed by the Normal School board
on the day following his demise. He was a very strong advocate of prohibition and gave
of his time and money in order that North Dakota might enter the Union as a prohibition
state. Everywhere he was known he was spoken of in terms of the highest regard. His
ability brought him prominently before the public in his business relations and his life
record indicated what might be accomplished when determination and energy lead the way.
The integiity of his business methods was unassailable and his life history proved that
success and an honored name may be won simultaneously.
A. G. DIVET.
A. G. Divet, who is a member of the firm of Purcell & Divet. the leading law firm
of Wahpeton, is one of the well known residents of that city. In addition to law practice
he Is serving as a member of the state legislature. A native of Minnesota, he was born
in Byron, Olmsted county, on the 10th of January, 1870, a son of Daniel and Harriet L.
(Sykes) Divet. The father was born in Pennsylvania in 1835 and is still living, but the
mother, whose blith occurred in Canada in 1S45, died in 1906. The paternal grandfather
was Michael Divet, a native of Ireland, who on emigrating to the United States settled first
in Pennsylvania and later in Wisconsin. He was a pioneer of the latter state and there
engaged in farming for many years. His religious faith was that of the Catholic church.
The maternal grandfather, Victor Sykes, was born in Canada but in the early history
of Wisconsin became a resident of that state and there he passed the remainder of his life.
The parents of our subject were married in Minnesota, the father having moved there
from Dane county, Wisconsin, in 1860. In 1879 he and his family came to North Dakota,
settling in Richland county. He engaged in agricultural pursuits and met with gratifying
success in his chosen occupation. In early manhood he went to California and later to
Colorado, where he mined for gold, but later he concentrated his efltorts upon farming. On
removing to this state he took up a homestead and tree claim and later he traded for other
land in this state, becoming in time the owner of two thousand acres of excellent land.
He now resides with a daughter in Morton county at an advanced age, but is still alert
and interested in the happenings of the day. He is unusually well read and during his
active life was a power in his community. In politics he is a stalwart republican. To him
and his wife were born seven children, five of whom are still living, namely: A. G.; Eunice,
the widow of Joseph Glyn, of Morton county, who was a successful farmer; Lorena, who
resides upon the homestead in Morton county; Sykes, who is farming near Hutchinson,
Minnesota; and Walter, of Lisbon, who is court stenographer for his district.
A. G. Divet received his early education in the common schools of Minnesota and North
Dakota and lat^i attended the academy at Madison, AVisconsin. for about two years, after
which he studied law in connection with the discharge of his duties as court reporter,
which office he held for six years. After being admitted to the bar he located at Forman,
this state, for practice, but two years later returned to Wahpeton and become associated in
piactiee with Senator William E. Purcell. As time has passed they have gained prominence
at the bar of the state and the firm of Purcell & Divet is recognized as the leading one in
the city of Wahpeton and the second one in the state. They engage in general practice,
have not only a large but also an important clientage and are known in adjoining states
as well as throughout North Dakota. They are also heavily interested in farming, own-
ing a large ranch near Wahpeton, and it is characteristic of their enterprise and progres-
siveness that they were the first successful alfalfa growers in the state. They carry
on diversified farming, raising corn, oats, wheat, cattle and hogs. They have all the latest
equipment for scientific farming and in their methods utilize the discoveries of investigators
along various phases of farming. In the seven years that they have owned the farm they
have expended thirty-five thousand dollars in improving it, and it is now one of the show
Vol. n— 3
42 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
places ol Kichlaiid county. They manage the farm well and derive a handsome income
therefrom.
Mr. Divet was married in 1S95 to Miss Xora Russell, who was born in Goodhue county,
Minnesota, a daughter of Elijah Russell, a successful merchant. Mr. and Mrs. Divet have
two children; Donovan, who has completed two years of the academic course in the State
University of Minncosta and is now a freshnum in the school of law; and Rushby, who is
sixteen years of age and is in high school.
Mr. and Mrs. Divet belong to the Congregational church, in the work of which they
take an active part. Mr. Divet has been chairman of the board of trustees for many years
and at times has filled pulpits in this section of the state. He is identified with the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows and with the Knights of Pythias, and in the latter organi-
zation has passed through all the chairs. His political allegiance is given to the republican
party and he is recognized as a leader in public alTairs. He is now serving his second term
as a member of the state legislature and is making a creditable record in that capacity,
proving not only public-spirited but also discriminating in his support of or opposition to
various measures. He is not only respected for his ability and esteemed because of his
unquestioned integrity but he is also held in warm personal regard by those who have been
intimately associated with liira.
JAMES FERGUSON.
James Ferguson, of Grandin. is one of the well known elevator men and grain dealers
in his part of the state and is also a member of the firm of O. L. Ferguson & Company,
general merchants. He was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on the 10th of .January, 1S51,
a son of George and Ann (Hall) Ferguson, both natives of Ireland, where they were reared
and married and whence in 1S45 they came to the United States. They located first in Lan-
caster, Pennsylvania, where the father was employed in iron furnaces for a time, but at
length they removed to Henry county, Illinois, where he engaged in farming and where
both he and his wife passed away.
James Ferguson was about four years of age when his parents removed to Henry
county and there he received his education, which was limited, however, as he was never
able to attend school for more than three months during the year after he was put to work
at the plow at the age of nine years. He became thoroughly familiar with agricultural
pursuits and the training which he received inculcated in him industry, self-control and
reliability.
Following his marriage Mr. Ferguson purchased eighty acres of land in Henry county,
Illinois, where he resided until the spring of 1883, when he came to North Dakota, settling
first at Larimore, where, however, he remained but a short time, after which he removed
to Towner county and took up a homestead twelve miles east of Cando. After proving up
on his claim he returned to Larimore and engaged in farming in that vicinity until IS'OO,
when he removed to Grandin and became the manager of the elevator owned by the North-
western Elevator Company. He held that position for twenty-three years and during
that time never lost a day's work — a truly remarkable record. During part of that time
he was also engaged in business for himself, handling the Dcering line of farm machinery,
but for the past ten years he has been associated with his son. Otto L. Ferguson, in the
implement and general merchandising business under the firm name of O. L. Ferguson &
Company. They not only handle all kinds of farm implements but also carry a complete
line of general merchandise and they have gained a gratifying and well deserved patron-
age. For the past two years the subject of this review has had charge of the grain
elevator owned by the JTonarch Elevator Company and his long connection with the grain
trade has made him woU known in business circles of this part of the state.
Tn 1875 Mr. Ferguson married !Miss Hattie A. Totman, of Henry county, Illinois, and
they have become the parents of three children: Otto L.; Lela Estelle, the wife of Ed C.
.\nderson, a real estate agent of Fargo; and Edward M., who is employed in the store of
O. L. Ferguson & Company.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 43
The republican party has in Mr. Ferguson a stalwart adherent, and fraternally he
belongs to Hillsboro Lodge, No. 511, A. F. & A. M., and to the Independent Order of
Foresters. Both he and his wife attend the Presbyterian church and seek to conform their
lives to the teachings of Christianity. Mr. Ferguson is recognized as a man of excellent
judgment and of accurate knowledge of business conditions, and the success which he has
gained is well deserved.
NELS SWENSON.
Norway has furnished a full quota of citizens to North Dakota and they have contrib-
uted in large measure to the development of the state, especially along agricultural lines.
A representative of this class is Nels Swenson, who is engaged in general farming on section
2, Wiser township, Cass county, where he now owns a well improved property of one hun-
dred and sixty acres. He was born in Norway March 6, 1870, a son of Swen and Johanna
Swenson who were likewise natives of the same land. The father died there, but the mother
still makes her home in Norway. Their family numbered but two children, both sons, Nels
and John, who are now residents of Cass county.
Spending his youthful days in his native land, Nels Swenson pursued his education
in the schools of Norway and in 1888, when a youth of eighteen years, sailed for the United
States, for the reports which had reached him concerning the opportunities of the new world
were irresistibly attractive. He journeyed across the country to North Dakota and settled
in Cass county, where for eight years he worked as a farm hand. During that period he
carefully saved his earnings until economy and industry had brought him capital sufficient
to enable him to purchase land and he became owner of one hundred and sixty acres on
section 2, Wiser township. He took up his abode thereon and has since added many improve-
ments. Good machinery facilitates the work of the fields and the farm is in every way
modern in its equipment, while he follows the most progressive methods in the conduct of
the work of the fields. He also owns and operates a tlireshing outfit and thereby is adding
lo his annual income.
In April, 1895, Mr. Swenson was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Berg, who is a
native of Norway and was brought to the United States when but one year old. Her parents
are both deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Swenson have seven children, namely: Oliver, John, Min-
nie, Clarence, Lillie, Stella and Frances.
The parents are members of the Lutheran church and Mr. Swenson gives his political
allegiance to the republican party. He is now serving as one of the school directors and
he is actively and helpfully interested in all plans and projects for the upbuilding of the dis-
trict and for furthering the welfare of the community. His life indicates what may be accom-
plished when perseverance and energy lead the way and his example, if followed, will bring
the individual to the goal of success.
E. H. MYHRA.
E. H. Myhra, cashier of the Farmers & Merchants State Bank of Wahpeton, is a
native of Eishland county and was bom on the 9th of December, 1873. His parents, H. C. Nj
and Elise (Eriekson) Myhra, were both born in Kongsberg, Norway, the former in 1843
and the latter in 1846. They were married in their native land, vwhere they resided until they
emigi-ated to the United States, making their way to Eushford, Minnesota. In 18T1, how-
ever, they removed to Richland county. North Dakota, where the father homesteaded
land, which he has since improved until it is now one of the well developed farms of the
locality. H. C. N. Myhra has added to his holding and now owns four hundred acres, on
wliich he does general farming. His wife is also still living. He is a republican in politics
and for three terms served efliicicntly as clerk of the court. He has always taken a deep
interest in public affairs and keeps well informed on all of the questions and issues of the
44 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
day. He is liighly educated and speaks and writes German, Norwegian and Englisli. His
religious faith is that of tlie Norwegian Lutheran church, to the support of which he con-
tributes. To him and his wife were born eight children, seven of whom are living, namely:
Mrs. K. llausken, wliose husband is engaged in the clothing business in Wahpeton; Mrs.
Ed Wilson, of Moorhead, Minnesota, whose husband is now living retired; E. H.; Nellie;
George, who is assisting in the operation of the home farm; Mrs. F. A. Magnusson, whose
husband is clerk in a store in Moorhead, Minnesota; and Agnes, at home.
E. H. Myhra attended the public schools of Kichland county and continued his studies
at Moorhead, IMinnesota, thus securing a good education. During the summer months he
assisted in the work of the home farm and became familiar with the value of energy and
of concentration upon the task at hand. On leaving school he entered a drug store, where
he learned pharmacy, and for fourteen years he engaged in tlie drag business in Wahpeton.
In 1904, however, he was appointed postmaster and received two re-appointments, serving
in that capacity until March, 191G. In 1914 he became cashier of the Farmers & Merchants
State Bank, which was established in December, 1914, with a capital of twenty thousand
dollars and which has already built up a good business, the average deposits being eighty
thousand dollars.
Mr. Myhra was married in 1898 to Miss May Dahl, who was born in Sweden but was
brought to this country by her parents wlien but three years of age. To them have been
born two children: Lucile, born in 1903; and Harold, born in 1904.
, Mr. Myhra is a republican in politics and for eight years served as chairman of the
county committee, doing much during that time to strengthen the party throughout
the county. His wife belongs to the Christian Science church and he is identified with the
Masonic blue lodge, the Royal Arch Chapter, the Knights Templar Commandery and
the Mystic Shrine, and likewise with the Workmen, the Yeomen and the Knights of Pythiaa,
in which he is past chancellor. His life has been one of well directed activity and his labors
have contributed not only to his individual prosperity but also to the development of hia
community. The high esteem in which he is generally held is well deserved and there are
many who are his warm personal friends.
C. S. COLLINS.
C. S. Collins, residing on section 15, Hunter township, Cass countj', has been actively
engaged in farming in this state for the past thirty-two years and is now the owner of
six hundred and forty acres of valuable land. His birth occurred in New York on the 2d
day of August, 1800, his parents being Stowell and Louisa (Wilcox) Collins, who are also
natives of the Empire state. In 1873 they removed to Cliisago county, Minnesota, locating
in the town of Sunrise, where thej' still reside at the ages of eight-five and eighty-two years
respectively. By trade the father is a blacksmith.
C. S. Collins attended the public schools in the acquirement of an education but as
early as his fifteenth year became a wage earner, entering the employ of Samuel McClure,
a lumberman. He worked for liim in the woods and remained with this employer for about
fifteen years in various capacities, superintending a Noitli Dakota farm for liim tlirougli
a period of twelve years. It was in May, 1883, that he came to this state, continuing
with Mr. McClure until 1890. In that year, in association witli Ing Jlocn, he purchased a
section of land from his em])loy('r and tliis he cultivated in partnership for two years, on
the expiration of wliich period lie sold his interest to Mr. Moen. He now owns six hundred
and forty acres of land wliich he bought at dill'ercnt times, his first purchase being made in
1885 and embracing one hundred and sixty acres. Gratifying success has attended his
undertakings as an agriculturist and he is widely recognized as one of the prosperous
and leading citizens of his community. He is a stockholder and vice president of the
Farmers & Jferchants Bank of Hunter and a stocklioldcr in tlic First National Hank of
Hunter and the Farmers Elevator Company of Hunter.
Mr. Collins has been twice married. In 1887 he wedded Miss Ro.sa Russell, of llimter,
North Dakota, who passed away in 1902, leaving the following children: Stowell, engaged
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 45
in farming in Giinkle township, Cass county, tliis state: Lloyd, the cashier of the Farmers
& Merchants Bank of Hunter; and Charles, Dellis and Gladys, at home. In July, 1905, Jlr.
Collins was again married, his second union being with Miss Percie Jackson, of North-
field, Minnesota. To them have been born three children, namely: Edwin, Nathan and
Louise.
In politics Mr. Collins is independent, supporting men and measures rather than party.
He is a member of the township board of trustees, on which lie has served for many years,
while for about twentj' years he has been a member of the scliool board, the cause of
education ever finding in him a stanch champion. Fraternally he is identified with the
following organizations: Hunter Lodge, No. 63, A. F. & A. M. ; Casselton Chapter, No. 2,
R. A. M.; Auvergne Commandery, No. 1, K. T.; El Zagal Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S.;
Hunter Lodge, No. 25, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and Hunter Lodge, No. 42,
Knights of Pythias. His wife is a devoted and consistent member of the Presbyterian
church. His has been an active, useful and honorable life crowned not only by success
but by the goodwill, confidence and high regard of his fellowmen, who have at all times
found him trustworthy, laboring for the interests of tlie community, placing patriotism
before partisanship and never sacrificing loyalty in citizenship to personal ends.
ALBERT N. CARLBLOM.
Albert N. Carlblom, prominently identified with the interests of Gwinner as postmaster,
banker and merchant, Avas born in Sweden, December 17, 1863, and of that country his
parents, John G. and Elizabetli (Anderson) Carlblom, were also natives. The father was
born in Sweden in 1835 and came to the United States in 1866, settling in Minnesota, where
he remained until 1882. In tliat year lie arrived in North Dakota, establishing his home
near the present town site of Gwinner. He entered a claim on section 26, White Stone
Hill township, and remained thereon until his death, which occurred :May 18, 1900, his
entire life having been devoted to the occupation of farming. It was in 1848 that he wedded
Elizabeth Anderson, who was also born in Sweden in 1825 and who passed away in May,
1899. They were the parents of nine children, of whom six are yet living.
Albert N. Carlblom was tlie youngest of that family and was but two years of age
when taken to Minnesota. He acquired liis education in the common schools of Cokato
and in the Gustavus Adolphus College at St. Peter, ^Minnesota, from which he was grad-
uated witli the class of 1886. He then tiu-ned his attention to the profession of teaching,
which he followed for four years in Minnesota and North Dakota, and later he engaged
in clerking in general stores in Milnor and in Lisbon, devoting two years to that work. He
was appointed deputy county treasurer- of Sargent county in 1889 and served for one year,
after which he received the appointment of deputy county auditor, in wliich capacity he
continued for two years. In 1893 he was elected county auditor for Sargent county
and held tliat position for a iperiod of six years. In 1898 he was chosen state auditor,
occupying the office for four years, and thus he advanced to high political office, in which
connection he discharged his duties with marked capability and fidelity and wore his
honors with becoming modesty. He continued to fill the position of state auditor until
1901, at which time he established a general mercantile store in Gwinner and is still con-
ducting business there, enjoying a liberal patronage. In 1904 he joined T. F. Marshall, of
Oakes, George W. McWilliams, of Milwaukee and F. W. Vail, of Milnor in organizing the
State Bank of Gwinner, of which he became the vice president. In 1907 he purchased
the interests of the other stockholders and reorganized the bank, of which he became the
president, and since that time he has directed its policy and managed its interests, making
it one of the strong financial concerns of the county. He is also interested in fanning,
owning property in Wliite Stone Hill township. It was Mr. Carlblom who erected the first
building in the town of Gwinner, tliis being the building w^iich he now occupies with his
stock of general merchandise.
On the 37th of March, 1898, Mr. Carlblom was married to Miss Josephine Peterson,
■who was born in Cottonwood county, Minnesota, .January 27, 1874, a daughter of Ole and
46 , HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Alette Peterson, wlio wcio fiirly residents of Minnesota, where they l)ecame farming people.
Both have now passed away. Of tlieir family of seven children Mrs. Carlblom was the
fourth in order of birth, and by her marriage she has become the mother of three children:
Vera Lenore, born March 11, 1809; Kdna Treno, FelMiiary. 11. 1001: imd Albert K, Novem-
ber 7. 1911.
In cominiinity affairs Mr. Carlblom has always been active and is the present post-
master of Gwinncr, while his wife previously acted as postmistress for fourteen years. Mr.
Carlblom is also president of the school board and there is no movement or measure insti-
tuted for the upbuilding and benefit of his community or for the advancement of the wel-
fare of the state that does not receive his strong endorsement, approval and support. He
holds membership in the Swedish Lutheran church and fraternally he is a thirty-second
degree Mason, prominent in the order. Ho is a past master of the blue lodge at Forman,
North Dakota, and he holds membership with the Consistory and with the Shrine at Fargo.
His prominence in political circles as well as the importance of his business interests has
made him widelv known and Ninth Dakota ininibers him among her representative men.
MORRIS E. PORTER.
ilorris R. Porter, who since October, 1911, has been cashier and manager of the Scandi-
navian American Bank of Minot, was born near Blue Grass, Iowa, September 18, 1873, a
son of Samuel and Euphemia L. (Watts) Porter. The father, who was born in Ohio, Feb-
ruary 1, 1850, was an attorney by profession and about 1800 removed to Iowa, being admitted
to the bar in that state, after which he practiced law continuously until his death June 26,
1893. His wife, who was born in Iowa, May 10, 1850, passed away September 22, 1915.
They had a family of three children, of whom Morris R. is the eldest.
After attending the common schools in his home county in Iowa, Morris R. Porter con-
tinued his studies in the high school at Guthrie Center, Iowa, and when a youth of fourteen
he began providing for his own support by working as a farm hand for others through the
summer months, whih? in the winter seasons he continued his education, spending his time
in that way for about three years. He afterward entered the law, loan and abstract ollice
of John W. Foster, of Guthrie Center, Iowa, in the capacity of stenographer and remained
with him for eleven years. In 1S95 he became cashier of the Citizens Investment Bank at
Guthrie Center while still connected with Mr. Foster and served in that capacity until 1902.
when he purchased an interest and took over the management of the First National Bank
at Stuart, Iowa. A year later, however, he sold his holdings in that institution and returned
to Guthrie Center, wlienee in 1904 he removed to Fargo, North Dakota, where he purchased
the business of the Cass County Abstract Company, which he consolidated with that of the
Northern Ab.stract Company, operating under the name of the latter. Mr. Porter was iden-
tified therewith until 1906, when in connection with others he iiurchased the Forest River
State Bank, of which he assumed the management, carrying on the business until 1908. In
that year he went to Colorado on account of impaired health, remaining for a year. In June,
1909, he returned to North Dakota and established his home at Minot, where he engaged
in the farm loan and real estate business and also had a contract for transcribing tlie records
of Burke, Renville and Divide counties. In October, 1911, he purchased the Scandinavian
American Bank of Minot, of which he became the cashier and general manager and has so
continued to the present time, thus entering upon important relations in connection with
the financial interests of the western part of the state. He is also a landowner of North
Dakota but devotes the greater part of his attention to his banking business. He is also a
stockholder and director of the Hartland State Bank at Hartland, North Dakota.
On the 12th of June, 1895, Mr. Porter was united in marriage to Miss Sarah C. Kel-
logg, who was born in Iowa, her parents being Henry \V. and Margaret (Guthrie) Kellogg,
the latter a native of Illinois. The father, a native of New York, is now engaged in the
banking business at Menlo, Iowa. The daughter, Mrs. Porter, passed away in February, 1913,
leaving three children, as follows: Hubert K., who was horn (Jctober 17, 1897; Evelyn F.,
whose natal day was February 17, 1900; and Frances Louise, born February 25, 1912.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 47
Mr. Porter is an independent republican nor has he ever aspired to political office. He
belongs to the Masonic lodge and in his life exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the craft.
Since starting out in business life as a farm hand, working by the month in the summer
seasons in order to continue his education in the winter, he has made steady progress and
is today occupying a prominent and enviable position in banking circles. He has had broad
and varied experience and at all times has thoroughly learned life's lessons. His work has
wrought for individual advancement and also for the prosperity of the community in which
he has lived, and he now occupies an enviable position in the business circles of Minot.
GUSTAV SCHULER.
Colonel Gustav Schuler, a successful lawyer of Wahpeton. Richland county, was born in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on the 25th of October, 1862, a son of Douiinic and Catherine (Heil-
man) Schuler, both natives of Germany, the former bom in Gabsheim, in the grand duchy
of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1829, the latter in northern Germany. The father came to the
United States in the latter part of 1848, seeking political freedom here, as owing to the
insurrection in Germany in 1848 he was compelled to leave his native land. He first went
to Switzerland with others connected with that uprising and thereafter came to this country,
settling in New York city, whence he came to Milwaukee, where he made his home. In
Milwaukee he engaged in the contracting business for a number of years, after which he
entered the emploj' of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Company, with which
he remained until he retired. At the time of the Civil war he enlisted in Battery B of
the Wisconsin Heavy Artillery and was at the front with his command during the entire
enlistment or until the close of the Civil war, tnus proving his loyalty to his adopted
country. After becoming naturalized, he supported the democratic party but steadfastly
refused public office.
He passed away in 1911 and there were many who sincerely mourned his demise, as his
salient characteristics were such as to win confidence, esteem and regard. He was married
in New York city to Miss Catherine Heilman, who passed to her reward shortly after his
demise. She was a woman of remarkable character and had through her own efforts placed
herself in an enviable intellectual position, and was the friend and benefactor of all wlm
needed sj-mpathy and assistance. They were the parents of five children, four of whom
are still living, namely: Professor D. H., a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, who is
engaged in educational work in that state; Eugene, an architect; Gustav, the subject of this
sketch; and Miss Katherine, a teacher in the Milwaukee schools. The paternal grandfather
was Johann Adam Schuler, a highly intellectual man, who was an educator in Germany.
Colonel Schuler attended the public schools in Milwaukee and took up the study of
law under Judge W. H. Timlin, now of the supreme court of Wisconsin. In 1887 he was
admitted to tlie bar, and began the practice of his chosen profession at Kewaunee, Wisconsin,
where he remained in practice until the year 1890, when he removed to Wahpeton, North
Dakota, where he is still actively engaged in tlie practice of law. He has a large and rep-
resentative clientage, which comes nbt only from this state but also from adjoining states,
and he has the confidence and respect of his brother attorneys. He has given especial atten-
tion to probate law and is recognized as an authority in that field. In addition to his pro-
fessional interests he is the owner of considerable land within this state and valuable
business property in Wahpeton.
Mr. Schuler is married and his family consists of one daughter living, Mrs. Mable
Kachelhofl'er, whose husband is a practicing attorney at law at Wahpeton, North Dakota,
and two granddaughters, Mable and -Julia Zellhoofer, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the daughters
of liis deceased daughter Grace.
Mr. Schuler is a democrat and takes a prominent part in public affairs. When living
in Wisconsin he served as municipal justice of the city of Kewaunee for several terms
knd has held the office of states attorney in his county here for three terms. He has also
taken care of the affairs of the city of Wahpeton, as its city attorney, for three terms.
He is well known in the Sons of Veterans and in 1892 was appointed as provisional
48 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
colonel of that order, and served as such officer for several years. He manifests his deep
loyalty to the best interests of his country in the conscientious discharge of his duties when
in public office and in a willingness to subordinate personal interests to the general welfare
at all times. Although the success which he has gained financially and professionally is very
creditable, it is doubly so, in consideration of tlie fact that after he reached the age of
thirteen years he was wholl.y dependent upon his own resources in the obtainment of his
professional education. Tlie ambition, enterprise and determination which enabled him
to secure his education have since been im])ortant factors in his career, and it can be truly
said of him that he is a self-made man.
A. J. SCHUR.
A. J. Schur, one of the. substantial agriculturists of Arthur township, living on section
27, has been a resident of Xorth Dakota for the jiast thirty-eight years and is now the owner
of four hundred and eighty acres of land comprising one of the valuable and well improved
farms of Cass county. His birth occurred in Germany on the 1st of November, 1856, his
parents being Martin and Minnie (Welke) Schur, who emigrated to the United States in
1873 and established their home in Dodge county, Wisconsin. In 1879 they followed our
subject to Xorth Dakota, locating in Amenia township, Cass county, where they spent the
remainder of their lives. Martin Schur passed away in 1897, while his wife was called to
her final rest in 1903, the comniunit_y thus losing two of its respected early settlers.
A. J. Schur obtained a district school education and as early as his sixteentli year
become a wage earner, working as a farm liand. In the spring of 1878, shortly after attain-
ing his majority, he came to North Dakota and preempted a quarter section of land in
Amenia township, Cass county. He proved up on his claim and in 1887 bought a relinquish-
ment on a tree claim in section 28, Arthur township. In 1902 he sold his preemption and
purchased a farm of three hundred and twenty acres adjoining his tree claim, to which he
removed and on which he has since resided. His present place of four hundred and eighty
acres is one of the most jjroductive and attractive farms of Cass county, annually yielding
rich harvests which find a ready sale on the market. He is a stockholder in the Farmers
Elevator Company of Arthur and enjoys an enviable reputation as an enterprising and
representative citizen of his community.
In 1880 Mr. Schur was joined in wedlock to ;Miss ^Mary Aberthroth. who is a native of
Germany and came to the United States in 1877. To them have been born ten children, nine
of whom survive, as follows: Louis, a rural mail carrier residing in Arthur, North Dakota;
Elma, who is the wife of John Butchcn, of Arthur; Lena, twin sister of Elma, who gave her
hand in marriage to Isaac Roberts, an elevator man of .\rthur; Arthur, at home; Olga,
who is the wife of Gordon Burgum. the manager of tlie Northwestern elevator at .\rthur.
North Dakota; and .John, Edward, JIamie and KUa, all at home.
Politically ^Mr. Schur is a stanch republican and a member of the present board of
township trustees, while for several years he has also served on the school board. His
religious faith is indicated by his membership in the German Lutheran church, to which his
wife and children also belong. During his long period of residence in Cass county he has
made many friends and his well known integrity and honesty of purpose have made him
popular and esteemed in the district.
HON. CHARLKS. A. TUBES.
Prominent among the enterprising, progressive and successful business men of Hunter
is the Hon. Cliarles A. Tubbs, now manager of the grain interests of the Cargill Elevator
Company, Basing his success upon industry, perseverance and enterprise, he has steadily
■worked his way upward in business connections and is now prominently and favorably
known in his part of the state. He was born in River Falls, Wisconsin, .Inly 12, 1858, a
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 49
son of Erasmus P. and Lydia (Guertin) Tubbs, the father a native of Vermont and the
motlier of Canada. Tliey were married in the Green ilountain state and soon afterward,
or about the year 1854, removed to River Falls, Wisconsin, where Mr. Tubbs engaged in
farming. He continued in that state until 1880, when he went to Traverse county, Minnesota,
where both he and his wife spent their remaining days.
Charles A. Tubbs spent his youthful days under the parental roof and acquired his
education in the public schools. In young manhood he learned the trade of a brick and stone
mason, at which he worked for seven years, and in 1887 he came to North Dakota, where
he entered into active connection with the grain business. In 1893 he engaged in merchan-
dising and was prominently identified with that line of commercial activity for twelve years.
At the same time he continued in the grain trade as manager for the Cargill Elevator Com-
pany and in 1904 and 1905 he had charge of the Farmers Elevator at Galesburg, North
Dakota. At the end of that period he again took charge of the Cargill elevator at Hunter
and has since been active in this field of business. He is regarded as one of the ablest and
most capable grain merchants of his part of the state and annually controls an extensive
business.
In 1893 Mr. Tubbs was united in marriage to Miss Cora L. Hunter, of Viroqua, Wiscon-
sin, by whom he has two children. McKinley D., who graduated from the Hunter high school
in 1914 and then spent a year in the University of North Dakota, is now employed in the
head office of the Cargill Elevator Company at Minneapolis. Doris C. completed a course
in the Hunter high school by graduation with the class of 1915.
Mr. Tubbs exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the
republican party and is a recognized leader in its ranks. Upon its ticket he was elected
to the state legislature for the years 1901 and 1903 and made a creditable record in that
position, carefully considering all the important questions which came up for settlement and
casting his vote according to the dictates of his judgment, which easily recognized the value
of various important measures. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons, belonging to
the following organizations: Hunter Lodge, No. 63, A. F. & A. M.; Casselton Chapter, No. 2,
R. A. M. ; and Auvergne Commandery, No. 1, K. T., of Fargo. He is likewise a member of
the Masonic Veteran Association. In his life Mr. Tubbs exemplifies the beneficent spirit
of the craft and conforms his actions to its teachings. He is popular among his brethren
of the fraternity and has the social qualities which render him popular wherever he is known.
His business enterprise, too, has carried him steadily forward and he is now regarded as one
of the foremost citizens of Hunter and his part of the state.
WILLIAM DUNNELL.
Various important business interests at Minot have felt the stimulus of the activity
and cooperation of William Dunnell, who is the vice president and general manager of the
Minot Flour Mill Company, Incorporated, and also of the Western Elevator Company, Incor-
porated. He was born at St. Mary's, Oxford county, Ontario, Canada, August 15, 1870, a
son of Alfred and Sarah (Robinson) Duiuiell, who were also natives of that place. There
the father is still active, having devoted his life to farming. For manj^ years he has served
as a member of the board of education there and is a stalwart champion of the public
schools. His wife died in June, 1910.
In their family were twelve children, of whom William Dunnell is the eldest. He
attended school in Harrington, Ontario, and at the age of si.xteen years began work as a farm
hand, being thus employed for two years. He afterward began learning the milling trade
in St. Mary's, serving a three years' apprenticeship, and in 1890 he removed to Millwood,
Manitoba, where as head miller he operated a mill for a year. In the spring of 1891 he
made his way to Elk River, Minnesota, where for eight years he acted as head miller and
on the expiration of that period became a resident of Stillwater Minnesota, where in con-
nection with others he organized the Minnesota Flour Mill Company, of which he became
manager, and thus controlled the business until 1906. He still retains his interest in that
enterprise but for the past ten years has resided in Minot and with others he purchased
50 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
the .Miiiot Flour .Mill Company, liu-oiporated, of which he is the vice president and general
manager. In the summer of 1915 he organized the Western Elevator Company, Incorporated,
of which he is also the vice president and general manager. He is likewise a landowner,
having a farm three miles south of Miuot, but he devotes the greater part of his attention
to the milling and grain business. The Western Elevator Company operates a line of ele-
vators in North Dakota and the Minot Milling Company makes shipments to all the largei
markets throughout the United States. This company manufactures flour of superior excel-
lence, known as the Snow White, and the mill is completely equipped with the most modern
machinery and employs the latest processes. Steadily the trade has grown until it has now
assumed extensive proportions and the success of the two undertakings is attributable in
no small measure to the efforts and business ability of Mr. Bunnell.
In June 1893, Mr. Bunnell was united in marriage to Miss Eosenna Vice, a native of
Ontario, Canada, and a daughter of George and Emily (Goulden) Vice, both of whom were
born in England. The father, a foundryman and merchant, is still actively engaged in
business in Ontario, but the mother passed away in the year 1890. To Mr. and Mrs. Bun-
nell have been born eight children, as follows: Florence J., who is supervisor of music in
the schools of Portal, North Bakota; Edith Grace, a student in the State Normal School
at Minot: William Harold, a sophomore in the Minot high school; Myron Goulden, a si.xth
grade public school student; Irwin Robinson, a fifth grade pupil; and Howard, Wilbur and
Claire, all at home.
Mr. Bunnell is prominently known in fraternal circles, holding membership with the
JNIasonic lodge, the Knights of Pythias, the Foresters and the United Commercial Travelers.
His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he has served on the board of
aldermen of Minot. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church and in its teachings
is found the guiding spirit of his life, which conforms thereto in all of its relations. He is
found thoroughly reliable as well as enterprising in business and progressive and trustworthy
in citizenship, while the qualities he displays in private life have won him warm and endur-
ing friendships.
JOHN BARRETT FOLSOM.
Wlien Fargo was entering upon an era of rapid development and progress John Barrett
Folsom became identified with that section of the state and remained to the time of his
death a prominent figure in the business and social life of his community. If the historian
were, without preliminary effort, to set forth his achievements in a single sentence it would
perhaps best be done in the words, the splendid success of an honest man in whose life
business ability and humanitarianisui were well balanced forces.
Mr. Folsom was born in Ohio in 1837 and spent his boyhood in the southern part of
that state. He attended the public school of Ironton until his thirteenth year and was said
to be the brightest boy that ever attended that school, but on entering his teens he was
forced to put aside his textbooks in order to provide for his own support and began earning
his living as a clerk in a country store. From that time until his death on the 6th of
August, 1912, he scarcely passed an idle day. In 18G3 he accepted a position at an iron
furnace and was connected with the iron industiy at dillerent periods in Ohio. Kentucky,
Tennessee, Missouri and Michigan, thoroughly acquainting himself with every detail of the
business and continuing his activity along tluit line until he yielded to the lure of Bakota.
In 1882 Mr. Folsom sold his interests in iron furnaces and came to Fargo, which was
then in the midst of a boom. He there purchased property and immediately opened a real
estate and loan office, meeting with success in the business from the beginning. He soon
mastered all of the details of real estate transactions and activity aa thoroughly as he
had the details of the iron business. Mr. Folsom had the same kind of a mental picture of
a quarter section of land in the region within one hundred or more miles of Fargo that a
wide-awake, enterprising real estate broker in the city has of its blocks and streets. He
did not have to refer to maps or notes when a farm or an undeveloped piece of land was
TOentioned; the legal description of it immediately suggested a mental plituiv to liiin. If
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 51
it wpic improved property lie knew precisely how many buildings there were and what
kind of a well there was on it, also the character and quality of the soil. To the day of his
death he was a man of extraordinary mental and physical activity but as simple, as gentle
and as kindly in his nature as a girl. Mr. Folr^om had no enemies; there was nothing in his
nature or his actions to inspire enmity. By hi honesty, his kindliness, his helpfulness and
unselfish attention to their interests he endeared himself to all of his business clients and
associates and there is no man in all of the young state of North Dakota who has helped
more worthy homesteaders to overcome hardships and difficulties occasioned by bad crops
and keep possession of their farms than did Mr. Folsom.
In 1863 occurred the marriage of Mr. Folsom and Miss Lavisa C. Forsythe, of southern
Ohio, and when death called him he was survived by his widow and a daughter, the latter
being the wife of Major Matthew F. Steele, of the United States Army, who after serving for
thirty years as a cavalry officer retired from active military duty in order to take charge
of Mr. Folsom's business and estate.
Mr. Folsom was one of Fargo's most public-spirited men and was always ready to
give personal and financial aid to whatever was done for the betterment of business or
social conditions of the town. He stood at all times for advancement and improvement
and heartily cooperated in those measures which were a matter of civic virtue and civic
pride. Of his many good qualities not the least was his capacity for strong friendships.
The simplicity and beauty of his daily life as seen in his home and family relations consti-
tuted an even balance to his splendid business ability. The high ideals which he cherished
found embodiment in practical effort for their adoption and because of the innate refine-
ment of his nature he rejected everything opposed to good taste.
HON. FRANK V. ALLEN.
Hon. Frank P. Allen, judge of tlie fourth district court of North Dakota and a resident
of Lisbon, was born in New York city on the 19th of December, 1859, his parents being
Frank S. and Hannah E. (Benedict) Allen, both of whom were natives of New York city
and descended from old colonial families connected with Revolutionary war liistory, so that
Judge Allen is eligible to membership through both the paternal and maternal lines with
the Sons of the American Revolution. In early life his father became a New York banker
but for several years has lived retired and he and his wife, at the ages of eighty-five and
eighty-four years respectively, are now residents of New York -city.
•fudge Allen was educated in the schools of his native city, of Connecticut and of New
Jersey and ifterward went with his parents to Germany, where he studied for three years.
Later he continued his studies in Paris until the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war,
when he returned to this country. He subsequently entered Princeton University and was
graduated with the class of 1881. winning the civil engineer's degree.
It was in the summer of 1883 that Judge Allen first visited Dakota. After reaching tlie
territory he readily recognized the advantages which the new country offered to a young
man and which made strong appeal to him. He determined to remain and after traveling
over the state in search of a favorable location settled at Lisbon, where he has since made
his home. Subsequently he took up the study of law and was admitted to practice in 1886.
For some years he practiced independently and then entered into partnership with Hon. P. H.
Rourke. with whom he was associated for some time. In 1886 he was elected probate judge
and served for two or three terras and at a later date he became county judge with increased
jurisdiction, remaining upon the bench of that court for a number of terms. He has filled
various minor offices but his activities have usually been put forth along the line of his pro-
fession and in 1904 he was elected judge of the fourth district court and through the inter-
vening period of twelve years has remained upon the bench, widely recognized as one of
the most capable and distinguished district judges of the state. Devotedly attached to his
profession, systematic and methodical in habit, sober and discreet in judgment, calm in
temper, diligent in research, conscientious in the discharge of every duty, courteous and
kind in demeanor and inflexibly just on all occasions, these qualities have enabled him to
52 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
take liist rank among those who have held high judicial office in North Dakota and made
him the conservator of that justice wherein is the safeguard of individual liberty and hap-
piness and the defense of our national institutions. Aside from his judicial service Judge
Allen has been a member of the State Normal School board for several years and has put
forth eli'ective and earnest cfTort for advancing the interests of those institutions.
On the 1st of .September, I.SSG, .Judge Allen was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary L.
Taft, of Ballston Spa, Saratoga county. New York, by whom he lias a son and two daugli-
ters, namely: Grace, who is a graduate of the State Normal School at Valley City and is
now a teacher in the Fargo city schools; Kathoryn, a graduate of the North Dakota State
University at Fargo and now a teacher in the public schools; and Frank Taft, a soplioniore
in the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks.
In his political belief .Judge Allen has ever been a stalwart republican but partisanship
is never allowed to interfere with the faithful performance of his judicial duties. In religious
belief he is a Baptist, while his wife is an Episcopalian. Fraternallj' he is connected with
Sheyenne Valley Lodge, No. 12, A. F. & A. M. ; Lisbon Chapter, R. A. M. ; and Ivanohe Cora-
mandery, K. T. His life is an exemplification of the high principles and purposes of Masonry.
Earnest efi'ort. close application and the exercise of his native talents have won Judge
Allen prestige as a lawyer and jurist, a fact which is highly complimentary, for the state
bar has numbered many eminent and prominent men.
HON. E. H. IIOLTE.
Hon. E. II. Holte, a resident of Noble township, Cass county, is a public spirited and
progressive citizen who has been called upon to fill various ofl!ices of honor and trust, the
duties of which he has discharged in a most capable and satisfactory manner. He deserves
to be classed with those self-made men to whom opportunity has been the road to success.
Opportunity lies before all but it taimtingly plays before the dreamer and surrenders only
to the man of resolute will and well clclincd ])urpose. These qualities Mr. Holte possesses in
large measure.
A native of Norway, he was born March 2'^, ISfiO, a son of Hans 0. and Elcne (Bjerke)
Holte, who were also natives of that country, whence they came to America in ISO".), mak-
ing their way to Wilmington, Houston county, Minnesota. There they resided until 1878,
in which year they became pioneer settlers of Noble township, Cass county. North Dakota,
purchasing the farm u])on which their son E. H. Holte now resides. Subsequently the
fatlier took up his abode in Fargo, where he passed away in 1909, while his widow still
survives at the advanced age of eighty-five years. In their family were eight children and
theirs is a remarkable record, for none have passed away.
E. H. Holte was a little lad of nine summers when he accompiinied his parents to the
new world and his boyhood and yoiith were afterward i)assed in Minnesota and in North
Dakota, his experiences in early life being those which usually fall to the farm lad who
assists in the work of the fields and divides his time between that and the duties of the
school room. He accpiircd a high-school education and afterward gave his undivided atten-
tion to farm work until 1891, when he started out in life for himself. He has since car-
ried on general agricultural pursuits ami is now the owner of four hundred and twenty-
two acres of valuable and productive land on sections 26, .35 and 3G, Noble township, Cass
county. He is regarded as one of the enterprising, progressive agriculturists of this part
of the state, having highly cultivated his fields, while to his farm he has added many fine
buildings and other modern improvements. In addition to tilling the soil he raises stock
and both branches of his business are proving profitable, for his interests are systemat-
ically and wisely conducted. He is also one of the directors of the First State Bank at
Perley, Minnesota, and is jiresidcnt of the Farmers Elevator there.
Mr. Holte was married December 9, 1891. to Miss Alma Schow, a native of Norway and
a daughter of Martin and Dorothea (IJjerke) Schow, who were likewise natives of Nor-
way. In 1867 they emigrated to America and first located in Fillmore county, Minnesota.
In 1870 they took up their abode upon a farm on section 24, Noble township, Cass county,
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 53
whereon the father erected a log cabin. Both spent their remaining days here, the father
passing away in 190G, while the mother, surviving for a few years, departed this life in
1914. Their family ■ numbered nine children, of whom seven survive. To Mr. and Mrs.
Holte have been born a son and daughter: Melvin H., who is a graduate of the college at
Moorhead, Minnesota, and is at home; and Delia Esther Mathilde, who is also with her
parents.
The parents are members of the Lutheran church, in the work of which they are
actively and helpfully interested and Mr. Holte is serving as chairman of the board of
trustees. In his political views he is an earnest republican and has been called upon to
fill various offices. He served for one term as county assessor, has been a member of the
board of supervisors for many years and has also been justice of the peace, in which con-
nection he rendered decisions that were strictly fair and impartial. For twenty years he has
served on the school board and is a strong champion of the cause of education, believing
the common school system to be one of the bulwarks of the nation. In 1903 he was elected
register of deeds and by reelection was continued in office for three successive terms,
making a most creditable record. In 1890 he was elected to the state legislature, where he
served most acceptably, giving careful consideration to all questions which came up for
settlement. He has ever regarded a public office as a public trust and it is well known
that no trust reposed in Mr. Holte has ever been betrayed in the slightest degree. In a
word he stands as one of the leading and valued citizens of Cass county, his personal char-
acteristics winning him popularity, his friends in this part of the state being almost as
numerous as his acquaintances. He has lived in the county since 1878 and has therefore
long been a witness of its growth and progress, taking a deep interest in all that pertains
to the general good.
ORRIN M. PIERCE.
Orrin M. Pierce, treasurer of the jSIinot Grocery Company, conducting a wholesale busi-
ness, is one of the executive committee at Minot of the World's Permanent Peace Association
and is thus active in C9ncerns which have to do with the welfare not only of city and state
but of the world at large. He was born at Rock Island, Illinois, October 20, 1875, a son of
Orrin S. and Belle (Milligan) Pierce, who were natives of Illinois, the former born at
Elizabeth, September 6, 1847. He engaged in the steamboat business on the lower Missis-
sippi river in early life and afterward became connected with the grain trade. He removed
from Rock Island, Illinois, to La Crosse, Wisconsin, afterward to Winona, Minnesota, and
still later to Minneapolis, where he now resides, being associated at the present time with
the Atlas Elevator Company. He is a veteran of the Civil war, having enlisted when
about seventeen years of age at Springfield, Illinois, in an Illinois regiment, with which he
served for eighteen months. He was corporal of tlic guard which placed the guards around
Lincoln's tomb. He was never wounded nor did illness confine him in the hospital. His
wife, who was born November 29, 1850, passed away March 22, 1899.
When fourteen years of age Orrin M. Pierce took his initial step in the business world,
securing employment in the Second National Bank at Winona, Minnesota, in which institu-
tion he advanced from the position of office boy to paying teller, there remaining for eleven
years. He was afterward discount clerk at the First National Bank at Crookston, Minne-
sota, for two years and later came to Minot, where he secured the position of credit mana-
ger with the Minot Grocery Company and .still continues in that capacity. He has also
become treasurer of the company, which controls one of the foremost commercial enterprises
in this part of the state. Mr. Pierce has become financially interested in the business, which
includes sixty wholesale houses in various parts of the country. The firm at Minot does a
general jobbing business in groceries and fruits and employs a force of thirty people. Mr.
Pierce is likewise an extensive landowner in North Dakota and his realty holdings include
residence property in Minot.
Mr. Pierce is a veteran of the Spanish-American war. He enlisted April 20, 1898, in the
Twelfth Minnesota Infantry as a member of Company C, went to St. Paul and thence to
;-)4 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Cliickuniuuga and was later detailed to the band. He was niusteied out November 0, 189S,
and received an honorable discharge.
On the 22d of December, 1904, Mr. Pierce was united in marriage to Miss Editha Babcock
Payne, a native of Winona, Minnesota, and a daughter of George W. and Sophronia (Babcock)
Payne, the former born in Virginia in February, 1842, and the latter at Homer, New Yorlc,
in February, 1844. George W. Payne, who was successfully engaged in business as an
implement dealer, passed away in Winona, Minnesota, while tlie demise of his wife occurred
while she was visiting our subject in Minot.
Mr. Pierce was reared in the Presbyterian church but attends tlie Episcopal church and
in politics ho is an independent rep\iblican. He has never held a political ofTice, never solic-
ited or asked for office nor entered politics. Fraternally he is connected with the Elks lodge
at Minot, of which he has served as esquire. He also belongs to Harmony Council, No. 15,
of the Modern Samaritans at Winona, Minnesota, and to the United Commercial Travelers
No. 277, at Minot, of which he is an ex-guide. The interests of Mr. Pierce are broad and
varied and his activities have been of a nature which have furthered the public welfare
along many lines and the town of Orrin in Pierce county was named in his honor. Inter-
ested in the great international problems which are before the world today, he has become
a strong advocate of the peace movement and is now serving as one of the executive com-
mittee of the World's Permanent Peace Association at Minot. He is now taking a most
helpful part in the plan of educating the masses as to the futility of war. This association
had its origin in Minot, with Mr. Pierce as one of the founders, and the movement is extend-
ing largely. At the same time ^Ir. Pierce is one of the representative business men of his
community, alert, enterprising and progressive, and in a word he carries forward to success-
ful completion whatever he undertakes.
WALTER R. REED.
Several important corporate interests feel the stimulus and profit by the enterprise
and business ability of Walter R. Reed, who is at once a man forceful and resourceful,
recognizing and utilizing opportunities that others pass heedlessly by. Industry, close ap-
plication and determination have brought him Into prominent connections and he is now
known as an executive officer in various companies, including the Amenia & Sharon
Land Company, of which he has boon president and general manager since 1912.
A native of New England, Mr. Reed was born in Litchfield county, Connecticut, .July 2,
1871, a son of John H. and Florence (Chaffee) Reed, both of whom were representatives of
old New England families which were represented in the Revolutionary war. Walter K.
Reed is a great-grandson of Eliakim Reed, one of the signers of the "Association," and a
great-grandson of Simeon Edgerton, a captain of the Revolutionary war in the Connecticut
line. The grandmother of Mr. Reed in the paternal line was of Knickerbocker Dutch stock
and her emigrant ancestor was treasurer of New Amsterdam under Peter Stuyvcsant. tlie
first Dutch governor of New York, and he owned a peach orchard where lower Broadway
of New York city is now located. John H. Reed was a native of the Empire state, while
his wife was born in Connecticut. She died when her son Walter was but nine years of
age and three years later the father with his three children came west to North Dakota,
settling at Amenia, where his father-in-law, Ebcn W. Chafi'ee. was the pioneer resident,
arriving there in 1875. He became one of the founders of the Amenia & Sharon Land
Company, of which he was made manager, continuing in that position until about the time
of his death, which occurred in 1893. He had much to do with shaping the development and
activities of this section of the state and was a most prominent and influential citizen.
Following the arrival of Jolin H. Reed at Amenia he, too, became actively associated with
the Amenia & Sharon Land Company, with which he continued until 1910 and since that
time he has lived retired, residing with his daughter, Mrs. W. W. Brown, in Amenia town-
ship, Cass county. He is classed with the representative and valued citizens of the district.
Walter R. Reed was reared at home, acquiring his education in the public schools and
also under private tutors in Connecticut. He afterward had the advantage of pursuing a
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 55
I
course in Obeilin College at Obeilin, Ohio, for three years, and when his studies were com-
pleted he returned to Amenia and became actively associated with the Amenia & Sharon
Land Company, of which he was made treasurer in 1892. He then bent his energies to
administrative direction and executive control and in 1912 he was elected president and
general manager of the company. He has since directed its policy and his enterprising
efforts, keen business sagacity and sound judgment have been salient features in the
success which has attended the undertaking that was established by his grandfather more
than forty years ago. The company was organized by bond holders of the Union Pacific
Railroad Company in 1875 and E. W. Chaflfee and Edward Gridley were sent to Cass county
to locate lands. They selected all the railroad land in Amenia township and in Walburg
township and six sections in Gill township. The name of the company was taken from the
towns of Amenia, New York, and Sharon, Connecticut, where the original stockholders
resided, and the company operates grain elevators at Amenia, Cliaffee, Mason, Newman
and Ripon. In 1911 the company was reorganized under the laws of North Dakota and in
1913 Mr. Reed succeeded to the presidency upon the death of H. F. Chaffee, who was one
of the victims of the Titanic disaster. He is also the president of the Miller-Chaffee-Reed
Company, holding and dealing in farm lands, the two companies controlling about forty
thousand acres. His business activity also extends to other undertakings which are valuable
assets in the development of this part of the state. He is president of the Amenia Elevator
Company, operating twenty-five elevators in different parts of the country, and he is the
president of the John Miller Company, a grain commission firm at Duluth and Minneapolis,
which was established by ex-Governor John Miller, H. F. Cliaffee and Walter R. Reed.
All these interests show Mr. Reed to be a man of resourceful business ability, possessing sound
judgment and unfaltering enterprise and carrying forward to successful completion what-
ever he undertakes. He ever recognizes the fact that when one avenue of opportunity
seems closed he can carve out another path that will lead to the desired goal.
In 1898 Mr. Reed was married to Miss Inetta Gowland, of Amenia. This union has been
blessed with two daughters, Eleanor P. and Elizabeth. Mr. Reed gives his political allegiance
to the republican party and as every true American citizen should do, keeps well informed on
the questions and issues of the day, so that he is ready to support his position by intelligent
argument. In fraternal circles he is well known, holding membership with Casselton Lodge,
No. 3, A. F. & A. M.; Casselton Cliapter, No. 2, R. A. M.; Fargo Council, No. 1, R. & S. M.;
Auvergne Commandery, No. 2, K. T.; Dakota Consistory, No. 1, A. & A. S. R. ; and El Zagal
Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He is likewise an Odd Fellow, belonging to Colfax Lodge, No. 7,
at Casselton. Mr. Reed is also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution and he
and his wife hold membership in the Congi'egational church, guiding their lives according
to its teachings and at all times measuring up to high standards. They occupy a pleasant
home in Amenia, which is attractive by reason of its warm hearted hospitality and good
cheer and their circle of friends is almost coextensive with the circle of their acquaintance.
Mr. Reed belongs to that class of men who have done much to further public progress,
for in advancing individual interests he also promotes public prosperity.
IRA D. WIGHT.
Ira D. Wight, who is making an excellent record as branch house manager for the
Stone-Ordean-Wells Company at Minot, was born in Ithaca, Michigan, on the 25th of
May, 1878. His parents, William R. and Frances (Dean) Wight, were born respectively in
Ohio in 1856 and in Benton county, Michigan, in 1857. The father engaged in farming
during his early life but later removed to Chicago, where he turned his attention to printing,
with which business he is at present connected in Rogers Park. He takes the interest of
a good citizen in public affairs but has never aspired to office.
Ira D. Wight, who is the elder of two children, attended school at Ithaca, Michigan,
and at Cliicago and when sixteen years of age entered the employ of Wells & Company,
wholesale dealers in shoes, with whom he remained for three years, after which he became
connected with Swift & Company, of Chicago, for a year. He then went to Hancock,
56 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Miohigaii, where lie was in tlic employ of E. M. Lieblein, a wholesale grocer, from 1900
until 1908. In the latter yciir he became a representative of the Stone-Ordcan-Wells
Company, dealers in wholesale groceries, and continued at Hancock for two years longer,
after which, in September, 1910, he removed to Minot, North Dakota. He is now branch
house nuinager for the Stone-Ordean-Wclls Company and his thorough knowledge of the
business, combined with his natural ability, makes him very elKcient in that capacity.
He has become recognized as a factor in the business development of the town and is num-
bered among its valued citizens.
Mr. Wight was married on the 20th of August, 1898, to Miss Frances Fletcher, who
was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is a daughter of James J. and Caroline (Kandall)
Fletcher, both natives of Woodstock, Ontario, Canada. About 1875 they removed to the
States and located in Iowa, where the father was engaged as a machinist for many years.
Subsequently he removed to Rogers Pajk, Chicago, where he died in 1913. His wife passed
away in 1908. Mr. and Mrs. Wight have three children. Florence Mildred, born .June 9, 1903;
Ira D., Jr., born May 26, 1907; and William Reuben, born December 29, 1910, all at home.
Mr. Wight is an independent republican but has never taken a very active part in
politics. Fraternally he is connected with Minot Lodge, No. 1081, B. P. 0. E., with the
Knights of Pythias and with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, all of Minot. He
devotes his entire time to the management of the interests intrusted to his care and has
increased substantially the business of the branch house of which he is manager. He is
president and a director of the Minot Association of Commerce.
HON. PATRICK H. ROURKE.
Hon. Patrick H. Rourke, one of the foremost attorneys of North Dakota, Residing in
Lisbon, was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, October 28, 1854, and is a son of William
and Mary (Curran) Rourke, who were natives of Queens county, Ireland, and of Pennsylvania
respectively. When a young man the father came to the United States, settling in Penn-
sylvania in 1842. Subsequently he married there and in 1856 removed with his wife and
five children to Petersburg, Menard county, Illinois, where he resided until the spring of
1870. In that year he became a resident of Logan county, where he passed away in 1879.
His widow survives at the age of eighty-six years and makes her home in Lincoln, Illinois.
She reared a family of thirteen children and she still does the cooking for the members of
her household, being a remarkably well preserved woman. Mr. Rourke was an iron worker
in Pennsylvania and after his removal to Illinois followed the occupation of farming.
Hon. Patrick If. Rourke supplemented his district school education by a year's study in
the Valparaiso (Ind.) Normal School. He remained upon the home farm until March 30, 1880,
when he took up the study of law in the office of R. N. Stevens at Petersburg, Illinois. He
was admitted to the bar on the 20th of !March. 1882, in Chicago aiul subsequent to that date
became a law partner of his former preceptor, but on the 17th of May, 18S2, removed to
Lisbon, North Dakota, where he opened a branch office for the firm, his partner, Mr. Stevens,
remaining in the Petersburg office. After two years, however, or in 1884, he also went
to Lisbon and the firm won prominence in professional circles. Mr. Stevens was a member
of the constitutional eonventiim in 1SS9 and was subsequently elected a member of the
first state legislature.
The firm dissolved partnership in 1880. after which Mr. Roinke practiced independently
for three years. In 1889 he entered into ])artneishi]) with the present district judge. F. P.
Allen, which association was severed in 1891, after which !Mr. Rourke jiracticed independently
for about ten years. In 1900 he formed a partnership with A, JI. Kvello and eight years
later Sidney D. Adams was admitted to the firm and remained a member thereof for three
years, at the end of which time he withdrew and went to Florida. Later, however, he
returned to Lisbon and again became a member of the firm under the style of Rourke, Kvello
Si Adams. They arc accorded a liberal and distinctively representative clientage and a
thorough preparation of cases combined with an iiitinuitc knowledge of legal principles has
HOX. PATRiav H. ROURKE
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 59
biouglit Mr. Rouike notable success at a bar which has numbered many distinguished
members.
Mr. Eourke lias been married three times, his first wife being Mary Harter. For his
second wife he cliose Rose Gardner and to them were born three children, Curran G., Grattan
L. and Mary, all at home. In May, 1915, Mr. Rourke wedded Mrs. Fred Rimmerman, who
in her maidenhood was Miss Betty Talbott, of Lincoln, Illinois.
Mr. Rourke is identified with Sheyenne Valley Lodge, No. 13, F. & A. M.; with
Lisbon Chapter, No. 7, R. A. M.; with Ivanhoe Commandery, K. T. ; and with the consistory
and the Mystic Shrine at Fargo. He was made a Mason in Illinois, in the same lodge in
which Abraham Lincoln was initiated into the order. Mrs. Rourke is a member of the
Episcopal church. Mr. Rourke gives his political allegiance to the republican party and was
the first city attorney of Lisbon, filling that office in the years' 1883 and 1884. He was
elected county attorney and served for eight years and was next elected state senator,
serving for four years. Prior to the expiration of his term he was appointed United States
district attorney, in which important capacity he continued for sixteen years. He was
mayor of Lisbon, county attorney, state senator and United States district attorney all at
the same time. He understood fully the duties of each office and thoroughly met every
requirement, making a most excellent record as a public official. For a third of a century
his name has stood as a synonym of the progressive element in his community and his work
has at all times been a beneficial element in the state.
JUDGE KALITA ELTON LEIGHTON.
Judge Kalita Elton Leighton, who since January, 1911, has served upon the bench of
the eighth judicial district, is accounted one of the foremost jurists of the state. His com-
prehensive knowledge of the law was manifest in private practice and his ability in that
direction led to his selection for judicial honors. He was born in Putnam county, Mis-
souri, September 13, 1871, a son of Jacob and Laura (Anderson) Leighton. The father
was born in Illinois, in 1830, and the mother in Lee county, Iowa, December 3, 1847.
Throughout his entire life Mr. Leighton followed the occupation of farming and in
1877 removed to Iowa, where he continued to reside until his death in 1898. In the
year 1901 the mother became a resident of Minot, North Dakota, where she still makes her
home. During the early period of his residence in Iowa, Mr. Leighton served as county
commissioner and at the time of the Civil war his loyalty to his country was manifest by
his enlistment as a private of Company I, Sixteenth Iowa Regiment, which was attached to
Crocker's Iowa Brigade. He served during the last year of the war and sufifered largely
from diseases common abong the soldiers. He went with Sherman on the celebrated march
to the sea and took part in several important engagements.
Judge Leighton was an only child. He attended school at Allerton, Iowa, and for two
years was a student in the Highland Park Normal College at Des Moines, after which he
entered the law department of the University of Iowa, from which he was graduated in
1896. He had resided at home until twenty years of age, after which he was away attend-
ing school for two years, then taught school for one winter and in 1894 entered the Uni-
versity, in which he prepared for the legal profession. A year after his graduation he
began practice at Allerton and subsequently followed his profession at Mystic, Iowa, for
two years. He then came to Minot, where he opened an office and continued in the general
practice of law with growing success. Few lawyers have made a more lasting impression
upon the bar of the state both for legal ability of a high order and for the individuality
of a personal character which impresses itself upon a community. The zeal with which he
devoted his energies to his profession, the careful regard evinced for the interests of his
clients and an assiduous and unrelaxing attention to all the details of his cases brought
him a large business and made him very successful in its conduct. He was then chosen for
judicial iionors, being elected to the bench of the eighth judicial district, assuming the
duties of the office in .January, 1911. His course as a judge has been in harmony with his
record as a man and a lawyer, distinguished by a masterful grasp of every problem pre-
60 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
sented for solution and by the spii-it of unfaltering fidelity to duty. The only other office
that he has held is that of member of the city council of Minot for a short time, for he has
had no ambition in the line of office seeking outside the strict path of his profession.
On the 25th of December, 1901, Judge Leighton was united in marriage to Miss Belle
Lockman, a native of Drakcsville, Iowa, and a daughter of William and AUie (Scantling)
Lockman, who were also born in the Hawkeye state. The father, who was engaged in
business as a merchant, passed away in Iowa in 1898, but the mother still survives and now
makes her home in Jlinot. Judge and Mrs. Leighton have four children, as follows: Roy,
whose birth occurred October 19, 1902; Will, born October 15, 1905; Inez, whose natal day
was June 12, 1908; and Barbara, who was born December 2, 1911.
Judge Leighton holds membership with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
at Minot and with the Modern Woodmen of America. In politics he is an independent re-
publican, well versed on the questions and issues of the day, stanch in his advocacy of
principles that he believes to be factors in good government and just as stronglj- opposed
to any movement which he deems inimical to the public welfare. He holds to high profes-
sional standards and ever endeavors to serve the ends of justice, his decisions bting marked
by a strict impartiality and freedom from personal prejudice.
JUDGE WILLIAM MURRAY.
Judge Willfam Murray, of Minot, who is occupying the bench of Ward county, lias an
excellent record as a jurist, being not only well informed as to the law but also possessing
the necessary qualities of an impartial and an unbiased mind. His birth occurred in Locker-
bie, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, on the 22d of December, 1853, and he is a son of James and
Jennie Johnstone (Barber) Murray, both of whom are also natives of that place, where they
passed their entire lives. The father was a woolen manufacturer and was held in high
esteem in his community. They were the parents of four children, of whom our subject is
the eldest.
William Murraj' received his education in the schools of his native town but when sixteen
years of age became apprenticed to a joiner. After completing his apprenticeship of five years
he worked as a foreman joiner for twelve years, after which, in 1886, he removed to Winni-
peg, Canada, where he followed his trade until the 8th of August, 1887, when he came to
North Dakota and settled at Minot. At that time there were no houses there, only tents, and
all around stretched the unbroken prairie. He became car carpenter for the Great Northern
Railroad and remained with that company for eighteen years and four months, during whicii
time he held the position of car foreman. While engaged in railroad work he devoted hia
leisure time to the study of law in the office of James Johnson and in 190C passed the re-
quired examination at Grand Forks and was admitted to the bar of the state. He at once
began the practice of law and in time gained a good clientage. While still connected with
the railroad he served as police magistrate for twenty -two years and as county judge for
twelve years. In 1912, when reelected county judge, he resigned as magistrate in order to
give his entire attention to his duties as judge. In the trial of cases he seeks to ascertain all
of the facts on both sides and in his decisions is guided solely by the law applicable to the
cases in question, allowing no personal considerations to influence him. His course has
gained him the commendation of the bar and of the general public alike, and his decisions
have seldom been reversed by the appellate courts.
Judge Murray is a republican and believes firmly in the wisdom of the policies of that
party. For five years he was a member of the board of education and for four years he held
the office of city assessor, while prior to his reelection as county judge he was county justice
for two years. His service as police magistrate covered twenty-two years and nine months,
his long retention in that office indicating his efficiency and fairness. For eighteen years he
served on the insanity board of Ward county, for ten years was a member of the board of
health and for four years was visitor to the county farm, and there is no phase of public
affairs in which he does not take a keen hitfiest. He is connected with the Masonic lodge
and chapter and the Eastern .Star at Minot, and he has served in all of the chairs of the
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 61
lodge and as secretary of the chapter for two years. He is also connected with the Elks,
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has held office; the Knights of Pythias;
the Eagles; and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is one of the oldest members
of the Knights of Pythias lodge, has held all of the chairs and in 1898 was representative to
the Grand Lodge of North Dakota. He was the first president of the aerie of the Eagles,'
which office he held for four years, was for one year deputy grand president for the state of
North Dakota and for three years was representative to the Grand Aerie. He is also
prominent in the Ancient Order of United Workmen, being the first master workman and
liaving served in 1908 as representative to the Grand Lodge. He is well known in fraternal
circles throughout the state and in his life exemplifies the principle of brotherhood, which is
at the basis of all of the above organizations. During the many years of his residence in
Jlinot he has witnessed a great transformation as the little settlement of the early days
has given place to the busy and growing city of today, and he takes justifiable pride in the
fact that he has been a factor in bringing about the development of the town.
Judge Murray was united in marriage on the 17th of July, 1877, to Jliss Sarah Cowan,
who was born at Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, and is a daughter of Archibald and
I'jlizabeth (Saunders) Cowan, likewise natives of that place, where both passed their entire
lives. Judge and Mrs. Murray have become the parents of six children, namely: Elizabeth
C, who is deputy county clerk ; Jennie .Johnstone, the wife of William J. Norbert, a traveling
salesman for Foley Brothers & Kelley; Sarah, who became the wife of Fred Herrick, of the
Minot Grocery, and who died May 30, 1908; James A., who was the youngest locomotive
engineer in the United States and is now an automobile expert and who married Miss Jennie
Hanson; Agnes, who died in Scotland at the age of three years; and William, who died in
infancy in Minot.
HENRY L. HANSON.
One of the enterprising citizens of Prosper is Henry L. Hanson, who is there engaged in
merchandising and is also filling the position of postmaster. He possesses a resolute spirit
and unfaltering energy and carries forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes,
so that his identification with a movement is an indication of its prosperous outcome. Mr.
Hanson is a representative citizen of the northwest and Cass countj' numbers him among her
native sons, his birth having occurred in Berlin township, that county, on the lltli of August,
1886. His parents were Lars and Sena (Hanson) Hanson, both of whom were natives of
Norway and as children were brought by their respective parents to the new world about
1868. Lars Hanson became a resident of Wisconsin and afterward removed to North Dakota,
where the family cast in their lot with the early pioneer settlers of Cass county. Following;
liis marriage to Sena Hanson they settled upon a farm in Berlin township and later removed
to Harwood township, where Mr. Hanson continued to engage in general agricultural pursuits
until his death, which occurred February 5, 1893. His widow afterward removed to Harwood
and in connection with her son Henry established a small store there. Later they were joined
by Mr. Solmonson and purchased the business of M. Carmine, the enterprise being then con-
ducted under the firm style of Hanson & Solmonson. That relation was maintained until
January 1, 1912, when the store at Harwood was sold and the firm established their present
business in Prosper, where they have since enjoyed a large and growing patronage.
Henry L. Hanson was educated in the common schools of Cass county and his early
training developed in him those traits of character which have constituted important features
in his growing prosperity. He was only eighteen years of age when he became connected
with merchandising as a partner of his mother and with the business he has since been identi-
fied, as previously indicated. The firm has the only general store at Prosper, carrying an
extensive and attractive line of goods neatly and tastefully arranged so as to attract the
attention of their patrons. Their business methods will bear the closest investigation and
scrutiny and their success is founded upon integrity as well as industry'. While living at
Harwood Mr. Hanson served as postmaster for three years and has been postmaster at
Prosper since taking up his abode in that town. The firm of which he is a member erected
62 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
the first building in Prosper save a warehouse, and their mercantile interests have constituted
an important feature in the jirowtli or" the town. In addition to his other interests Mr. Hanson
is a stockholder in and secretary of the Equity Klevator & Trading Company of Prosper.
Mr. Hanson was married March 15, 191(i, to Miss Xettie .lolmson, of Harwood, Cass
county, North Dakota, a dauf.'htcr of C. A. .Tohnson, wlio was a i)rominent farmer and an old
pioneer in Kayniond township, Cass county, Mr. .Johnson died in the spring of 1914.
In his political views Mr. Hanson is a republican, giving earnest support to the party
yet never seeking or desiring oilice. He belongs to the lodge of American Yeomen. His
activities, however, have been largely confined to his business interests, which have won him
place with the representative men of the community. Close application and energj" have
guided him in his various lelations and the success whicli lie has achieved is the merited
reward of his elVorts.
MA.IOR M. L. EXGLE.
Major M. L. Engle, farmer, real estate dealer, merchant and statesman, ranked with
Xorth Dakota's foremost citizens and his demise removed from Xorth Dakota one whose
value was widely recognized. He was born in Allegany county, New York, in 1843 and
came of (ierniau ancestry. He supplemented a common scliool education with an aca-
demic course and about the time that he leached young manhood the Civil war began and
he became coniu'cted with tlie commissary of tlie Union army. After spending two years
in that way he entered tlie odice of the American Express Company at Auburn, Xew
York, and remained in that connection for several years. In 1875 he tumed his attention
to merchandising and money loaning at Fricndsliip, Xew York, where he successfully
conducted business for five years.
In 1881 Major Engle came to Xorth Dakota, settling at Lisbon, at wliicli time there
were not more than twenty buildings of any d(scripti(m in tl'.e town. The beauty of the
location ajipealed to liim. however, and his unfailing business judgment foretold the future
development of the rich agricultural section surr()un<ling the city. He invested in land
soon after his arrival, being associated in the undertaking witli a brother-in-law. George
\V. Robinson, now a jirominent real estate dealer of Bufi'alo, Xew York. They secured two
sections near the present site of Englevale, twelve miles southwest of Lisbon, and they
subsequently increased their holdings to two thousand acres. Mr. Engle became an exten-
sive wheat grower, cultivating from seven hundred to one thousand acres of wheat, and
notable success attended his <'ll'orts in this direction. Extending his labors into other fields,
he became one of the organizers of the State Bank of Lisbon and was made a member of
its board of directors, his o]>inions carrying weight in its councils and jiroving an clcnu'iit
in the successful nmnagement of the bank.
Major Engle"s sympathies were always witli the democratic jiarty but liis rare busi-
ness judgment caused him to vote for the man best qualified for office rather than to guide
his franchise through party alliliation. In 1883 he was elected to the board of county
commissioners for a three years' term and in 1886 was reelected to that office, serving as
chairman of the board for five years, during which period his marked business ability was
manifest as largely in behalf of the county's interests as in the control of his private busi-
ness affairs. A prominent citizen of Ransom county, speaking of him later, said: "Xo
scheme brought before that board while lie was one of the members ever prospcreil if it
had not the i-lenients of fair dealing for all the co\inty, and if it was a job got up to benefit
some individual or clique at the expense of the community at large he killed it as dead as
a mackerel no matter who was behind it. He was fearless and outspoken and as true as
steel." In 1890 Major Engle was elected a member of the state senate for a four years'
term and it was he who secured the passage of the bill giving the first and second appropria-
tions of ten thousand dollars each for the erection of the Soldiers Home at Lisbon. He
offered to put up a bond of fifty thousand dollars for the furnishing of a site, and his
labors were directly resultant in establishing and promoting the .Soldiers Home in Lisbon.
His popularity will be better understood when mention is made of the fact that he received
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 63
the vote of liis party foi- United States senator in the famous senatorial contest of 1891.
He was always recognized as a stanch and true friend and a generous enemy. The spirit of
the man is indicated in the following incident. Once,' feeling himself deeply wronged by a
man, and being told of an opportunity to retaliate, he said: "No, that would place me on
his level." Such was his standard of character throughout life.
Soon after becoming a resident of Lisbon Major Engle took active part in organizing
the Masonic lodge of that place and assisted in naming it Sheyenne Valley Lodge. He
became one of its charter members, transferring his membership from Allegany Lodge,
No. 235, F. & A. M., at Friendship, New York. He was also a member of the chapter and
commandery and was ever active in Masonic work.
It was in 1874 that Major Engle was united in maniage to Miss Winifred Robinson,
who has been equally active with her husband in the public life of the community, although
naturally along different lines. She is very prominent in club circles and was one of the
charter members and prime movers in the organization of the Woman's Club of Lisbon,
which was formed in 1892 and which joined the State Federation in 1897. It was organized
with a membership of thirty, of whom only three are now members. Mrs. Engle served as
president of the club for two terms and has been vice president of her district of the state
organization. She is also a member of the Civic League and on the advisory board. She
belongs as well to the Suffrage League, of which she is secretary, and she has membership
in Minerva Chapter, No. 63, 0. E. S., and with the Pythian Sisters and the Brotherhood of
American Yoemen. Her religious faith is indicated in her membership in the Holy Trinity
Episcopal church and her influence has been of far-reaching effect, characterized by help-
fulness and uplift at every point. The married life of Major and Mrs. Engle was most
harmonious in its purpose and intent, in its interests and accomplishment, and death sep-
arated them on the 25th of April, 1908, when Major Engle passed to the home beyond. He
was buried with Masonic honors, the interment being made at his old home at Angelica,
New York. In his passing Lisbon lost one of its most public-spirited and beloved citizens
and so highly was he esteemed and honored in his community and in his state that the
news of his demise brought a sense of personal bereavement to all who knew him.
THEODORE KYLLO.
Theodore Kyllo, who is engaged in general farming on section 13, Raymond township,
has a well developed and well improved property, owning and cultivating three hundred
and twenty acres of land and for the past twelve years operating a threshing outfit. He
is a native of Waupaca county, Wisconsin, born October 21, 1867, and comes of Norwegian
ancestry. His parents, Peter and Gunald Kyllo, were both natives of Norway and came
to the United States immediately following the Civil war, crossing the ocean on a sailing
vessel which was five weeks in completing the voyage. They took up their abode in Wau-
paca, Wisconsin, but afterward removed to Pope county, Minnesota, where they settled
upon a farm. In 1871 they arrived in North Dakota, being among the earliest of the
pioneer residents in the state. There were no railroads in this district at the time of their
arrival and all around them could be seen the rolling prairies, giving little evidence of the
handiwork of man. On his arrival Mr. Kyllo homesteaded eighty acres in Reed township,
Cass county, at which time there were but three or four other settlers in the township. A
little later he purchased eighty acres of land adjoining the home place and subsequently
took up one hundred and sixty acres as a tree claim. To this he afterward added forty
acres by purchase, so that his holdings embraced three hundred and sixty acres. With
characteristic energy he began to till and improve his farm, which his labors soon converted
into rich and productive fields. He lived upon that place until the death of his wife in 1896,
after which he disposed of his holdings and subsequently made his home with his sons,
passing away in 1907.
Theodore Kyllo was reared under the parental roof, spending his youthful days in the
usual manner of farm lads, his time being divided between the acquirement of an educa-
tion in the district schools and work on the home farm. He was but nine years of age,
64 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
however, when he began to assist iu the labors of the fields, plowing with a yoke of oxoii.
He continued on the old home place until a year after his mother's death and while there
residing he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he afterward traded for
the tree claim that had been taken up by his father. He never lived upon the tree claim but
cultivated it and in addition rented three hundred and twenty acres. His life has been a
busy and useful one and his work as an agriculturist has brought good results. In 1900 he
located upon his present farm, which he had purchased the year before. He now owns
three hundred and twenty acres of excellent land and is numbered among the substantial
farmers of Cass county.
Mr. Kyllo has been married twice. In 1899 he wedded Miss Olina Waugh, of Keed
township, her father being Torger Waugh. one of the early pioneers of that township. She
passed away in 1903, leaving one child, Richard L. In 1905 Mr. Kyllo was again married,
his second union being with Miss Minnie Halverson, of Iowa, by whom he had five children,
four of whom still survive, namely: Gilbert T., Archie M., Ethel L. and Pearl M.
Mr. Kyllo exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the
republican party and is somewhat active along that line. He is serving at the present time
as a member of the board of township trustees and is also a member of the school board.
He holds membership with the Sons of Norway and he and his wife are members of the
Norwegian Lutheran church, to the teachings of which they are most loyal. They are well
known in Cass ccmnty and the circle of their friends is constantly growing as the circle of
their acquaintance widens.
GODFREY H. KNIGHT.
Godfrey H. Knight is one of the extensive land owners of Cass county, his possessions
aggregating fourteen hundred and forty- acres. He was born in Columbia county, Michigan.
August 20, 1839, and the intervening years have marked a life of notable industry, perse-
verance, diligence and business integrity. These qualities have brought him substantial
success, so that he is now classed with the men of aft'luence in his part of the state. He
is of English lineage, his parents being Thomas and Ann (Wass) Knight, both of whom
were natives of England, whence the}- came to the new world about 1829, settling in
Michigan, where they took up their abode upon a farm that continued to be their home
throughout their remaining days. In their family were ten children, six of whom are living.
Godfrey H. Knight spent the period of his minority under the parental roof and after-
ward worked for his father as a farm hand for a year. He had been well trained in tne
methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops and in the public schools of the neigh-
borhood had acquired his education. In 1863 he left his native state and went to Idaho
looking for gold, spending seven years there. At the end of that time he returned to his
old home in Michigan and in 1870 removed to Niles, that state, where he established a
farm implement business, which he conducted for two years. On selling out he purchased
a farm in Calhoun county, Michigan, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits for a
decade. AL the end of that time he disposed of his farm and removed to Cass county-. North
Dakota, purchasing land on section 23, Bell township. To this he has added from time to
time as his financial resources have increased and favorable opportunity has been presented
and he now owns fourteen hundred and forty acres, being one of the extensive land owners
of the county. His farm is splendidly improved. The raw prairie has been converted into
rich and productive fields which anmially yield golden harvests and his knowledge of con-
ditions of the soil, the needs of various crops and the most scientific methods of farm work
have resulted in making his labors a source of gratifying success. He is engaged in raising
shorthorn cattle and Percheron horses and his live stock interests arc an important feature
of his business.
In 1874 Mr. Knight was married to Miss Lorisa Sutherland, who was born in New
York in 1854, a daughter of Jarvis and Emily (Northriip) Sutherland, who were likewise
natives of the Empire state but removed to Michigan at an early day. Later he took up
his abode in North Dakota and passed away at the home of his son-in-law, Mr. Knight. To
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 65
Mr. and Mrs. Knight has been born a daughter, Emily Ann, the wife of Shepard L. Slieldon,
a resident of Fargo.
Mr. Knight exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the
republican party, of which he is a stalwart advocate. He has served on the town board of
supervisors for a number of years, yet cannot be said to be a politician in the sense of office
seeking, for he prefers to concentrate his energies upon his business aiTairs rather than fill
public office. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons and has advanced high in
Masonry, being now a noble of the Mystic Shrine. His life exemplifies the beneficent
spirit of the craft which is based upon mutual helpfulness and brotherly kindness and he
is prominent and popular among his associates in the fraternity. In fact he is held in high
esteem wherever known and most of all where he is best known, for his record will bear
close investigation and scrutiny.
LYLE .T. THOMPSON.
Lyle J. Thompson, the present efficient auditor of Ward county and one of the early
residents of Minot, was born at Britt, Iowa, August 25, 18S6, and is a son of J. W. and
Kate (Kimball) Thompson, also natives of Iowa. The father farmed in early manhood but
subsequently removed to Britt, Iowa, where he engaged in the general implement and
hardware business until 1901, when he removed to North Dakota and purchased land nine
and a half miles southwest of Sawyer. He concentrated his energies from that time until
his demise in 1908 on agricultural pursuits and gained a gratifying measure of success in
that connection. He gave his political allegiance to the republican party and while living
in Iowa was nominated for sheriff and defeated by less than fifty votes. His widow is
still living and makes her home in Minot. To them were born five children, three of whom
are living and of whom our subject is the third in order of birth.
Lyle J. Thompson attended the common schools in Britt, Iowa, and high school and a
business college in Minot, thus receiving a thorough practical education. When about
eighteen years of age he entered the office of the superintendent of schools as a stenogra-
pher and remained there for the greater part of a year, after which he became a stenogra-
pher in the office of the board of county commissioners. After filling that position for about
two years he became stenographer and bookkeeper in the Second National Bank, where he
remained for about fifteen months. At the end of that time he accepted the position of
clerk and stenographer in the county auditor's ofiice, in which capacity he served until
1909, when he was ajipointed city auditor. He held that office for four years, making so
excellent a record that at the end of that time he was elected county auditor, in which
capacity he is now serving by reelection. He devotes his entire time to the discharge of his
official duties and to the supervision of his mother's landed interests. His experience as
deputy county auditor and as city auditor made him unusually well qualified for filling the
office of county auditor and he has proved a systematic and capable official.
Mr. Thompson is a stalwart republican and does all in his power to promote the suc-
cess of that party at the polls. He is secretary -treasurer of the Minot Volunteer Fire Com-
pany and is secretary of the Humane Society. Fraternally he is associated with Lodge
No. 1080. B. P. 0. E., at Minot and has many friends both within and without that organi-
zation. He is one of the energetic, efficient and public-spirited young men of !Minot. and
his friends predict for him continued success.
WILLIAM F. ECKES.
William F. Eckes, cashier of the National Bank of Wahpeton. is a native of that city
and has there spent the greater part of his life. He was born on the 7th of Jtine, 1886, a
son of W. F. and Mary K. (Braun) Eckes, natives of Germany and Stearns county. Minne-
sota. They were married in Stearns county but subsequently removed to Wisconsin, where
66 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
they reniaiiied for a short time, after which tliey came to Noitli Dakota, being among the
pioneer settlers of the state. Altliough the father was a poor man when he came to this
state, he gained financial independence and at the time of his death was one of the wealth-
iest men of his county. He engaged in merchandising and also owned a large amount of
valuable farm land and in addition was the proprietor of a mill. His political allegiance
ivas given to the democratic party and he was quite active in public affairs. His religious
faith was that of the Catholic church. He jjassed away in 1890 at the comparatively early
age of forty-two years, as he was born in 1854. His wife survives and makes her home at
Wahpetoii. To them were born four children, three of whom are still living: William F. ;
Alvina, who teaches music in a conservatory at St. I'aul; and Amalia, who is taking voice
culture in Chicago.
William F. Eckes was educated in the St. Francis School at St. Francis, Wisconsin,
and in a business college at Wahpeton. When but seventeen years of age he became book-
keeper of the Merchants State Bank at Breckenridge, where he remained until he accepted a
similar position in the National Bank of Wahpeton. He filled that office until 1913; when
he was made cashier. The bank is capitalized at fifty thousand dollars, has a surplus of ten
thousand dollars and average deposits of three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, which
indicates the place it holds in the confidence of the general public. Mr. Eckes is at once
prudent and aggressive and so directs the policy of the bank as to promote the legitimate
business expansion of the community and at the same time amply safeguard the interests
of the stockholders and depositors.
In 1908 occurred the marriage of Mr. Eckes and iliss Magdaline Pahl, a native of Min-
nesota, by whom he has the following children: Kenneth, Lester, JNIagdaline and Marguerite.
Mr. Eckes is a democrat in politics and has served as a member of the city council and
as school treasurer and city treasurer. His religious faith is that of the Roman Catholic
church and fraternally he is identified with, tlie Catholic Order of Foresters and the Knights
of Columbus. He is a director of the Wahpeton Conservator}' of Music and of the Com-
mercial Club and can always be depended upon to give of his time and energy to the pro-
motion of projects for the comnuinity advancement. Although he is a young man and has
depended solely upon his own rcsoiiicis, he has g;iined a measure of success which many
of his seniors might well envv.
WII.T.l.Ail R. LEMONNIER.
William R. Lemonnier, who is engaged in the real estate and insurance business in
Minot under the name of the Minot Cooperative Realty Company, was born in Carroll
count}', Iowa, August 30, 1875, a son of Millard Fillmore and Anna (Goodaire) Lemonnier,
natives respectively of the state of New York and of England. The father was a cooper by
trade and for a number of years was employed in that capacity in the Standard Oil Works
at Cleveland. Oliio. On removing to Iowa he engaged in farming, which occupation he has
since followed. He is now. however, a resident of southern Minnesota. He has held a
number of school offices but has never sought political office. His wife passed away in
Iowa in 1884, when about thirty years of age.
William R. Lemonnier, who is the elder of a family of two children, attended soliool
in Cleveland, Ohio, for one year but received the rest of his education in Iowa. When
eighteen years of age he engaged in farming in Minnesota and so continued for five years,
after which he became an engineer, following that occupation for eight years. and during
that time holding positions both as a stationary and as a traction engineer. In May, 1900,
he came to North Dakota and took up a claim four miles south of Douglas. In about two
years he received title to his land and then removed to Minot, where he was employed w ith
the Russell Miller Milling Company for one year and with the Minot Milling Company for
four years. At the >ond of that time he entered the real estate and insurance business,
establishing the Minot Cooperative Realty Company, which is now one of the important
concerns in its field in Minot. He devotes his entire time to the business and handles much
WILLIAM R. LEMONNIER
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 69
valuable realty and writes many insurance policies. He owns a number of good residence
properties in the city and is one of its well-to-do citizens.
Mr. Lemonnier was united in marriage on the 30th of December, 1898, to Miss Anna
Green, who was born in Cottonwood county, Minnesota, and is a daughter of John 0. and
Anna (Bjorley) Green, natives respectively of Sweden and Norway. The mother died in
Minnesota in 1901 and subsequently the father came to North Dakota, where he passed
away in 1913, not long after his arrival in this state. He was a public-spirited citizen but
never aspired to office. Mr. and Mrs. Lemonnier have three children: Lind AVilliam, who
was born September 26, 1900; Vera Anna, born September 10, 1904; and John Fillmore,
born September 19, 1909.
Mr. Lemonnier is independent in politics and has never sought office. His fraternal
affiliation is with the Modern Brotherhood of America and he has many friends both within
and without that order. His sound business judgment, combined with his energy, has enabled
him to win a creditable measure of success in his chosen line of business.
GEORGE WAKREN HANNA.
George Warren Hanna, superintendent of schools at Valley City, was born in Jasper
county, Iowa, July 30, 1873, a son of James Steele and Hattie L. (Hunt) Hanna, the for-
mer a native of Ashland, Ohio, and the latter of Boston, Massachusetts. George W. Hanna,
the youngest of a family of five children, attended the public schools and afterward grad-
uated from Highland Park College at Des Moines, Iowa. He then took up the profession
of teaching in that state and afterward spent three years as a teacher in South Dakota
but later returned to Des Moines and became superintendent of the Oak Park school, so
continuing for a year. In August, 1899, he accepted the superintendency of the public
schools of Valley City, North Dakota, and since that time the schools have grown and
developed in every possible way. At the time of his arrival there were but twelve teach-
ers, while today he has thirty-five assistants and all of the school buildings now in exist-
ence have been erected during his regime. At the time he assumed charge he had but one
assistant in the high school, while today there are fourteen teachers in the high school, which
ranks among the best in the northwest, its curriculum embracing forty subjects. Under
the direction of Professor Hanna the work has been carried on most successfully.
On the 20th of July, 1897, Professor Hanna was married to Miss Mabel Way, of Hli-
nois, a daughter of L. A. Wa}'. She was educated in the Woodbine Normal School in west-
ern Iowa and afterward taught in the public schools of Defiance, Iowa. The children of
this marriage are: Warren L., now a student in the University of North Dakota, having
previously graduated from the high school at Valley City and studied in the State Normal
there; and Glenn A., also in school.
Mrs. Hanna shares with her husband in his deep interest in the educational problems
of Valley City and rapid strides have indeed been made since the first school was established
in 1878 in a little log building, for the school buildings here would be a credit to a city of
much large size and the standard of instruction is second to none in the state. They are
also interested in other lines of development and improvement here, their influence being
always on the side of right, truth and advancement.
AV. J. ROBINSON.
W. J. Robinson, who is conducting a lumber and coal yard in Wahpeton and who also
has other business interests, was born in Ontario, Canada, September 5, 1856. His parents,
John and Susanna (Wyley) Robinson, were both born in Ireland, the former in 1823 and
the latter in 1837. The paternal grandfather, .John Robinson, removed to Ontario from
Ireland and lived retired in that province until his demise. The parents of our subject
went to Ontario in their youth and were there married. The father engaged in contracting
70 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
and gained a gratifying measure of success in business. He passed away in Ontario in
1802," but was survived by liis wife until 1910. He was an adherent of the conservative
party in politics and his religious faith was that of the Methodist Episcopal church. To
him "and his wife were born nine children, five of whom are still living: W. J.; Mrs. S. M.
Gowland, of Fargo, this state; Mrs. A. F. Stewart, of Los Angeles; Mrs. F. R. Barnes, of Fargo ;
and George A., who is living retired in Huron, South Dakota.
W. J. Robinson was reared at home and gained his education through attending the
common schools. He subsequently was associated with his father in the contracting business
until 1879, when he removed to Fargo, North Dakota, where he engaged in that line of work
for a year. He then entered the employ of William AVhite, a lumberman, and remained
in that connection for several years, after which he turned his attention to farming in
Lamoure county, North Dakota, where he remained for ten years. He took up land there
and was successful as an agriculturist, but at length again turned his attention to business
pursuits, conducting a lumber yard at Reynolds for three years. He then located in the
town of La Moure, where he managed a lumberyard for three years, after which he became
a member of the company for which he had been working. In 1900 he purchased an interest
in the lumberyard at Wahpeton, where he is still living. The McCulloch-Robinson Lumber
Company was incorporated in 1915 with a capital of fifty thousand dollars and with the fol-
lowing officers: W. J. Robinson, president and treasurer; C. P. Robinson, secretary; John
McCulloch, vice president. They operate a coal business in connection with their lumberyard
at Wahpeton and also own a lumberyard at Colfax, in addition to which they own a hard-
ware store there. All of their business interests are well managed and return thera a good
profit. They have gained an enviable reputation for reasonable prices and fair dealing
and are prominent in the business circles of their community.
In March, 1880, Mr. Robinson was united in marriage to Miss Arabella Robertson, like-
wise a native of Ontario, by whom he has four children: Charles Percy, who is connects
with his father's hardware store at Colfax; Earl W., who graduated from the Annapolis
Naval Academy in 1909 and is serving in the United States navy; Lillian, the wife ol
Ernest Corchran, who is in the general merchandise business at Colfax; and Clarence, who is
attending school.
Mr. Robinson is a republican and has been called to office by his fellow citizens,
having served for five or six years as alderman of Wahpeton and for seven years as county
commissioner, within which time he served on the building committee that erected the
courthouse at a cost of one hundred and forty-five thousand dollars. He is one of the
leaders on the board of commissioners and has been instrumental in securing a number
of improvements in the county. Fraternally he is well known, belonging to the Masonic
blue lodge, in which he served as treasurer for fourteen years, to the Royal Arch
Chapter, the Knights Templar Commandery, the consistory and the Shrine, and being also
identified with Fergus Falls Lodge, No. 109:!, B. P. 0. E., of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and
with the Independent Order of Odd F'ellows, in which he is past noble grand. His religious
faith is indicated by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. When he came to
this state in early manhood his capital consisted of but fifteen dollars, but he was enter-
prising and determined and believed that in this new state he would find opportunities the
utilization of which would enable him to gain success. His hope lias been realized and
he is now one of the substantial men of his communitv.
OLE MALEN.
One of the substantial citizens that Norway has furnished to Cass county is Ole Malen,
who was born in the land of the midnight sun, .January 27, 18GR, his parents being Nela
and Christina Malcn, also natives of that country, where they spent their entire lives and
there rear(^d their family of nine children, ci'.dit of whom are yet living, four iu)W being
residents of the United States.
Ole Malcn was roared and educated in his native land to the age of sixteen years, wlicn
in 1882 he bade adieu to friends and fiimilv and sailed for the new world, niakiu'' liis wa>
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 71
to Ottertail county, Minnesota, where he resided for seven years. He tlien went to George-
town, Minnesota, wliere he was employed as section boss by the Great Northern Railroad
Company for eight years. He had come empty handed to the new world but he carefully
saved his earnings until industry and economy had brought him sufficient capital to enable
him to purchase a farm, at which time he made investment in land near Argusville, North
Dakota. Through the succeeding six years his time and attention were devoted to its develop-
ment and improvement, after which he sold that property and rented a farm in Noble town-
ship, Cass county, upon which he lived for eight years. At the end of that period lie pur-
chased the farm upon which he now resides on section 24, Noble township, comprising one
hundred and thirty-nine acres, lying along the great Red River of the North. He has since
devoted his attention to the cultivation and improvement of this property and his labors
have brought good results.
Mr. Malen has been twice married. He was first married in 1896 to Miss Christina
Ohnstad, who was born in Norway and by her marriage became the mother of five children,
Nora Matilda, Clara Annetta, Gina, Mable, deceased, and Estella. In June, 1906, the wifi'
and mother was called to her final rest, her remains being interred in the Lutheran church
cemetery in Noble township. On the 22d of October, 1907, Mr. Malen was again married,
this union being with Miss Breta Berge, who was likewise a native of Norway but emigrated
to the new world in 1903. Of the second marriage there are also five children, Anna, Oscar,
Harold, Sigurd and Arthur.
Mr. and Mrs. Malen hold membership in the Lutheran church and guide their lives ac-
cording to its teachings. He votes with the republican party but has never sought nor
desired office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon liis business affairs. His life has
been active and well spent and his indefatigable energy and perseverance have been the
foundation upon which he has builded his present success.
ROBERT B. REED.
One of the most important corporations that has contributed to the development and
upbuilding of Cass county and this section of North Dakota is the Amenia & Sharon Land
Company, of which Robert B. Reed is the treasurer. He is an enterprising, forceful and
resourceful business man whose training and experience have qualified him to meet any
emergency, wliile his energy and enterprise lead him to put forth efforts along lines that are
directly resultant and beneficial to the company which he represents and to the district at
large. He is a descendant of one of the old New England families, his birth having occurred
in Ellsworth, Connecticut, July 23, 1874, his parents being John H. and Florence (Chaffee)
Reed, who are mentioned in connection with the sketch of his brother, Walter R. Reed, on
another page of this work. He began his education in the public schools of his native state
and afterward continued his studies in scliools of North Dakota, eventually becoming a pupil
in the State Agricultural College at Fargo, from which he was graduated with the class
of 1895. He has the distinction of having received the first diploma ever issued by that
college.
Following his graduation Mr. Reed became actively identified with the Amenia &
Sliaron Land Company, in which connection he worked his way upward. He was eventually
appointed secretary and still later became secretary and treasurer and at the present time
is filling the responsible position of treasurer of a company which is one of the oldest
established corporations in this part of the state, beginning operations in 1875. since which
time it has contributed much to the settlement, development and progress of North Dakota.
In 1899 Mr. Reed was united in marriage to Miss Edith M. Varnum, of Sykeston,
North Dakota, by whom he has three children, namely: Florence; M., Althea V. and
Clarence R. In his political views Mr. Reed has always been an earnest republican and keeps
well informed on the issues and questions of the day, but does not seek nor desire public
office. He and his wife are members of the Congregational church and guide their lives
according to its teachings. They display many sterling traits of character and to them is
freely accorded the hospitality of the best homes of this section. In liis btisiness career
72 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Mr. KoccI lias ever readily recognized opportunity, and while lie docs not possess that un-
curbed ambition which often brings about erratic movements in business, lie has never
feared to venture where favoring opportunity has led the way and his diligence and sagacity
have been strong jioints in gaining for him success.
KDCAR AIXEN PRAY, il. D.
Dr. Edgar Allen Pray, phy.sician and surgeon of Valley City, was born in Afton, Washing-
ton county, Minnesota, February 20, 186S, a son of Russell N. and Lydia P. (Van Slyke) Pray,
the former a native of Esse.x and the latter of Herkimer county, New York. The paternal
grandfather, Arba Pray, was also a native of the Empire state and was descended from
English ancestors who came to America in colonial days. In the maternal line the Van
Slykes are of the original Dutch stock that settled in Herkimer county, New York. Rus-
sell N. Pray removed westward to Minnesota in 1855 and there followed the trade of car-
penter and builder. He offered his services to the government at the time of the Civil
war, but his health was such that he was rejected. After some years' residence in Minne-
sota ho removed to Fargo, North Dakota, in 1877 and there remained until 1883, when he
became a resident of Barnes county, settling on a farm in the outskirts of Valley City, where
he remained until his death, which occurred in 1904, when he was seventy-two years of age.
His widow is still a resident of Valley City.
Dr. Pray was the eldest of their four children and his public school training was sup-
plemented by a course in Carleton College at Northfield, Minnesota, after which he matricu-
lated in the University of Pennsylvania and was graduated on the completion of the medical
course with the class of 1894, winning his professional degree. After a year spent in St.
Luke's Hospital at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, during which he gained the benefit of that
broad and diversified practice which hospital experience brings he returned to North Dakota
and has since been engaged in active and successful practice in Valley City. He has taken
the degrees of Scottish Rite masonry, is a member of the Mystic Shrine and is also identified
with the Knights of Pythias.
In June, 1895, Dr. Pray was married to j\Iiss Frances A. Peake, of Faribault, Minnesota,
a daughter of the Rev. E. S. Peake, a pioneer missionary of the Episcopal church in the
northwest, and a sister of General A. P. Peake. The children of this marriage are: Ralph
E., a graduate of the Shattuck Military Academy; Russell H.; Fiances E.; Lawrence G.;
Margaret; and Dorothy E.
AVILLIAM IWEN.
William Iwen, an agriculturist residing on section C, Puish River township, Cass county
is the owner of a valuable farm of three hundred and twenty acres, which he has operated
continuously and successfully for the past twonty-four years. His birth occurred in Ger-
many, on the 15th of December, 18C3, his jiarents being Fred and Caroline Iwen, who emi-
grated to the l?nitcd States in 18G4 and located in Winona county, Minnesota. There the
father passed away in 1873 and the mother afterward married .John Schlaet, a sketch of
whom appears on another page of this work.
In 1880, when in his seventeenth year, William Iwen came to North Dakota with his
mother and stepfather and ten years later began farming on his own account as a renter.
In 1892 he purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land on section 6, Rush River
township, which he has cultivated continuously to the present time, the well tilled fields
annually yielding golden harvests as a reward for the care and labor which he bestows
upon them. He is a member of the board of directors and one of the stockholders of the
Farmers Elevator Company at Arthur.
In 1890 Mr. Iwen was united in marriage to Miss Martha Sommcrfeld, who is a sister
of Julius E. Sommcrfeld, a prosperous agriculturist of Arthur township, Cass county, whose
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 73
record is given on another page of this vohime. To our subject and his wife have been
born five diildren. three of whom survive, namely: Edwin, William, Jr., and Elizabeth.
All are still at home.
Politically Mr. Iwen is a stanch republican and he is now ably serving in the capacity
of school treasurer, while for about ten j'cars he was a member of the board of township
trustees. His religious faith is indicated by his membersliip in the German Lutheran church,
to which his wife and diildren also belong. He has always shown great interest in all that
pertains to the general welfare and has been known as a public-spirited man who lias ever
found time and inclination to cooperate in the movements for the public good. In all the
relations of life he has been hon^yrable and straightforward, and his example is well worthy
of emulation.
PETER O. INGEBRIKTSON.
The agricultural interests of Cass county tind a worth}' representative in Peter 0.
Ingebriktson, who resides on section 5, Reed township. Moreover, he deserves prominent
mention as one of the earliest pioneers of Xorth Dakota, settling in the territory when the
work of progress and development seemed scarcely begun. He was born in Xorway on the
12th of February, 1847, his parents being Ingebrikt and Carrie (Johnson) Lowek, both of
whom died in Norway.
Tlieir son Peter had spent his youthful days under the parental roof and had acquired
a public school education in his native country. Favorable reports reached him concern-
ing the opportunities of the new world and at length he decided to try his fortune on this
side of the Atlantic. Accordingly in 1869 he bade adieu to friends and native country and
sailed for Quebec, whence he made his way to Detroit in a box car. He proceeded from
that city to Chicago and three weeks later went to Albert Lea. Minnesota, where he secured
a position as clerk in a drug store. There he worked for about a year and in 1870 he ob-
tained employment on the construction of the Northern Pacific Railway, the laborers being
largely Norwegians. Mr. Ingebriktson, who had secured a fair education, was made fore-
man of a crew and continued work in connection with the construction of the road into
Moorhead, where he arrived on the 11th day of November, 1871. After the completion of the
line to that point he obtained a position as clerk with the firm of Hubbard, Raymond &
Allen, general merchants of Moorhead, Avith whom he continued as a trusted employe for
four years or more. In 1878 he preempted one hundred and sixty acres on section 6, Reed
township, on which he built a small franu' house and there began farming. After two
years he bought sixty-eight acres lying between his place and the river and afterward added
forty acres more, making his present farm one of two lumdrcd and sixty-eight acres. This
tract he has converted into well tilled fields and his energy and industry have been rewarded
with substantial crops which bring to him a gratifying annual income. In addition to
his farming interests Mr. Ingebriktson lias been prominent and active along other lines.
He was one of seven men who organized the Farmers Elevator at Harwood and for several
years was a member of its board of directors. He is also a stockholder in the Fargo Ice
Cream Company.
Mr. Ingebriktson has been married twice. In 1874 lie wedded Miss Anna Hanson, of
Calmar, Iowa, by whom he had two children, namely: Emil, who is emploj'ed as clerk in a
general store at Prosper, North Dakota : and Carl, who is engaged in farming in Reed
township. The wife and mother passed away in 1890 and two years later Mr. Ingebriktson
was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Mary Christensen, of Fargo, North
Dakota. Her father, Hand Palmer, emigrated to the United States in 1872 and located in
Clay county, Minnesota, five miles from Moorhead. Mrs. Ingebriktson has one daughter
by her former marriage, Ida, who is the wife of John Storley, of Reed township, Cass
county. North Dakota.
Politically a republican, Mr. Ingebriktson was the first county treasurer of Traill
county but has declined other public offices, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his
business affairs, which have brought him substantial return. However, he has not been
74 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
iiniiiiiulful of tlie duties of citizeiisliip and lias cooperated in many iilaiis and movements
for tlic general good. He is also a stockholder in St. Luke's Hospital of Fargo. He has
manifested in his career nianj' sterling traits and is accounted a progressive and public-
spirited citizen, well informed and one vhose life record is an indication of the fact that
success may be won when there is a will to dare and to do.
ROBERT E. HUELY.
Uobcit K. Iluily, proprietor of a general store at Forman and also interested in tlie
grain trade, in banking and in farming, was born at Benton Harbor, Michigan, July 14,
]880. a son of William and Ella B. (Brown) Hurly, both of whom were early residents of
Michigan. The father was editor of a newspaper throughout practically his entire life and
in 1888 he established the Forman Independent, which he published for a long period. He
passed away in March, 1913, and is still survived by his widow, who yet lives in Forman.
In their family were nine children.
Robert E. Hurly, the second in order of birth, was but a child when his parents re-
moved to Forman, .'^o that his education was acquired in its public schools. He -worked in
his father's printing office for five years and when twenty-one years of age he bought out
the stock of S. F. Mullin, a grocer of Forman, and to that line he added a stock of general
iiicicliandise and has since carried on the business with growing success. He now has a
well appointed store, successfully managed and attractively arranged. His prosperity is
attributable entirely to his determination, his enterprise and his reliable methods. He
employs two clerks in his store and his trade is gratifying. He is also interested in farm
lands, owning acreage property on section 31. Dunbar township, and on section 2S, AVilley
townsliip. in Sargent eoiinty. He is likewise a stocklioldcr in tlie National Bank of Forman
and in tlie Farmers Elevator of Forman.
In 1907 Mr. Hurly was married to Jliss Bertha M. Dysto, a daughter of M. H. and
Hannah Dysto, her father a Forman merdiaiit. In their family were nine children, of
whom Mrs. Hurly is the eldest.
In his political views Mr. Hurly is a republican and has served on both the town board
and the school board. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias, tlie Modern Woodmen, the
Yeomen and the Ancient Order of United Workmen, all of Forman. Whatever he under-
takes he carries forward to successful completion and he is never afraid to venture where
favoring opportunity points out the way. His ambition and energy have carried him into
important business relations.
T. F. CLAPP.
T. F. Clap'p is one of the iiitc ipri.'^ing merchants of Grandin. concentrating his efforts
upon the development of his business which has now reached substantial jiroportions. He was
born in Ohio, on the 14th day of March, IS;", and is a son of Maurice and Laura (Greeley)
aapp, the latter a niece of Horace Greeley. Botli the father and mother were natives of Oliio
and there continued their residence throughout their entire lives. They had a family of three
children, one of whom has now passed awav.
T. F. Clapp was reared and ediicated in Ohio, sjjending his youthful days in the home
of his parents, and after attaining his majority started out in life on his own account. He
spent three years as a farmer in his native state, after which he sought the opportunities
of the rapidly growing and developing northwest, coming to North Dakota in I8,S3. He took
up hi.s abode in Cass county, locating on ii farm on section 30, Kenyon township, which lie
purchased. He then bent every energy to the further development and improvement of the
property and there lived for twenty-one years, his labors producing excellent results, as is
seen in the highly cultivated fields and the substantial buildings which he added to his place.
He still owns that farm and from it derives a gratifying annual income, although at the
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 75
present time be makes his home in Grandin, where he is engaged in merchandising. On his
removal to the town he opened a confectionery store, whicli he conducted for two years and
at the end of that period he turned liis attention to the hardware trade. Still later he ex-
tended the scope of his activities by adding a line of groceries and has been in this business
continually ever since, dealing in both liardware and groceries. His store contains a good
line of both hardware and groceries and his honorable business methods and earnest desire
to please commend him to the confidence and support of the public.
On the 18th of September, 1878, Mr. Clapp was married to Miss Cora A. Payne, who was
born in Ohio, and is a daughter of Charles and Angeline (Strong) Payne, both of whom were
natives of the Buckeye state and tliere both passed away. Mrs. Clapp is one of a family ol
tliree children, all of whom survive.
In his political opinions Mr. Clapp is an earnest republican, believing firmly in the prin-
ciples of the party, although he is not active as an office seeker. He has served, however,
as town supervisor and has been a member of the school board. He belongs to Yeoman
Lodge, No. 290, in which he has filled some of the chairs. He does all in his power to further
the moral progress and development of the community in w'hich he makes his home and has
guided his life according to high ethical standards. His career is characterized by integrity
and honor, winning for him the liigh remird of his fellowmen.
HENRY BEAL.
Henry Beal, living retired at Valley City, was born in Guilford, Maine, September 14,
1843, the youngest in a family of eight children whose parents were Samuel and Esther
(Herring) Beal, who were also natives of the Pine Tree state. Following their marriage they
settled in Piscataquis county, being among its first settlers, and there the father cleared a
farm and also followed fishing and other seafaring interests. He died at an early age and
his widow continued on the farm, afterward becoming the wife of Hiram Stacey, who lived
in the village of Foxcroft in the same county. She i cached the advanced age of eighty-
two years.
At the time of his father's death Henry Beal, owing to the burden that devolved upon
his mother to support her family of small children, went to live with his aunt, Mrs. Lydia
Peters, his mother's sister, at Pelhani. New Hampshire, there remaining to the age of eleven
years, when he went to Lawrence. Massachusetts, and learned the painter's trade, which he
followed until the outbreak of the war. When in answer to President Lincoln's first call for
troops he enlisted on the 15th of April, 1S61, he had already had military training, having
been a member of the militia. He was mustered in at Boston and with his command pro-
ceeded to Washington, where the troops Avere sworn in for three months' service, Mr. Beal
being a member of Company F, Sixth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, under Colonel Edwin
P. Jones. They were quartered in the senate chambers in Washington until the arrival of
other troops. This was the first regiment to reach the capital and at Baltimore they were
mobbed on the 19th of April, 1861, four of the men being killed. For two weeks they re-
mained in Washington and were then sent to the relay house to guard the junction of the
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad where it branches off to go to Harpers Ferry. Later they were
sent to Baltimore to take charge of the arsenal located there and a few days later after
obtaining possession at that point, they were again sent to the relay house and shortly
afterward were returned to Washington to do guard duty. On the 22d of July, 1861, the
United States congress passed a vote of thanks to the regiment for the alacrity with which
the men had responded and the patriotism and bravery which they had displaj'ed. They were
returned to Boston on the expiration of their three months' term and honorably discharged
August 2, 1861. Mr. Beal then went back to Maine and attended school during the winter,
but still the war continued, and on the 1.3th of January, 1862, he reenlistcd, becoming a
member of Company G. Second Regiment of Infantry, of the District of Columbia. He was
sent on to Washington, where the regiment was held as a patrol guard, and there he served
until honorably discharged owing to injuries which he had received in the performance of
duty in the capital on the 10th of May, 1862. He then went down with the Sixth Maine
76 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Iiifantiy in the employ of a sutler, and so continued until July, 1802, when he bccamo ill
with malarial fever and was sent north. After six weeks spent in a hospital at I'liiladeliiliia
he returned to Haine, where he recuperated. His brother, Melvin Beal, was a second lieutenant
of Company F, Sixth Massachusetts Infantry, following his enlistment in response to tht
first call for troops. Reenlisting, he bccamo a lieutenant colonel and afterward a colonel, and
when the w'ar ended he returned to Lawrence, :Massachusctts. where he lived for sixty years.
Ill the winter of 3 802-3 Henry Beal removed to Wisconsin, becoming a pioneer of New Rich-
mond, 8t. Croix county, where he engaged in clerking.
In September, 1863, Mr. Beal was married to Miss Emily Payne, the daughter of liis em-
|)loyer, and to them were born three children: Angle A., now Mrs. \V. S. Emory, of Barnes
in 1901 and on the 15th of August, 1908. Mr. Beal wedded Jliss Hattie Young, of Budds
Lake, New Jersey.
After his first marriage Mr. Beal continued in Wisconsin for two years and then returned
count}-. North Dakota; Martha B.; and Esther, deceased. The wife and mother passed away
to Lawrence, Massachusetts, where ho and his brother. Colonel Beal. formed a partnership and
engaged in the painting business lor four years. At the end of that time he went to Maiiu'.
where he embarked in the lumber business in partnership with his brother, remaining at that
point for two years or more. He lu'xt establislied liis home at East Golden, Micliigan, where
he once more conducted a lumber business and also spent some time as foreman of a large
mill. Later he was in Wisconsin, where he engaged in lumbering, and in September, 1879,
he arrived in Valley City, North Dakota, after which he homesteaded and engaged in farming
for a few years. He then returned to Wisconsin, where lie took up mill work once more,
but sufl'erod very heavy losses from a cyclone. Going again to Valley City, he has since
made his home there and is now living retired.
While in Wisconsin Mr. Beal was aiijioinled ])ostmaster of Haywood by President Harri-
son and served for four years and was also city auditor in \'alley City for two years. He
lias always given loyal support to the republican party and he stands for clean politics and
good government. Kraternally he is connected with several organizations and is now com-
mander of the Graiul Army of the Republic for the Department of North Dakota with the
rank of general, an honor which he greatly appreciates, coming to him from his old comrade
who were the "boys in blue" of ISCl to 180."). He has in his possession the Massachusetts
modal which was given to each of the original ninety day men who enlisted from that state.
In Masonic circles he has taken tlie degrees of the lodge, chapter and commanilerv and he
belongs also to the Independent Order of Odd Follows and the Kniglits of Pythias. His fellow
townsmen instinctively respect and honor him because of his upright life, his high ideals and
his sterling worth, manifest in every relation.
B. G. TKNNESOX.
B. G. Tenneson, of Pierce, Tenneson & Cupli'r, the leading firm of attorcnys of Fargo,
posaesBes in strong measure the analytical mind and keen disccrnnunt of the able lawyer and
his progress at the bar has been contijiuous since he made his initial step in the profession.
He has been connected with the practice of law in Fargo since 1896, the year following the
completion of his university course. He was then a young man of thirty years, his birth
having occurred on the 15th of February, 1865, in Trempelea\i county, Wisconsin. His
parents, Peder an<l Dorothea (Gulbrandson) Tenneson, were natives of Norway, but were
married in the United States. Emigrating to the new world, the father became a AVisconsin
farmer and continued to reside in that state until liis death in 1884. He was married twice,
Mrs. Dorotliea Tenneson being his second wife. She survives him at the advanced age of
eighty-nine years and makes her home with her son in Fargo.
Spending his youthful days in the home of his parents, B. G. Tenneson supplemented
a common school education by study in the Curtiss Business College and in the Minneapolis
Academy, where he completed a course in 1888. He afterward entered upon the study of
law in the University of Minnesota at Jlinneapolis, completing his course with the graduat-
ing class of 1895. The same year he was admitted to the Minnesota state bar and the
B. G. TENNESON
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 79
following year passed the required state board examination of North Dakota and was
admitted to practice in this state. He remained for a year in Minneapolis and in 1896 came
to Fargo, where he entered the law ofBce of Newman, Spalding & Phelps, with whom he was
associated for two years. Leaving their employ, he next became associated with Edmund
Pierce, of Sheldon, North Dakota, with whom he remained for five years, at the end of
which time, or in 1903, the firm of Pierce & Tenneson was formed. They removed their
headquarters to Fargo and on the 1st of January, 1908, they were joined by a third partner,
A. W. Cupler, under the present firm style of Pierce, Tenneson & Cupler. They rank among
the foremost attorneys in corporation law not only in the city but in the state and represent
about twelve, of the leading corporations of Fargo. They also make a specialty of examining
and perfecting titles and at the same time continue in the general practice of law.
Mr. Tenneson and his partners are well versed in all branches of practice and they have won
many notable cases. Mr. Tenneson enjoys well merited distinction as an able lawyer and
at the same time he is a prominent figure, in financial circles as the vice president of the
Northern Trust Company of Fargo and a director of the Scandinavian-American Bank. He
is also a heavy investor in Cass county farm lands and holds valuable property interests.
On the 1st of August, 1893, Mr. Tenneson was married to Miss Hilda Keeland, a
native of Norway, and to them have been born three children, Clarence P., Norman G. and
Agnes L. The parents are members of the Scandinavian Lutheran church and Mr. Tenneson
is also a member of the Norse Society of Fargo and of the Sons of Norway. Fraternally he
is identified with Mizpah Lodge, No. 39, F. & A. M., of Sheldon; Dakota Consistory, No. 1,
A. & A. S: K; and El Zagal Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., of Fargo He is likewise a member
of the Knights of Pythias lodge of Fargo, while his political allegiance is given to the
republican party He belongs to the Fargo Commercial Club and is interested in all of its
plans and projects for the development and upbuilding of the city, giving hearty cooperation
wherever aid is needed for the furtherance of the welfare of city or state. He is ever
to be found where intelligent men are met in the discussion of vital problems and he is justly
regarded as one of the foremost representatives of the legal profession in Fargo.
GLUF KYIXO.
Oluf Kyllo, who follows farming on section 31, Eeed township, Cass county, is of Nor-
wegian birth but from the age of two years has made his home in the new world and from
early boj'hood has been actively identified with agricultural interests, being now the owner
of an excellent -farm property equipped with all of the conveniences and accessories of a
model farm of the twentieth century. His birth occurred in Norway on the 13th of June,
1864, his parents being Mr. and Mrs. Peter Kyllo, mentioned elsewhere in this work in con-
nection with the sketch of Theodore Kyllo. They came to the United States when their son
Oluf was but two years of age, so that his education was acquired in the district schools of
this land, but his opportunities for educational training were limited, as his services were
early required upon the home farm. When a youth of but fourteen years he made a hanc^
in the harvest field at a time when grain was bound by the workmen, as invention had not
yet brought forth the machine to do this task. The haluts of industry which he formed in
the early days have remained with him throughout the intervening years. He worked upon
the old homestead until he could purchase a farm of his own, buying his first land in 1895,
at which time he became owner of a tract of two hundred and eighty acres situated on sec-
tion 31, Keed township, Cass county. He then bent his energies to the development of thi
property and today has one of the best improved farms of the county. The place is well
fenced and divided into fields of convenient size which return a gratifying annual income. He
has erected good buildings and the latest improved farm machinery is used to facilitate the
cultivation and care of the crops.
In 1897 Mr. Kyllo was xmited in marriage to Miss Oleana Knudson, hy whom he had
six children, five of whom .still survive, namely: Gorda S., Clara G., Helen A., Olga 0. and
H. Lillian. Mr. Kyllo votes with the republican party and is now serving on the board of
township trustees. He is much interested in the cause of education and is acting as a mem-
Vol. II— 5
50 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
the Minot Flout- ilill Company, rncorpoiated, of which he is the vice president and general
manager. In the summer of 1915 he organized tlie Western Elevator Company, Incorporated,
of which he is also the vice president and general manager. He is likewise a landowner,
having a farm three miles south of Minot, but he devotes tlie greater part of his attention
to the milling and grain business. The Western Elevator Company operates a line of ele-
vators in North Dakota and the Minot Milling Company makes shipments to all the larger
markets throughout the United States. This company manufactures flour of superior excel-
lence, known as the Snow White, and the mill is completely equipped witli the most modern
machinery and employs the latest processes. Steadily the trade has grown until it has now
assumed extensive proportions and the success of the two undertakings is attributable in
no small measure to the efforts and business ability of Mr. Bunnell.
In June 1S93, Mr. Bunnell was united in marriage to Miss Rosenna Vice, a native of
Ontario, Canada, and a daughter of George and Emily (Goulden) Vice, both of whom were
born in England. The father, a foundryman and merchant, is still actively engaged in
business in Ontario, but the mother passed away in the year 1890. To Mr. and Mrs. Bun-
nell have been born eight children, as follows: Florence J., who is supervisor of music in
the Bchoola of Portal, North Bakota; Edith Grace, a student in the State Normal School
at Minot: William Harold, a sophomore in tlic Minot high scliool; Myron Goulden, a sixth
grade public school student; Irwin Robinson, a fiftli grade pupil; and Howard, Wilbur and
Claire, all at home.
Mr. Bunnell is prominently known in fraternal circles, holding membership with the
Masonic lodge, the Knights of Pythias, the Foresters and the United Commercial Travelers.
His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he has served on the board of
aldermen of Minot. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church and in its teachings
is found the guiding spirit of his life, which conforms thereto in all of its relations. He is
found thoroughly reliable as well as enterprising in business and progressive and trustworthy
in citizenship, while the qualities lie displays in private life have won him warm and endur-
ing friendships.
JOHN BARRETT FOLSOJl.
Wlien Fargo was entering upon an era of rapid development and progress John Barrett
Folsom became identified with that section of the state and remained to tlie time of his
death a prominent figure in the business and social life of his community. If the historian
were, without preliminary effort, to set forth his achievements in a single sentence it would
perhaps best be done in the words, the splendid success of an honest man in whose life
business ability and humanitarianism were well balanced forces.
Mr. Folsom was born in Ohio in 1837 and spent his boyhood in the southern part of
that state. He attended the public school of Ironton until his thirteentli year and was said
to be the brightest boy that ever attended tliat school, but on entering'his teens he was
forced to put aside his textbooks in order to provide for his own support and began earning
his living as a clerk in a country store. From that time until his death on the 6tli of
August, 1912, he scarcely passed an idle day. In 1863 he accepted a position at an iron
furnace and was connected with the iron industiy at different periods in Ohio, Kentucky,
Tennessee, Missouri and Michigan, thoroughly acquainting himself with every detail of the
business and continuing his activity along that line until he yielded to the lure of Bakota.
In 1882 Mr. Folsom sold his interests in iron furnaces and came to Fargo, which was
then in the midst of a boom. He there purchased property and immediately opened a real
estate and loan office, meeting witli success in the business from the beginning. He soon
mastered all of the details of real estate transactions and activity as thoroughly as he
had the details of the iron business. Jlr. Folsom had the same kind of a mental picture of
a quarter section of land in the region within one hundred or more miles of Fargo that a
wideawake, enterprising real estate broker in the city has of its blocks and streets. He
did not have to refer to maps or notes when a farm or an undeveloped piece of land was
mentioned; the legal description of it immediately suggested a mental picture to tiim. If
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 51
it were inipioveJ property he knew precisely how many buildings there were and what
kind of a well there was on it, also the character and quality of the soil. To the day of his
death he was a man of extraordinary mental and physical activity but as simple, as gentle
and as kindly in his nature as a girl. Mr. Folc-om had no enemies; there was nothing in his
nature or his actions to inspire enmity. By hi honesty, his kindliness, his helpfulness and
unselfish attention to their interests he endeared himself to all of his business clients and
associates and there is no man in all of the young state of North Dakota who has helped
more worthy homesteaders to overcome hardships and difliculties occasioned by bad crops
and keep possession of their farms than did Mr. Folsoni.
In 1863 occurred the marriage of Mr. Folsom and iliss Lavisa C. Forsythe, of southern
Oliio, and when death called him he was survived by his widow and a daughter, the latter
being the wife of Major Matthew F. Steele, of the United States Army, who after serving for
thirty years as a cavalry officer retired from active military duty in order to take charge
of Mr. Folsom's business and estate.
Mr. Folsom was one of Fargo's most public-spirited men and was always ready to
give personal and financial aid to whatever was done for the betterment of business or
social conditions of the town. He stood at all times for advancement and improvement
and heartilv cooperated in those measures which were a matter of civic virtue and civic
pride. Of his many good qualities not the least was his capacity for strong friendships.
The simplicity and beauty of his daily life as seen in his home and family relations consti-
tuted an even balance to his splendid business ability. The high ideals which he cherished
found embodiment in practical effort for their adoption and because of the innate refine-
ment of his nature he rejected everything opposed to good taste.
HON. FRANK P. ALLEN.
Hon. Frank P. Allen, judge of the fomth district court of North Dakota and a resident
of Lisbon, was born in New York city on the 19th of December, 1859, his parents being
Frank S. and Hannah E. (Benedict) Allen, both of whom were natives of New York city
and descended from old colonial families connected with Revolutionary war history, so that
Judge Allen is eligible to membership through both the paternal and maternal lines with
the Sons of the American Revolution. In early life his father became a New York banker
but for several years has lived retired and he and his wife, at the ages of eighty-five and
eighty- four years respectively, are now residents of New York <;ity.
•Tudge Allen was educated in the schools of his native city, of Connecticut and of New
Jersey and afterward went with his parents to Germany, where he studied for three years.
Later he continued his studies in Paris until the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war,
when he returned to this country. He subsequently entered Princeton Universit}- and was
graduated with the class of 1881. winning the civil engineer's degree.
It was in the summer of 1882 that Judge Allen first visited Dakota. After reaching the
territory he readily recognized the advantages which the new country offered to a young
man and which made strong appeal to hira. He determined to remain and after traveling
over the state in search of a favorable location settled at Lisbon, where he has since made
his home. Subsequently he took up the study of law and was admitted to practice in 1886.
For some years he practiced independently and then entered into partnership with Hon. P. H.
Rourke. with whom he was associated for some time. In 1886 he was elected probate judge
and served for two or three terms and at a later date he became county judge with increased
jurisdiction, remaining upon the bench of that court for a number of terms. He has filled
various minor offices but his activities have usually been put forth along the line of his pro-
fession and in 1904 he was elected judge of the fourth district court and through the inter-
vening period of twelve years has remained upon the bench, widely recognized as one of
the most capable and distinguished district judges of the state. Devotedly attached to his
profession, systematic and methodical in habit, sober and discreet in judgment, calm in
temper, diligent in research, conscientious in the discharge of every duty, courteous and
kind in demeanor and inflexibly just on all occasions, these qualities have enabled him to
82 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
ford as vice president and Mrs. Granger as secretary and treasurer, while all his sons arp
members of the company. He first came to Valley City through the recommendation of
"Uncle John" Russell, whose two sisters were aunts of Mr. Granger. His first year vra>
spent in the employ of Dr. S. B. Coe, at that time proprietor and publisher of the Northern
Pacific Times. In the years which have since elapsed sound judgment has characterized his
business dealings, his enterprise has been guided by a progressive spirit and in all that he
has undertaken he has won success.
In August, 1891, Ml-. Granger was united in marriage to Miss Ella M. Gibson, of Che-
nango county. New York, a daughter of Jacob Gibson, and their children are: Cliliord,
who is a graduate of the Valley City State Normal and is now at home; Glenn, who is also
a graduate of the Normal and is now in the real estate business with his father; Allan, who
is being similarly educated and who has developed considerable talent as a musical com-
poser, giving great promise along that line; Irwin, a student in the State Normal; and
Florence and Leslie, also in school.
The parents are members of the Methodist chui-ch and Jlr. Granger has served on the
school board but has never had desire for public office. He is notwithstanding a good citizen,
loyal to every public interest that promises for the welfare and upbuilding of the community.
He manifests the same progressive spirit in relation to the general good that he does in his
private business aflairs.
FRED L. WICKS, PH. G., M. D.
Dr. Fred L. Wicks, a most progressive physician specializing in his practice in the
treatment of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, has been located in Valley City
since 1909 and has an office splendidly equipped for the conduct of the most delicate work
connected with his specialty. He was born in Albert Lea, Minnesota, March 2, 1885, a son
of Edwin and Ida May (Harrison) Wicks, the former a native of La Salle county, Illinois,
and the latter of Cincinnati, Ohio. The great-grandfather in the Wicks line was of Nor-
wegian stock, while the Harrisons are an old colonial family, coming from the same
ancestry as the Harrison branch which has furnished two presidents to the United States.
Through the Doctor's aunt the family became connected with the Grant family of which
U. S. Grant was a representative.
Edwin Wicks was reared in Freeborn county, Minnesota, to which locality the family
removed from Illinois. When a young man he went to Alberta Lea, Mirthesota, and there
learned the general merchandise business. Later he turned his attention to the lumber
trade in Dakota and is still in active business at Canton, South Dakota, being now sixty-
two years of age. He has never been remiss in duties of citizenship but has borne his
share in promoting interests of public moment and at the same time he has been a helpful
member and generous supporter of the church. To him and his wife were born a daxightcr
who died in infancy and two sons, the elder being Jesse Harrison Wicks, a pharmacist
who conducts a drug store at Denton, Montana.
The younger brother. Dr. Wicks, of Valley City, acquired his elementary education in
the public schools of Salem, South Dakota, and afterward attended the high school at
Windom. He next entered Redfield College at Redfield, South Dakota, and afterward
became a student in the department of pharmacy of Highland Park College at Des Jloines,
Iowa, where he won his Ph. G. degree in 1903. He regarded this merely as an initial step
to other professional activity, for he then entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons
of Keokuk, Iowa, and was graduated with the M. D. degree in 1906. Going to Chicago, be
took post graduate Avork in the Chicago Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat College, after which
he came to North Dakota and for three years was engaged in general practice in the
northern part of the state, but in 1909 opened an office in Valley City, where he has since
concentrated his energies upon the treatment of the eye, ear, nose and throat and along
his special field has built up an extensive practice. He has a fine modern office thoroughly
equipped for his work and he is in close touch with all the latest scientific researches and
discovcriee.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 83
On the 30tli of August, 1913, occurred the marriage of Dr. Wicks and Miss Maud Yost,
ji Somerset, Ohio, a daughter of Owen Yost, an attorney of that place. They have one son,
Edwin Owen. Mrs. Wiclis is a member of the Congregational church and he is identified
with the Brotherhood of that organization. He takes a special interest in athletics for the
young members. He has always been much interested in athletics, playing on the base
ball and football teams when in college and still keeping up his interest, so that he is well
qualified to advise and assist the younger element in their games. He knows that it is
just as important to play well as to work well and that the balanced character is that in
which recreation and work are given a due proportion of interest. Along the line of his
profession his membership extends to the Shej-enne Valley Medical Association, the North
Dakota State Medical Association and the American Medical Association. His own life
constitutes an example and makes an appeal for strong, clean, honorable, energetic manhood
and proves what can be accomplished when there is no waste of time or opportunity.
JOHN J. COYLE.
Among the successful attorneys of Minot is John J. Coyle, who was born in Forreston,
Illinois, August 17, 1877, the youngest of a family of seven children born to the union of
Bernard and Ellen (Mathews) Coyle. The father is a native of County Cavan and the mother
was born in County Limerick, Ireland, but they were married in America, the father having
emigrated here in 1851 and the mother in the following year. Mr. Coyle was engaged in
railroad contract work in Freeport, Illinois, for a considerable period and also followed agri-
cultural pursuits for some time. He has now reached the venerable age of ninety-four and
is living in Freeport. In his early manhood he held a number of local offices and proved
conscientious and capable in the discharge of his duties. He has at all times conformed his
life to the highest standards of morality and has never smoked nor chewed nor used intoxi-
cating liquors. He is a devout member of the Roman Catholic church and for fifty years
has taken the collection every Sunday. His wife passed away in 1905.
John J. Coyle attended the countrj' schools and the Freeport high school and then, at
the age of eighteen years, became stenographer for the station agent at Freeport, holding
that position for about two years. During that time he carefully saved his money, as he
had determined to prepare for the practice of law, and when he felt that he was in a financial
position to carry out his plans he entered the law department of the University of Wisconsin.
While a student there he served as secretary to the dean of the law school and thus helped
pay his expenses. He was graduated in 1900 and not long afterward became connected
with the legal department of the Deering Harvester Company at Chicago, Illinois. After a
year, however, he removed to Minot and entered upon the independent practice of his pro-
fession, forming a partnership with George A. McGee under the firm name of McGee & Coyle
on the 1st of November, 1901. After about three years this partnership was dissolved and
Mr. Coyle was then alone in practice until 1912, when he took in 0. B. Herigstad as a partner.
This connection was maintained until the 1st of March, 1915, when Mr. Herigstad was
appointed assistant states attorney, and since that time Mr. Coyle has practiced alone. He
has gained a large and representative clientage and is recognized as an able attorney. He
adds to a comprehensive knowledge of the law a keen insight into human natirre, a logical
mind and the power of convincing argument. He owns stock in a number of business enter-
prises in Minot and holds title to two thousand acres of good farm land which he rents and
from which he derives a substantial addition to his income.
Mr. Coyle was married on the 29th of July, 1903, to Miss Gertrude M. Loos, a native
of Freeport, Illinois, and a daughter of N. B. and Katherine (Ryan) Loos, who were born
respectively in Germany and in New York. The father engaged in the manufacture of
saddles in his early manhood but is now deceased. He served as alderman and as city
treasurer and also held other offices and was highly esteemed in his community. His wife
survives. Mr. and Mrs. Coyle are the parents of a son and daughter: Helen Lois, who was
born on the 12th day of July, 1908; and Bernard John, whose birth occurred on the 9th of
August, 1913.
84 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Mr. Coyle is a republican and has held the oiEce of public administrator and of states
attorney of Ward county. He is now serving as a member of the insanity commission of
Ward county and in all his official capacities he has given the same care and thought to the
discharge of his duties as he gives to the conduct of his cases in his private practice. His
military record covers service as a member of Governor Sarles' staff with the rank of colonel.
The principles which govern his conduct arc indicated by his membership in the Koman Cath-
olic church. He is a charter member of Minot Lodge, No. 10S9, B. P. 0. E., and is an olTiccr
in the Grand Lodge of Xorth Dakota of the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is an
advocate of Minot Council, No. 1150, K. C, in which he has taken the fourth degree. He is
recognized not only as an able attorney but also as a public-spirited citizen and a man of
sterling worth, and his personal friends are many.
MAKTIN J. ENGESETH.
Martin J. Engeseth, the popular and capable register of deeds of Ward county, is one
of the valued citizens of Minot. A native of Wisconsin, his birth occurred in De Forest, Dane
county, on the 37th of January, 1875. He is a son of John and Betsy (Grinde) Engeseth.
both of whom were born in Norway. They came to the United States in their youth and were
married here. The father continued to farm in Dane county, Wisconsin, until his demise in
1909, and the mother died there in 1910.
JIartin J. Engeseth attended the public and high schools of his native town and subse-
quently entered Valparaiso University at Valparaiso, Indiana, where he was graduated from
the business department in 189S. He remained at home until about twenty years of age and
when not attending school devoted his time to assisting his father. In 1902 he arrived in
Minot, North Dakota, and entered the employ of the Scofield Implement Company as book-
keeper. He held that position continuously until elected to the office of register of deeds.
He is prompt and accurate in his work, and his efficiency, combined with his courtesy, has
gained him tlie commendation of all who have had dealings with the register's oflBce. He
concentrates his attention upon liis ollicial duties but is also connected with the business
life of Minot. as he is interested financially in the Lidstrom Furniture Company.
On the 7th of June, 1900, Mr. Engeseth was united in rriarviage to !Miss Gertrude .John-
son, also a native of Dane county, Wisconsin, her birthplace being within four miles of that
of Mr. Engeseth. Her parents, Nels and Johanna Johnson, were born respectively in Norway
and in Wisconsin, and are both deceased.
Mr. Engeseth is a stalwart republican in politics, and his religious faith is that of the
Lutheran church. Fraternally he is well known, belonging to the Masonic blue lodge, the
chapter and commandery, to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias
and the Elks, all of Minot. In the commandery he has served as secretary, and he is much
interested in the work of all of the orders to which he belongs. He conforms his life to
high standards, and the esteem in which he is generally held is well deserved.
FRANK H. FARMER, V. S.
Dr. Frank H. Farmer, who is successfully engaged in the practice of veterinary medicine
*nd surgery in Wahpeton, is also serving as assistant state veterinarian. A native of Ire-
land, his birth occurred on the 4th of October, 1864, and he is a son of William and Alice
(Soughan) Farmer, both natives of the Emerald isle. In 1871 they came with their family
to the United States and settled in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts, where they remained for
eight or ten years. They then went to Ontario, Canada, where the father passed away in
1912 at the age of seventy-nine years, as he was born in 1833. He was a carpenter and con
tractor by occupation. In his early manhood he served in the Crimean war and he remained
in the army until his emigration to the new world. For a number of years he held the ofTice
of paymaster and at all times he was faithful and efficient in the performance of his duty.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 85
Wliile at the front he was twice wounded. His religious faith was that of the Episcopal
church, to the support of whicli he contributed. The mother, who was born in 1840, is still
living. To them were born three children: John, a musician who lives near Niagara Falls;
Frank H. ; and Mrs. R. H. Sawdon, of Spencerville, Ontario, whose husband is a farmer. The
paternal grandfather, Frank Farmer, passed his entire life in County Cork, Ireland.
Frank H. Farmer attended the common schools in Ontario and the United States, tl'.u
acquiring a good education. In 1885, when a young man of twenty-one years, he came to
North Dakota and settled in Grand Forks county, where he worked at anything that he could
find to do. In 1889, however, he entered a veterinary school in Chicago, from which he
was graduated in 1893. The following year he located in Wahpeton for the practice of his
profession. Almost from the start he has been well patronized and he has gained an enviable
reputation for the successful treatment of the diseases of animals. He devotes his entire time
to his practice and to the discharge of his duties as assistant state venterinarian under the
live stock board. He has also served as a member of the state board of examiners, having
been elected to that position in 1895 and again in 1910, holding that office until 1913, and he
is well known and highly esteemed in professional circles throughout the state.
Mr. Farmer is a republican in politics but, although he loyally supports that party at the
polls, he has never had time to take an active part in public affairs, as his large practice has
demanded his undivided time and attention. He has not only gained a gratifying measure
of success professionally, but has also won tlie personal goodwill and regard of those with
whom he has been brought into contact.
B. C. ANDERSON.
The activity of many energetic, enterprising men has made North Dakota a gi-eat agri-
cultural state. Cass county contains rich fanning land owned and occupied by various
progressive agriculturists, among which number is B. C. Anderson, who lives on section 6,
Pleasant township. He was born in Norway on the 19th of May, 1846, a son of Anders and
ICaru (Anderson) Anderson. The maternal grandfather lived to the very remarkable old
age of one hundred and three years. The parents of B. C. Anderson came to the United
States a year or two after his arrival and about a twelvemonth later the father passed
away, after which the mother made her home with her son.
At the usual age B. C. Anderson began his education in the public schools of Norway,
continuing his studies until he liad mastered tlie high school course, and while in his native
land he acquainted himself to a slight degree with the English language. Attracted by the
favorable reports which he heard concerning business conditions and opportunities in the
new world, he sailed for America in 1866, when a young man of twenty years, and after
landing on the eastern seaeoast crossed the country to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he hired
out to a Methodist minister who was the owner of a farm. His first wage was fifteen
dollars per month, with the privilege of attending school during the winter months. Mr.
Anderson remained in the employ of the minister for a year, after which he secured a posi-
tion with W. L. Benning, president of the first railroad built from St. Paul to Duluth. He
worked around the house, took care of the team and drove the surrey for the family. After
the completion of the railroad he was given a position in the engineering corps and served
in that capacity until the construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad was begun toward
Red river in 1869.
At that time or about 1870, B. C. Anderson and his brother Andrew came to the west
in advance of the railroad to look over the country, having heard much talk to the effect
that "whereever the Northern Pacific crossed the Red river would be built another Chicago."
In 1871 their brother John came to Cass county and worked on the steam boat Salt Creek,
Captain Griggs, on the Red river. He was accidently drowned near Pemberton, North
Dakota, and his body was never found. B. C. and Andrew Anderson were probably the
first white men in Cass county. After their visit here they returned to St. Paul and B. C.
Anderson worked on the same railroad on which he had previouslj' been employed. On the
13th of April, 1870, however, he took up his abode upon his present farm and afterward
86 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
filed oil a quarter section as a preemption. He was the first man in tlie townsliip to break
five acres of land. He early became familiar with every phase of pioneer life and with
every kind of work incident to the development of a new farm. He afterward bought
school lands and railroads lands until his holdings aggregated five hundred and sixty acres,
and he has resided upon his farm continuously for forty-six years. Great indeed have been
the changes which have occurred during this period. At the time of his arrival one could
look abroad over the country for miles. There were rolling prairies stretching far and wide,
with little token of the plow, and with no barrier fences, spangled in June with a million
flowers and in December covered with an unbroken sheet of dazzling snow. Today the
countryside has been divided into farms which are the homes of a contented and prosperous
people and the land has been made to yield richly, for the soil is naturally productive and
responds readily to the care and labor bestowed upon it.
In 1874 or 1875 Mr. Anderson was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Nilson, a native
of Norway who came to the United States in 1868. Prior to her marriage she worked at
Fort Aborcrombie for General Crittenden. Mr. Anderson was well acquainted with General
Crittenden and his son, who were killed by the Indians at the Custer massacre. Our sub-
ject and his wife have seven children, as follows: Albert, who cultivates a portion of the
home farm; Petra, who is the widow of T. H. S. Egge and makes her home in ^Moorhead,
Minnesota; Nellie, the wife of J. P. Larson, of Clyde, North Dakota; Laura, who gave her
hand in marriage to John B.. Bye, of Greenbush, Minnesota; William, who cultivates part
of the home farm; Henry, who lives at home and is engaged in farming in association with
his two brothers; and Milla, also at home.
In his political opinions Mr. Anderson has always been a republican and has closely
adhered to the principles of the party. He has served as school treasurer for sixteen years
and the cause of education finds in him a stalwart champion. He and his wife are members
of the Norwegian Lutheran church and he was one of the prominent factors in the building
of the church, which was erected upon his farm and which is the oldest west of Willmar,
Minnesota. In other ways he has contributed to the material, intellectual and moral prog-
ress of the community and no history of Cass county would be complete without mention
of this honored pioneer, who has done so much to further the upbuilding of the county
and who stood in the front rank in the vanguard of the civilization of this part of the state.
ANGUS Mcdonald.
Angus McDonald, the proprietor of the Dacotah Hotel at Minot, is one of the pioneers
of the city, having arrived there when its population consisted of a few families. His birth
occurred in Nova Scotia, Canada, May 7, 1865, and he is a son of William and Katherine
(McCloud) McDonald, both likewise born in that province. The father was a farmer and
was well known in his community. Although he took the interest of a good citizen in
public afTairs, he never aspired to ofTice. He passed away in Nova Scotia in 1002, as did
his wife, her demise occurring the day after he was buried.
Angus McDonald received his education in his native land and remained at home until
1882, when, at the age of seventeen years, he came to North Dakota and located at Fargo,
where he worked at blacksmithing, which trade he had previously learned. After about a
year he went to Lisbon, where he was similarly employed until 1884. He then removed
to Minot and for about twelve years worked at his trade, after which he turned his atten-
tion to other pursuits, engaging in coal mining at Burlington for about eighteen months.
At the end of that time he became connected with the hotel business in ISIinot and in the
fall of 1899 opened the Dacotah Hotel, erecting the present building at that time. For
about seven years he rented the property to others but since the expiration of that period
he has personally conducted the hotel. He understands the business thoroughly and spares
no effort in providing for the comfort and convenience of his guests. As the prices are
reasonable and the service excellent, the hotel has gained an excellent reputation and is
well patronized.
Mr. McDonald was married in March, 1888, to Miss Belle Currie, a native of Toronto,
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 87
Canada, and a daughter of Malcolm and Katherine Cunie. both of whom passed their entire
lives in that city. To this union has been born a daughter, Sibyl K., who is a graduate of the
Chicago Musical College at Chicago.
Mr. McDonald is a republican and in pioneer days served as deputy sheriff, discharging
in an able manner the duties devolving upon him. He was also for a number of years a
member of the Minot city council. He was reared in the Presbyterian church and frater-
nally he is identified with the Knights of Pythias, in which he has passed through all the
chairs. These associations indicate the principles which have governed his life and which
have gained him the respect of all who have come in contact with him. He is popular
personally and is recognized as a factor in the business growth of Minot.
HON. JOHN E. PAULSON.
Hon. John E. Paulson, senator from Traill county and one of its foremost business
men, has been connected wifli commercial interests in Hillsboro since 1880. His activities
have been an element in the material development of the city and a factor in promoting
public progress and prosperity. He was born in Carver county, Minnesota, March 3, 185G,
a son of Henry and Johanna (Person) Paulson, the former a native of Grue, Norway, and
the latter of Skane, Sweden. It was in the year 1850 that the father crossed the Atlantic
and two years afterward the mother made the voyage. They were pioneer farming people
of Minnesota. Mr. Paulson took up his abode at Carver when he arrived in the new world,
but his wife became a resident of St. Paul. They were married in 1854 and settled on a farm
in Carver county, where he resided for almost three decades or until 1883, when he came to
North Dakota, establishing his home in Eldorado township, Traill county. There he resided
up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1899, and in the interim success attended
his efforts in large measure and he became the owner of eight hundred acres of rich and
valuable land. He had long survived his wife, who passed away in Minnesota in 1874.
John E. Paulson was reared under the parental roof and supplemented his public
school education by study in the Gustavus Adolphus College, then located at Carver, Minne-
sota, but now at St. Peter, Minnesota. In 1877 he came to North Dakota, reaching Traill
county on the 9th of August. He became a resident of Caledonia, then the only town of
any consequence in the county, and secured a position in a mercantile and implement house
as a clerk. A year later he embarked in merchandising on his own account at Caledonia
and afterward extended the scope of his business to include implements. In the fall of
1880 he removed his stock to Hillsboro, where the business has been developed into one of
the most important commercial enterprises of Traill county. In 1891 he erected one of the
largest business blocks in the city and he carries a very extensive line of goods, so that
lie is able to meet the varied demands of the public. He has ever recognized that satisfied
customers are the best advertisement and his energy, close application and reliable dealing
have ever been recognized as salient features in his growing success. He has also become a
stockholder and is one of the board of directors of the First National Bank of Hillsboro,
with which he has been identified from its organization.
In January, 1881, Mr. Paulson was united in marriage to Miss Mabel D. King, her
father being James S. King, a retired farmer residing in Hillsboro. To them have been
born three children, two of whom survive, namely: Agnes H., the wife of R. G. Grant, of
Hillsboro; and Herbert H., who is employed in his father's store.
Fraternally Mr. Paulson is connected with Hillsboro Lodge, No. 10, F. & A. M., and
has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Eite in Dakota Consistory, No. 1, S.
P. R. S., of Fargo. He is likewise a member of El Zagal Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., and in
October, 1915, the honorary thirty-third degree was confen-ed upon him in Fargo. His
wife is a member of the Congregational chiirch and socially they are prominent, having
an extensive circle of friends not only in Traill county, but also elsewhere in the state. In
his political views Mr. Paulson has ever been a republican, has served as chairman of the
republican central committee of Traill county for several years and is a member of the
state central committee. He filled the office of city alderman for several terms and was
88 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
for three terms maj-or of Hillsboro, giving to the city a businesslike, progressive and
public spirited administration. Still higher political honors awaited him, however, for in
1914 he was chosen senator from his district and is now connected with the upper house
of the legislative body of North Dakota, where he is serving on a number of important
committees. He has been connected with considerable important legislation and his cITorta
are of value in furthering the best interests of the commonwealth.
WILLIAM Mcdonald.
William McDonald, who carries on general farming, makes his home on section 10,
Gardner township, Cass county, where he has valuable and attractive property that includes
all the accessories and equipments of the model farm of the twentieth century. A native
of Canada, he was born September 22, 1853. and is a brother of Alexander McDonald, in
connection with whose sketch on another page of this work mention is made of the family.
At the usual age he began his education in the schools of Canada and when his textbooks
were put aside he turned his attention to the carpenter's trade, which he followed until he
came to North Dakota in 1879. He was then a young man of twenty-six years. He took
up a homestead claim, for Cass county was then upon the western frontier and much of
the land was still in possession of the government. The tract which he secured was situated
on section 10, Gardner township, and not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement
made upon the place, but with characteristic energy he began its development and after
breaking the sod planted the fields and in due time gathered good crops. As the years
have passed he has erected substantial buildings and has also planted a fine growth of
trees which constitutes an important and attractive feature of his place. As his financial
resources have increased he has added to his property from time to time by further pur-
chase and now owns six hundred and fifty acres of land constituting one of the fine farms
of this part of the state. Everything about the place is indicative of hi.s earnest care,
capable management and practical and progressive methods. In addition to his other
interests he is a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company at Gardner.
In 1880 Mr. McDonald was united in marriage to Miss Amanda Caldwell, a native of
Canada, by whom he has two sons: .John A., who married Miss Irma Cook and has one
child and who is now a resident of Wyoming; and Frank A., at home. Mrs. McDonald
passed away in 1887 and in the spring of 1893 Mr. McDonald married Jane Porter, of
Canada.
Mr. and Mrs. McDonald hold membership in the Congregational church, in which he ia
serving as one of the deacons. He takes a helpful part in the work of the church and con-
tributes liberally to its support. Politically he is a republican and for more than twenty
years has filled the office of assessor, while for over thirty years he has been on the school
board in his district. His interest centers in all those things which tend to advance the
welfare and promote the growth and prosperity of the community in which he lives. He
is indeed a public-spirited and progressive citizen and his worth is widely acknowledged
throughout Cass county.
JOHN J. NEDRELOE.
John J. Nedreloe, who took office as sheriff of Ward county in January. 1915, has
gained the commendation of all law-abiding citizens because of the capable and fearless
manner in which he has discharged his duties. He has resided in this county since 1904,
making his home in Kenmare until he removed to Minot. His birth occurred in Crawford
county, Wisconsin, on the 27th of December, 1875, and he is a son of Jens and Rangnild
(Olson) Nedreloe, both of whom were born in the vicinity of Bergen. Norway. In 1865
they emigrated to the United States and for tliiee years resided in Iowa, after which they
removed to Wisconsin, where the father passed away in May, 1913. He was a farmer
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 89
by occupation, gained a gratifying measure of success, was well known in his community
and held a number of township offices. His wife, who survives, still lives in Crawford
county, Wisconsin.
John J. Nedreloe, who is ninth in order of birth in a family of ten children, attended
the public schools, was later a student in the normal school at Decorah, Iowa, and after-
wards took a course in a business college at that place. When twenty years of age he
left home and went to North Dakota, remaining three years, then returned to Mount Ster-
ling, AVisconsin, where he became connected with a store. Four years later, or in 1901, he
removed to South Dakota, remained there for several months and then located in Courtenay,
North Dakota, later settling in Kenmare, Ward county. He engaged in the livery business
there until he was elected to the office of sheriff, in which capacity he has served since
January 4, 1915. He discharges his duties faithfully and holds the respect of all who have
come in contact with his office. AVhile he enforces the law strictly, he treats the prisoners
in the jail fairly and is in all respects an excellent sheriff. He has great faith in the future
of North Dakota and has invested in valuable farm land in the state.
Mr. Nedreloe was married on the 21st of August, 1915, to Miss Helen Anderson, who
was born in Christiania, Norway. She lost her father when but eight years of age, but
her mother is still living and still resides in that country. Mrs. Nedreloe emigrated to the
United States in 1907, but in 1914 returned to her native land on a visit. Mr. and Mrs.
Nedreloe have one child, Catharine, born May 19, 1916.
Mr. Nedreloe is a stalwart republican in politics and believes that its policies are
based upon sound principles of government. He is a member of the First Lutheran church
and in all relations of life seeks to conform his conduct to the highest standards of ethics.
EDWARD D. KELLEY.
Edward D. Kelley, now engaged in the ice business and in farming, is one of the well
known citizens of Minot and was formerly sheriff of Ward county. During his incumbency
in tliat office labor troubles occurred in Minot which tested severely his soundness of judg-
ment and his fairness, but he proved himself equal to the task of restoring order. A native
of Wisconsin, he was born in Winnebago county on the 4th of October, 1864, the tenth
child in a family of twelve children, whose parents were Richard and Ann (Norent) Kelley.
The father was born on Prince Edward Island. Canada, but the mother was a native of
Ireland. He was a farmer and followed that occupation in W^isconsin, where he passed away
in 1872. Eleven years later his wife removed to this state and located at Larimore, North
Dakota, where she resided until her demise, which occurred in 1910.
Edward D. Kelley left home when eleven years of age and worked for his board and
the privilege of attending school during the winters, while the summer months were
devoted entirely to farm work. After passing about three years in this manner he went
into the lumber woods of Wisconsin and while there was employed for some time as a log
driver on the Flambeau river. Upon leaving the Badger state in the fall of 1883 he removed
to Larimore, North Dakota, where he engaged in farming for a short time, but in 1886 he
came to Minot, buying buffalo bones on the way. After his arrival in Minot he engaged in
the retail liquor business for three or four years and during that time he purchased farm
land and also dealt in cattle to some extent. At length he disposed of the liquor business
and turned his attention to general merchandising, with wliich he was connected for about
four years, but in 1892 ho bought the business of the Minot Ice Company, which he still
owns and conducts. He has always given some attention to farming since his removal to
this state and in 1915 raised five hundred acres of wheat and oats. The oversight of the
operation of his farm and the management of his ice business demand his entire time and
attention and he derives a giatifying income from these interests. He is also a stockholder
in the Union National Bank.
Mr. Kelley was married April 24, 1894. to Miss Elizabeth Martin, who was born in
Waushara county, Wisconsin, near Poy Sippi, and is a daughter of Patrick and Ellen
(ilahoney) Martin. The father engaged in farming and continued to reside in Wisconsin
90 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
until his demise. Jlr. and Mis. Kclley liave tliroe children: Marie Ellen and Genevieve,
both at home; and Thomas X., who is attending the local schools.
Mr. Kellcj" gives his political allegicnce to the republican party and served for four years
as sheriir of Ward county, his term expiring on the )st of January, I'JIS. He held that
office at the time of the trouble with the Industrial Workers of the World at Minot and
while restoring order was in constant communication with the governor, who approved his
every move. By his course he won the hearty commendation of all law-abiding citizens and
proved himself both capable and fearless. He was a member of the first city council and
has served on that body several times since, in which capacity he has always done all in
his power to promote the general welfare. He belongs to the Elks and the Knights of
Pythias and has many friends both within and without those organizations. His religious
faith is that of the Roman Catholic church, wliose work he furthers in every way possible.
GILBERT E. EAMSTAD.
One of the enterprising and prosperous farmers of Pleasant township, Cass county, is
Gilbert L. Ramstad, who is living on section 10, and who belongs to that class of substantial
citizens that Korwaj^ has furnished to the new world and to whom is largely due the
development and upbuilding of Jlinnesota and the Dakotas. He was born in Korway on
the 21st of February, 1856, and is a brother of A. L. Ramstad, in whose sketch on another
page of this work is given an account of their parents. He was a little lad of twelve years
when the family crossed the Atlantic to the United States, making the voyage in 1869. He
had previously attended school in Norway and after coming to the new world he worked on
a farm in Houston county, Minnesota, until ho reached his twenty-first year. In 1877 he
arrived in North Dakota and took up his abode upon his present farm, where he has now
lived for thirty-nine years, entering his land as a homestead claim. To his original holdings
he has added until he now owns two hundred acres, constituting a rich and productive farm
from which he annually gathers substantial harvests. He has added to his place all the
modern improvements and equipments of the model farm property and in conducting the
work of the place follows mo.st progressive methods. He is also a stockholder in the Farm-
ers Elevator at Hickson.
In 1882 Mr. Ramstad was united in marriage to Miss Mina Hanson, a native of Norway,
who became his wife about six months after her emigration to the United States. To them
have been born nine children, as follows: Louisa; Hattie, the wife of Oscar Larson, of Bel-
trami, Minnesota; Nora, a teacher by profession; Ella, who is employed as a stenographer
at Fargo; Gerhardt; Anna, who is engaged in teaching; Jlinnie, who is preparing herself
for the work of a trained nurse; Victor; and Arthur.
In his political views Mr. Ramstad is a democrat and for several j'cars he served as a
member of the school board, but has never sought nor desired political office, preferring to
concentrate his energies upon his business affairs and other interests and duties. He and his
family are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church and their influence is always given
on the side of right, progress, truth, justice and improvement.
WILLIAM T>. HENRY.
William D. Henry, president of the Peoples State Bank of Wahpcton, Richland county,
is recognized as one of the most able bankers of the state and is a leader in the financial
circles of his town and county. A native of Ohio, he was bom at Wooster. a son of William
and Mary A. (Dwire) Henry, both of whom were natives of that place. The father was a
well-to-do merchant, manufacturer and coal operator and was widely known and highly
esteemed in his locality. His political allegiance was given to the republican party, frater-
nally he was a Mason and both he and his w-ife attended the Episcopal church. They were
the parents of three children, two of whom are now living, the brother of our subject being
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 91
Charles D. Henry, who is engaged in the banking business in Monterey, California. The
paternal grandfather, William Henry, removed from Pennsylvania to Ohio in an early day
in the history of the latter state and in 180S located in the town of Wooster, where he
resided during the remainder of his life. He was a man of independent means and engaged
in banking and in the land business. The maternal grandfather, Shafet Dwire, was bom
in JIaryland, but was an early settler of Ohio.
William D. Henry received his education in the public schools of Wooster and after
putting aside his textbooks in 1871 went to Waterloo, Iowa, where he became a clerk in a
bank. In 1880 he arrived in Wahpeton, North Dakota, and accepted a position as book-
keeper and assistant cashier in the Peoples Bank there, of which he became cashier in 1887,
a position which he held for fourteen years. His business acumen and executive ability
■were still further recognized in 1901, when he was made president of the institution, in
which capacity he is still serving. The bank was established by F. L. French, a prominent
business man and banker of Wahpeton, who remained as its chief executive until his
demise in 1900. The bank was then reorganized as the Peoples State Bank, by which name
it is still known. It is capitahzed for twenty thousand dollars, has a surplus and undivided
profits of twenty thousand dollars and average deposits of two hundred and fifty thousand
dollars. The stock is held by a small number of people and its value as an investment is
indicated by the fact that not a single share has been transferred since its organization. It
has prospered from its organization and the wise policy instituted by its founders has
been carried on by Mr. Heniy, who is not only thoroughly familiar with the routine of
banking practice, but also understands the principles of finance underlying all banking pro-
cedure and keeps in touch with local business conditions.
Mr. Henry casts his ballot in support of the republican party, but has never had time
to take an active part in politics as his business interests have required his entire atten-
tion. He is identified with the Masonic blue lodge, the Koyal Arch chapter, the Knights
Templar commandcry, the Scottish Rite bodies and the Mystic Shrine and seeks to exem-
plify in his life the beneficent teachings of the craft. He is at present serving as captain
general of the Grand Commandery of North Dakota. His enterprise and business ability
have enabled him to gain financial independence and his public spirit and integrity have
won for him the esteem of those who have been associated w-ith him.
WILLIAM A. PECK.
One of the important factors in the nation-wide movement to make farming more effi-
cient and to make the conditions of farm, life more attractive is the county agricultural
agent, whose business it is to keep the farmers in his county informed as to the advance-
ment that is being made in all lines that touch upon farm life and to work with them in
bringing about feasible improvements. William A. Peck, the county agent of Ward county,
is residing in Minofr and has proved very efficient in the discharge of his varied duties.
He was born at Acton, Indiana, the eldest of a family of four children born to the
union of U. A. and Emma (Anderson) Peck. Tlie father's birth occurred in Ohio in 1848
and the mother's in Indiana in 1858. In his early manhood U. A. Peck engaged in news-
paper work and also studied law. He was admitted to the bar and practiced to some extent
but for a considerable period has devoted his attention to farming. About 1883 he removed
to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he worked on newspapers until his health b^an to fail and
he turned his attention to farming. He is now living upon a ranch in Montana, which he
owns although he leaves the actual work of its operation to others. During the Civil war
he served as a private in Company B, Third Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, remaining at the front
for two years. Although he was never wounded he was confined in a hospital for some
time because of illness.
William A. Peck attended the graded schools in the Twin Cities and high ^hool in
Indiana, and subsequently entered the University of Minnesota, from which he was grad-
uated with the class of 1906, with degree of Bachelor of Science. When twelve years of
.age he began to pay his own expenses, earning money by selling papers and by doing other
92 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
things suited to bis age. When nineteen years old he went to Minneapolis and worked his
way through the University of Minnesota, thus displaying the qualities of enterprise and
determination which have been such important factors in his subsequent success. Follow-
ing his graduation from the university he became connected with the department of agri-
culture at Washington, in the capacity of agriculturist in charge of the section of farm
economics, remaining there for four years. At the end of that time he became interested in
Montana land and engaged in ranching there for about three years, after which, in the
spring of 1912, he came to North Dakota. He was made agricultural agent of Ward county
and took up his residence in llinot, where he has since lived. The office is supported jointly
by the federal government, the state and the county, the latter assessing a tax on all
property for that purpose. He keeps the farmers in touch with all of the work done by
the United States department of agriculture that would be of value to them and is active
in various farmers' organizations. He gives careful study to the problems of marketing
crops as well as to those that concern their production and seeks to cooperate with the
farmers in every way possible. Not only is he interested in the scientific and business
phases of farm life but also in the work of the rural schools, in the upbuilding of the
country churches and increasing the attractiveness of farm homes. He still owns land in
Montana and also holds title to land in North Dakota, but he rents his farms to others,
devoting his entire attention to the work of his office.
Jlr. Peck was married on the 14th of October. 1908, to Miss Anna Adel Thompson, who
was born in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, and is a daughter of Peter and Gertrude (Wilkins)
Thompson, natives respectively of Denmark and of Cottage Grove, Minnesota. The father
is still engaged in farming in that state. Mr. and Mrs. Peck are the parents of three chil-
dren: Wendell Thompson, whose birth occurred February 16, 1910; Helen Spurier, born
February 24, 1912; and William, Jr., February 2, 1915.
Mr. Peck is independent in politics, voting according to the dictates of his judgment
rather than according to the commands of a party leader. Fraternally he is associated with
the Masonic blue lodge at Minot and is an e.xemplary member of the craft. He is a member
of the Sigma Xi, an honorary society for the advancement of science; the Minot Association
of Commerce; and the National Farm Management Association. He takes the greatest
interest in his work, is well liked thioughout the county and with the cooperation of the
farmers has accomplished a great deal along the line of agricultural advancement.
HON. WILLI AJI P. PORTEKFIELD.
Hon. William P. Porterfield is a member of the state senate and also of the board of
park commissioners of Fargo and his public service has been an effective force in promoting
public progress. He figured, too, for an extended period as a leading factor in commercial
circles of Fargo, where for thirty years he was a member of the firm of Font & Porterfield,
well known druggists, but at the present time he is living retired from business. He was
born in Martinsl)urg, W^est Virginia, December 20, 1856, a son of William R. and Ellen
(O'Npal) Porterfield. The father's birth occurred in what was then Jhirtinsburg, Virginia,
now West Virginia, while the mother was born across the Potomac river in Maryland. The
former lived and died at the place of liis nativity after devoting the years of his active
life to agricultural pursuits.
William P. Porterfield acquired his education at home under the direction of a private
tutor, supplemented by a course in Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, from which institution
he was graduated in the class of 1879. He afterward clerked for three years as a phar-
macist and in 1882 came to Dakota territory, where with others he founded the town of
Davenport, Cass county. For ten years he was prominently identified with the business
interests of the town, conducting a drug store, but in 1892 disposed of the store and for
two years traveled. In ^March, 1894, he removed to Fargo, where in company with Henry
M. Font he purchased the drug business of M. D. Fleming and organized the firm of Fout &
Porterfield, a relation that was maintained for a decade. At the end of that time he acquired
his partner's interest and for ten years conducted the business independently, although
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 93
retaining the original firm name. On the 1st of December, 1913, he disposed of his store in
order to give his attention to his investments. He now owns three hundred and twenty
acres of land near Fargo, the cultivation of which he personally supervises, and also con-
trols sixteen hundred acres of land, being guardian for the owners, so that he is now actively
engaged in farming nineteen hundred and twenty acres. He is also a director in the Mer-
chants National Bank and his cooperation with any movement constitutes an element in its
success, his activities serving as a stimulus for accomplishment.
In politics Mr. Porterfield has long been an earnest democrat, recognized as a party
leader in his state, and in November, 1912, he was elected to the state senate notwithstand-
ing the fact that the usual republican majority is about three to one. He was the first
democrat ever honored with election to the senate from his .district, a fact indicative of
his personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him. In 1910 upon the organization
of the park system of Fargo, he was elected a member of the park board and at the expira-
tion of his first term of office in 1915 was reelected and for two years has acted as president
of the board. He is also serving on the state board of pharmacy and is a member of the
executive committee of the national board of pharmacists — an honor of which North Dakota
has reason to be proud, as there are but five members of this board selected from thirty-
four active states in the association. Mr. Porterfield holds membership in the Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks and he attends and contributes to the support of the Episcopal
church. He has ever been a man of resolute spirit, prompt, energetic and notably reliable
and he has in large measure the genius for devising and executing the right thing at the
right time.
JOHN E. HUDSON.
John E. Hudson, of Forman, who is filling the office of register of deeds in Sargent
coimty, was born in the state of New York, December 10, 1862. His father, George W.
Hudson, a native of England, came to America when a youth of thirteen years and settled
in Cayuga county. New York. He learned and followed the carpenter's trade and continued
to make his home in the Empire state until called to his final rest in 1883. He wedded Emily
J. Emrick, who was born in Cayuga county,- New York, and they had a family of seven
children, of whom John E. is the third in order of birth, and six of the number are yet
living. The mother passed away in July, 1915.
John E. Hudson pursued his education in the district and village schools of New York
and in March, 1884, when a young man of twenty-two years, arrived in North Dakota,
establishing his home in Kingston township, Sargent county. There he remained until 1900,
at which time he removed to Havana, where he entered the grain business ,continuing there
until he came to Forman in 1913. He still remains a stockholder of the Havana Elevator
Company but his time and attention are mainly given to the faithful discharge of the duties
of the office which he now holds. He has always been a republican in his political views and
on that ticket was elected to the office of register of deeds in January, 1913. In 1914 he
was reelected to the position, which he is now filling in a most satisfactory manner. He
has also served as supervisor of Kingston township and as president of the village board
of Havana and in the discharge of his official duties has ever been most capable, prompt and
faithful.
Mr. Hudson was married in 1898 to Miss Mary Herring, who was born in Illinois in
1868, a daughter of John E. and Nancy G. Herring, who removed to North Dakota in the
spring of 1882, settling near the town of Ransom. Mr. Herring was one of the first three
commissioners appointed by the governor and the first meeting of the board was held at
his home. His wife was the first superintendent of schools to be appointed in the county,
and in many other ways they took an active part in shaping the material, cultural! and
political development of the locality. Both are now deceased. In their family were five
children, of whom Mrs. Hudson is the fourth, and three of the number are yet living. By
her marriage she has become the mother of three children: Harriet, born August 9, 1899;
Harlow, May 5, 1906; and Ruth, July 17, 1908.
94 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
From early manliood Mr. Hudson has continuously made Ids liome in North Dakota,
Iccenly alive to the possibilities of its development and sharing in all of the work that has
contributed to the advancement and upbuilding of the district in which he lives.
HON. ELMORE YOCUM SARLES.
Hon. Elmore Yocum Sarles was the ninth governor of North Dakota and has long been
recognized as a leader of public thought and action in this state. Moreover, he belongs to
the little group of distinctively representative business men who have been the pioneers
in inaugurating and building up the chief industries of this section of the country. He early
had the sagacity and prescience to discern tlie eminence which the future had in store for
this great and arrowing country and, acting in accordance with the dictates of his judgment,
he has garnered in the fullness of time the generous harvest which is the just recompense
of indomitable industry, spotless integrity and marvelous enterprise.
He comes of an ancestry distinctly American in both the lineal and collateral lines,
being represented in the new world from early colonial days. His father, the Eev. Jesse D.
Sarles, was born in Dutchess county, New York, and became a distinguished representative
of the Methodist ministry, devoting his entire life to that holy calling. In 1842 lit became
a resident of Racine, Wisconsin, and in that state reared his family, two of his sons having
since become prominent in connection with the history of North Dakota.
A native of Wisconsin, Elmore Y. Sarles was born at Wonewoc, on the lath of January,
1859, and after mastering the branches of learning taught in the public schools, attended
the Galesville University. The year 1881 witnessed his arrival in North Dakota, at which
time he made his way to Traill county, then an undeveloped and unimproved district. His
keen business "sagacity has found justification in the later progress of that part of the state.
He believed there was a bright future before it and, acting in accordance with the dictates
of his faith and judgment, he became identified with business interests there, and entered
upon a notably successful career. He recognized the fact the great need of the coiintry was
money with which to develop its resources and accordingly he organized the Traill C(mnty
Bank at Hillsboro, undertaking to furnish money to the settlers and thus aid in the improve-
ment of the district. In 1885 that institution was converted into the First National Bank.
Success attended the venture from the beginning, its patronage steadily growing. He followed
a liberal polioy, doing everything in his power to aid early settlers that did not jeopardize
the interests of depositors or stockholders. From time to time he extended the scope of his
activities and became interested in enterprises which had much to do with the progress and
development of the country. He became one of the organizers of the Valley Lumber Com-
pany, which soon built up a large business in the rapidly developing country, its sales
extending all over Traill and adjoining counties. The name of E. Y. and 0. C. Sarles became
most widely known in connection with the business of upbuilding North Dakota and in all
their activities they anticipated the needs of a growing country. More than two million
dollars were brought in and devoted to the needs of the bank and it is indicative of the
character of Mr. Sarles, of his lenient policy and his keen sagacity in judging human nature
that he never had to foreclose a first mortgage. He was a leader in all those activities which
led to the substantial growth and improvement of the state. He looked beyond the exigen-
cies of the moment to the possibilities of the future and became a most conspicuous figure
in financial circles. Banks were established or acquired at Caledonia and Grandin, North
Dakota, and at Shelly, ^Minnesota, and the First National Bank of Northwood was purchased
in after years, also the F'irst State Bank of Blanchard, and Mr. Sarles became one of the
organizers and vice president of the Northwestern Trust Company of Grand F'orks. He was
ever one of the foremost figures in the development of the Red river valley and his extensive
and important business afi'airs brought him such a wide acquaintance and gained him such
a recognition of his business ability that he was brought into public life by an cfi'ort on the
part of his friends who desired hira to become a candidate for governor.
While appreciative of the honor they would have conferred upon him, he had no special
ambition to become prominent in public alTairs and took no active part in securing the noml-
HON. ELMORE Y. SARLES
TJl.
*
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 97
nation, which went to Governor White. He was at that time, as he had been for years,
engrossed in business affairs of moment, and he considered the pursuits of private life
abundantly worthy his best efforts. He had, however, been an ardent republican from the
time that age conferred upon him the right of franchise and he had served as mayor of
Hillsboro and as a member of the state normal school board. His public service as well
as his private business interests made him widely known far beyond the borders of his state
as a typical resident of Dakota. People came to recognize in him one who was capable of
handling extensive and important interests, who brought to the solution of vital problems
sound judgment, clear discrimination and public spirit and when in 1904 the republicans of
the state sought a candidate for the office of governor the choice of the party fell upon him
and at the ensuing election he was chosen for office by the largest majority any governor
of North Dakota ever received before or since. In the' discharge of his onerous and respon-
sible duties he brought to bear the same keen judgment that he had displayed in the man-
agement of his private business interests. He was indeed an executive and he studied every
question from the standpoint of public utility and merit. In spite of the fact that during
his administration there was expended a quarter million dollars made necessary by law there
was left a surplus of two hundred thousand dollars in the treasury. In retiring from the
office of chief executive he carried with him the loj'e and confidence and the high esteem of
the people throughout the state.
On the 10th of January, 1886, Governor Sarles was married to Miss Anna York, of
Prescott, Wisconsin. To them have been born four children: Earle, who is cashier of the
First National Bank of Hillsboro, North Dakota; Duane and Doris, twins; and Eleanor.
Governor Sarles is a very prominent llason. having received the honorary thirty-third
degree and having served as potentate of El Zagal Temple, A. A. 0. U. M. S., of Fargo. He
also belongs to the Knights of Pythias and was formerly exalted ruler of the Grand Forks
lodge of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. The specific and distinctive office of
biography is not to give voice to a man's modest estimate of himself and his accomplish-
ments, but rather to leave the perpetual record establishing his character by the consensus
of opinion on the part of his fellowmen. Throughout North Dakota Mr. Sarles is spoken
of in terms of admiration and respect. His life has been so varied in its activities, so hon-
orable in its purposes, so far-reaching and beneficial in its effects that it has become an
integral part of the history of the state.
FEED WILLIAMS.
Opportunity ever eludes the grasp of the man who shirks his duties and his responsi-
bilities and it tauntingly plays before the dreamer but surrenders to the man of resolute
purpose and determination, yielding its reward in substantial and honorable success. Fred
Williams of Cass county is one who has ever recognized and utilized his opportunities to the
fullest extent and he is now a prominent figure in the business circles of his part of the
state, being identified with both commercial and financial interests at Arthur. He was
bom in New York, .June 2fi, 1866, and is a son of James and Bessie Williams, who were
likewise natives of the Empire state, in which they remained throughout their entire lives.
Their family numbered eight children, six of whom survive.
In his youthful days Fred Williams largely devoted his attention to the acquirement
of an education in the public schools of New York and there remained until he reached
the age of twenty, when he determined to test the truth of the reports concerning the
business conditions and opportunities of the west. The year 1886 witnessed his arrival in
North Dakota, at which time he took up his abode at Hunter and entered the employ of
J. H. Gale, recognized as the leading business man of the district. He remained with Mr.
Gale for five years at Hunter and in 1891 came to Arthur, where as a partner of Mr. Gale
he embarked in general merchandising and in the hardware business. Here he has since
remained, conducting their interests, and has built up a trade of large and gratifying pro-
portions. He carries an excellent stock of general merchandise and of hardware and in
both lines his business has grown in a most substantial manner. "He also figures promi-
Vol. II— 6
98 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
iicntly in banking circles as the president of the First State Bank of Arthur and he is a
stockliolder in the Farmers Klevator of the town. He has likewise utilized his chance of
making judicious investment in property and is now the owner of seven sections of land in
Cass county, all in the vicinity of Artliur, and in addition lie owns a half interest in six
sections of land, in wliich he is a partner of Mr. Gale.
Mr. Williams belongs to the Masonic fraternity, in which he has taken the degrees of
the lodge and chapter and also of the Scottish Kite and he likewise belongs to the Mystic
Shrine. His life measures up to the high standards of manhood set by this order. In politics
he is a republican and for sixteen years he filled the ofTice of postmaster at Arthur, making
a most creditable record in that connection. Mr. Williams deserves much credit for what he
has accomplished, his success being the result of ability, determination, persistency of pur-
pose and laudable ambition. That he proved himself most trustworthy is indicated by the
fact that his employer admitted him to a partnership and together they have advanced, the
careful management of their common interests bringing prosperity to both.
REV. E. .J. WISNAES.
Rev. R. J. Wisnaes is a well known minister of the Norwegian Lutheran church, whose
labors are proving a most potent element in promoting moral progress in Cass county, where
he has charge of three different congregations, tlie North Pleasant, the South Pleasant and
the Lower Wild Rice and Red River. He makes his home on section 37, Pleasant township,
in which locality the North Pleasant congregation erected the North Pleasant church. He is
one of the county's honored pioneer settlers and highly esteemed citizens. He was born in
Norway, January 4, 1852, a son of John R. and Eli R. (Augsburg) Wisnaes, both of whom
spent their entire lives in the land of the midnight sun.
Rev. R. J. Wisnaes remained under the parental roof until he attained his thirteenth
year and received a thorough educational training in the public schools, after which he left
home to make his living and in 1S71 sailed for the United States. He reached Wells, Min-
nesota,' on the 4th of July of that year and there took up his abode. He had borrowed
fifty-five dollars for passage money and on reaching AVells was practically penniless. He
possessed energy and determination, however, and almost immediately secured work on a
farm, spending the succeeding two years in farm labor and also at carrying brick in the
brickyards of the district, working in that way before the harvest season began. During
all this time ho entertained the purpose of preparing himself for the ministry and utilized
every opportunity to secure means to further his plans. In January, 1873, he entered Luther
College, at Decorah, Iowa, and there attended school until 1ST6, spending the vacation periods
in farm work in order to enable him to pay his way through college. In the fall of 1876
he became a student in the Luther Seminary at Madison, Wisconsin, and from that institu-
tion received his theological degree in the spring of 1879. On the 31st of August of the
same year he was ordained to the ministry at Northfield, Minnesota, and on the 9th of
September following came to North Dakota. Through the intervening period of thirty-
seven years he has devoted his time to church work in Richland and Cass counties and
throughout the entire period, save for a year and a half, has resided in the latter county.
Hi.s present charge covers the North Pleasant and South Pleasant congregation!^ and the
Lower Wild Rice and Red River congregation. The South Pleasant congregation i- in Rich-
land county. He has exerted a strong inlluence for good among the people of this part of
the state. He is an earnest and ofttimes eloquent preacher and his utterances ring with the
logic of truth.
On the 6th of January, 1880, Rev. Wisnaes was married to Miss Amelia Bredensen, the
ceremony being performed at Perry, Wisconsin. Mrs. Wisnaes was bom in Wisconsin, and
by her marriage became the mother of three children. Klida Marie, John Carlot and Agnes
Benedicta. Mrs. Wisnaes passed away in .Tune, 1892, and on the 3l8t of October, 1893, he
was married to Miss Mina Bergith Stensrud, who was likewise born in Wisconsin but emi-
grated to Dakota territory in 1871. This union has been blessed with six children: Kmilie
Miranda, Ruth Inaiida, Jimma Victoria, Esther Monica, Ingvar William and Oscar Ferdinand.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 99
Rev. Wisnaes owns and occupies a farm of eighty acres on' section 14, Pleasant town-
ship, Cass county, which he took up as a tree claim soon after arriving in this state. His
political allegiance is given to the republican party and he is not neglectful of the duties of
citizenship but keeps well informed on the issues of the day and advocates high standards
in relation to tlie public welfare. He is continually studying and reading along lines that
render his work more effective and moreover, he is not only a man of broad scholarly attain-
ments but also a man of deep human sympathy, which constitutes one of the elements of
his successful Christian work.
SIMON OVERGARD, M. D.
Dr. Simon Overgard, a representative physician and surgeon of Minot. is a Norwegian
by birth and manifests the sterling qualities of liis race. He was born about eighty miles
north of Christiania March 4, 1874, a son of Ingmar and Theodora (Mohr) Overgard. The
father, who is a native of the same place as his son Simon, is a farmer by occupation, but
is now living retired in Norway. The mother was likewise born in Norway, although her
father's birth occurred in . Germany.
Dr. Simon Overgard, who is the oldest in a farailj- of four children, attended school in
Christiania and after completing his general education entered the universitj' of Cliristiania,
from which he was graduated in 1902. Since coming to this countrj' he has taken post
graduate courses at the Chicago Policlinic and is constantly increasing his knowledge by
study and reading. When about twenty-seven years of age he became an assistant to the
staif of physicians in a hospital in Norway and was connected with different hospitals in
that country until May, 1906, when he came to the United States. He traveled over the
country for a few months, as he desired to learn something of various sections before
, locating permanently. In August of that year, he opened an office for practice in Enderlin,
Ransom county, and remained there until 1913, since which year he has resided in Minot.
He has gained a large and representative general practice and is held in high esteem by his
colleagues. Natural ability and thorough training have well fitted him for his chosen pro-
fession and his gratifying success is well deserved. He has demonstrated his faith in the
future of North Dakota by investing in a half section of land west of Minot, from which
lie derives a good financial return.
Dr. Overgard was married in October, 1909, to Miss Ena Johnson, a native of Sweden.
Her father passed away in that country, but her mother is still living there. Dr. Overgard
has supported the democratic party since becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States
and while living in Enderlin served as county physician of Ransom county. He is a member
of the Northwestern Medical Association and the North Dakota Medical Society and is a
fellow of the American Association and finds the proceedings of these organizations of
value in keeping in touch with the advanced thought and practice of the profession. He is
also a member of the Medical Association of Christiania, Norway. He is well known in
Minot and Ward county and has gained the warm personal regard of many.
JAMES A. DWYER.
James A. Dwyer, a well known attorney residing in Hankinson, Richland county, was
born in Akron, Ohio, on the 1st of May, 1861, a son of Andrew and Catherine (Dwyer)
Dwyer. The father, who was born in Ireland in 1828, died in November, 1898, and the
mother, whose birth occurred in 1835, passed away in October, 1902. They were married
in Ohio, where the father had removed as a young man. On beginning his independent
career he went to Australia from Ireland and for a time he worked on a ship. He then
came to America and was foreman in the building of the old Erie Railroad and subsequently
entered the employ of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, being one of the first
agents of that road in Wisconsin. He also followed agricultural pursuits in that state. He
992301]
100 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
served in the Union army in tlio latter jjiirt of tlie Civil war and pavticii}atcd in the second
battle of Nashville. In politics he was a democrat and he served as county treasurer and
county commissioner of Sauk county, Wisconsin. His religious faith was that of the Cath-
olic church. To him and his wife wei'e born eleven children, six of whom are still living,
namely: James A.; William, a prosperous farmer living in Loretta, Wisconsin; Thomas, a
lumber cruiser of northern Minnesota; Andrew, who lives in Bear Valley, Wisconsin, and
has gained gratifying success as a general merchant and implement dealer; Maria, the wife
of James P. Smitli, a rethcd farmer, who is now in the meat business at Madison, Wiscon-
sin: and Mary, the wife of M. J. Griffin, a traveling man of Baraboo, Wisconsin. The
paternal grandfather died in Ireland, and the grandmother passed away in AustraMa.
James A. Dwycr received an excellent education, attending the schools at Pewaukeo,
Wisconsin, and the University of Wisconsin for one year, beginning his law studies at the
latter institution. He then went to Milwaukee and learned telegraphy, which he foUowoti
for eleven years, during which time he continued his preparation for the practice of law.
He was admitted to the bar of North Dakota on the 29th of March, 1898, but had practiced
his profession for two years previously. Since his admission to the bar he has practiced
in Ilankinson and has met with a gratifying measure of success, his clients coming from
all parts of this section and from Minnesota. He has also served as attorney for the Soo
Line since 1900, and it is well recognized by his colleagues and by the general public that
he is well versed in the law and that he is convincing in his presentation of his cause in the
court. He owns lands in McLean county and AVilliams county. North Dakota.
On the 26th of April, 1890, Mr. Dwyer married Miss Lillian D. Pettit, a native of Syra-
cuse, New York, who came to North Dakota with her sister about 1888. Mr. Dwyer is inde-
pendent in politics, believing that the welfare of the country can best be served by voting
for the best man irrespective of party. His religious faith is that of the Roman Catholic
church, whose teachings have guided him throughout life. He is not only respected for his
professional attainments but is also held in high esteem because of his integrity and probity.
JOHN SCHLAET.
John Schlaet is one of the venerable citizens ;nid honored pioneer settlers of North
• Dakota, having made his home in Cass county since 1880. He has witnessed many changes
during the intervening years as the work of development and progress has been carried
forward, converting the county from a wild frontier district into one of the populous and
prosperous counties of this part cf the state. Moreover, his life record proves what can be
accomplished when determination and energy lead the way and may well serve as an
example to others who wish to attain honorable success.
Mr. Schlaet was born in Germany, March 22, 1837, a son of Christ J. and Dorothea J.
Schlaet, who were likewise natives of the same country and never left that land. They had
a family of two sons, the elder being Fred, now a resident of Minnesota.
The younger, John Schlaet, was reared and educated in Germany and in 1SG8, when
thirty-oni' years of age, came to the new world, hoping to find better business conditions
than he could secure in his native land. He first made his way to Minnesota, but before
coming to America he had followed the sea for two years, making several trips across the
Atlantic. On reaching Minnesota he took up his abode upon a farm and spent about six
years in that state, devoting his time to general agricultural pursuits. While there he lost
his left arm in a threshing machine and was thus handicapped, but has never allowed this
misfortune to discourage or dishearten him. In ISSO he arrived in North Dakota, settling
upon a farm on section 1, Amenia township. He immediately set to work to develop and
improve the property and has added to it many substantial buildings, good fences and the
latest improved machinery. To his original purchase he has added from time to time until
he is now the owner of four hundred and eighty acres of rich and productive land and has
also given a farm to each of his stepsons. At the present time he is living retired in Arthur
and is reaping the benefits of his earnest and persistent toil.
In 1873 Mr. Schlaet was married to Carolina Goda, a native of Germany, and they
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 101
became the parents of three children : Anna, who is now married and lives in California;
Emma, the wife of R. Siebert; and one who is deceased. Mrs. Schlaet had been previously-
married and by her iirst union had the following children: William, Fred, Gustav, Herman,
John, one who died in Minnesota and two who died in Germany.
Mr. and Mrs. Schlaet are members of the German Lutheran church and have ever been
faithful to its teachings. In politics he is a republican and has served as road supervisor
but has never been a politician in the usually accepted sense of office seeking. He and his
wife liave made all they have since coming to the new world and they deserve much credit
for their progress and advancement. Earnest, persistent labor has been the foundation of
their prosperity, which has increased with the passing years until they are now enabled to
live retired, occupying a pleasant home in Arthur, while their income is sufficient to bring
them the comforts of life.
ANDREW SANDAGER.
Andrew Sandager, an active representative of Lisbon's business interests, his attention
being given to the conduct of a general mercantile establishment, was born in Decorah,
Iowa, on the 31st of August, 1862, a son of Endre and Randhild (House) Sandager, both of
whom were natives of Norway, whence they came to the United States in young manhood
and womanhood. They became residents of Winneshiek county, Iowa, where they were
married and established their home, continuing their residence there until called to their
final rest. The father was a very successful and prosperous farmer and acquired more than
nine hundred acres of valuable farming land in that state.
Andrew Sandager was educated in the common schools of Iowa and afterward took up
the study of pharmacy in a drug store in Decorah, where he thoroughly acquainted himself
with the business. In 1882 he came to North Dakota, settling in Grafton, where he entered
the employ of the firm of Sandager & Burger, general merchants, the senior partner being
liis brother. On the 16th of February, 1884, he removed to Lisbon, where he organized
the mercantile firm of Sandager & Haugen, which firm continued in existence until 1913, in
which year Mr. Haugen passed away. In February, 1914, the business was incorporated
as the Chiacgo Store, with Mr. Sandager as vice president and general manager. For almost
a third of a century he has been continuously associated with mercantile interests in Lisbon
and has made his establishment an expression of the ^progressiveness which has marked the
development of the city. Broadening the scope of his activities, Mr. Sandager was for many
years a most active factor in banking circles, having in 1893 purchased an interest in the
State Bank of Lisbon, of which institution he remained. the president for eighteen years.
His fellow townsmen have learned to rely upon his judgment, to sanction the wisdom of his
course and at all times the reliability of his methods has commended him to the confidence
and goodwill of those with whom he has been associated.
In 1895 Mr. Sandager was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Jensen, a native of Nor-
way, by whom he has a son, Harold W., whose birth occurred June 19, 1896, and who is now
secretary of the Chicago Store. Fraternally Mr. Sandager is identified with the following
organizations: Sheyenne Valley Lodge, No. 12, A. F. & A. M.; Lisbon Chapter, No. 7, R.
A. M.; Ivanhoe Commandery, K. T.; El Zagal Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., of Fargo; the
Ancient Order of United Workmen; the Independent Order of Foresters; the Order of Ameri-
can Yeomen; the subordinate lodge and encampment of the Independent Order of Odd Fel-
lows; Fargo Lodge, No. 13, B. P. 0. E.; and the Knights of Pythias lodge at Lisbon, of
whicli he is a life member. Both Mr. and Mrs. Sandager are members of the Norwegian
Lutheran church, which they assisted in organizing and which they have always generously
supported. Extensive and important as are his business and fraternal connections, 'Mr.
Sandager is also recognized as a leader in political circles. He has been a lifelong republican
and was a member of the constitutional convention of North Dakota which aided in frarn-
ing the organic law of the state. He was also a member of the first state senate and for
sixteen years he was chairman of the county republican central committee, wliile in 1912
he was a delegate to the national convention which nominated William Howard Taft. In
102 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA'
that year lie took the First Regiment Band to Minot, North Dakota, to the convention
held for the election of delegates to the national convention. He has served in various local
offices and Ransom county numbers him among her most prominent and valued citizens — a
man whom she is proud to name as a representative of her progressiveness and as a type
of her citizenship.
HON. SVEN E. LXSAKER.
Important interests have been furthered and promoted through the efforts and ability
of Hon. Sven E. Ulsaker, a representative agriculturist of Cass county and one who has
represented his district in the state legislature. He now makes his home on section 3.5,
Normanna township, where he has excellent farm property. He was born at Hemsedal,
Norway, on the 3d of June, 1853, and is a son of Andrew and Margaret Ulsaker, both of
whom died in Norway. His education was acquired in the public schools of his native coun-
try, where he remained until he attained his majority, when in 1S74 he completed arrange-
ments to come to the new world. Crossing the Atlantic he took up his abode at Kenyon,
Goodhue county, Minnesota, where he worked through tlie summer on a farm and during
the winter attended school, doing chores on the farm for his board. In the spring of 1875
he arrived in Cass county, North Dakota, and on the 23d of June of that year filed on his
present home farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which he secured under the preemption
right. All about Lim was the broad undeveloped prairie, covered with its native grasses
and showing no trace of any plow. He built a small log cabin twelve by twelve feet, with
a sod roof and board floor and in that primitive home began life in the west in true pioneer
style, meeting with many hardships, privations and dlfticulties during the early days. He
subsequently purchased other lands and now owns four hundred acres, constituting a very
valuable and productive farm. He is also a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company
at Kindred and is a stockholder in the Farmers Cooperative Cicamery Company of that place.
In 1882 Mr. Ulsaker was united in marriage to Miss Ingeborg Brujord, of Norway.
She emigrated to this country in 1881. To this union ha.ve been born six children: Ada
Mathilda, Andrew, Anna, Oscar, Mabel and Selma. The daughter Mabel is engaged in teach-
ing school and all the children are still under the parental roof.
Mr. Ulsaker and his family are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church and are
highly esteemed in the community where they reside and where their circle of friends is
almost coextensive with the circle of their acquaintances. Mr. Ulsaker is a republican in
his political views, active as a party worker, and again and again he has been called to
local office. For. a quarter of a century or more he has been a member of the school board
and the cause of education finds in him a stalwart champion. For twenty years he has
served as a member of the township board and in 1911 he was elected to represent liis
district in the state legislature, whore he made a creditable record. He has always been
loyal to the best interests of his community and the state and though born across the water,
he is thoroughly American in thought, spirit and interests.
LOUIS HENRY KERMOTT, M. D.
Dr. Louis Henry Kermott, a popular and successful physician of Minot, Avas born in
Bowmanvillp. Ontario, Canada, on the 5th of June, 1870, the youngest of the seven children
born to Charles and Hannah (Dixon) Kermott, natives of Manchester, England, and London,
Ontario, Canada, respectively. The father received his education at the Toronto Medical
Collcce and practiced as a physician nnd surgeon in Ontario until ISSO, when he removed
■with his family to the United States, settling at St. Thomas, North Dakota. There he con-
tinued his proii'.-^sional labors for about ten years, after which he practiced in La Moure,
North Dakota, for five years. He then entered the government service at Fort Totten and
remained there until his demise in 1001. He was a good citizen, shirking none of his duties
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 103
to his city, state or nation, but he nevev desired to hold office. His widow divides her time
between Minot and Palacios, Texas, where a daughter resides.
Dr. Louis Henry Kermott attended Hamline University at St. Paul, Minnesota, and
after taking a literary course entered the medical school of that university, from which he
was graduated with the class of 1904. Before this, however, he had begun his independent
career for in 1901 he found employment in a drug store, where he began the study of
medicine. After his graduation he served for a year as interne at St. Barnabas Hospital in
Minneapolis, after which lie practiced for six months in Towner, North Dakota. At the
expu'ation of that period he removed to Minot, where he has since engaged in general prac-
tice. His office is thoroughly and modernly equipped and in his work he keeps abreast of
the latest improvements in the practice of medicine and surgery. He is now serving as
surgeon for the Great Northern Railroad Company and holds the confidence of the general
public and of his professional brethren alike.
Dr. Kermott was married on the 12th of September, 1904, to Miss Louise Feagles, a
native of Knoxville, Tennessee, and a daughter of Robert and Mary (Allen) Feagles, both
of whom were born in Orange, New Jersey. The father, who was a Presbyterian minister,
removed with his family to Minneapolis and subsequentlj' went to Seattle, Washington.
He passed away in 1912 but his widow is still living in the last named city. Dr. and Mrs.
Kermott have a son, Louis Henry, .Jr., whose birth occurred April 19, 1908.
Dr. Kermott is a republican in his political belief but has never been very active in
public affairs. His religious affiliation is with the Baptist church and in all relations of life
he strives to conform to high standards of morals. He is connected with a number of fra-
ternal organizations, belonging to the Modern Woodmen of America, the Elks and the Masonic
order, in which he holds membership in the blue lodge and the bodies of the Scottish Rite
at Minot and in Kem Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Grand Forks. Along professional lines
he is connected with the Northwestern District Medical Society, of whicli he is president,
and the American Medical Association. Since removing to Minot he has gained the friend-
ship of many and holds the respect and goodwill of all who have been brought in contact
with him.
JOHN CARMODY.
John Carmody, an ex-member of the supreme court of North Dakota and for thirty
years a prominent representative of the bar of Hillsboro, has carved his name high on the
kej'stone of the legal arch of the state, being prominently connected with a profession
which has important bearing upon the progress and stable prosperity of any section or
community and one which has long been considered as conserving the public welfare by
furthering the ends of justice and maintaining individual rights. A native of Wisconsin,
he was born at Granville, Milwaukee county, January 6, 1854, a son of John and Mary
(Purcell) Carmody, natives of Ireland, who came to the new world with their respective
parents, the two families being established in Wisconsin. Mr. and Mrs. Carmody removed
to Waseca county, Minnesota, in 1868, and upon the farm which the father secured in that
year he is still living at the remarkable old age of ninety-six years.
Judge Carmody spent his youthful days under the parental roof and supplemented his
district school training by a term's study in the high school. He afterward engaged in
teaching for twelve terms in the country schools and utilized the summer months in farm
work, spending seven summer seasons in the employ of one man. It was his purpose and
desire, however, to turn his attention to a professional career and in 1878 he took up the
study of law in the office of Hon. James E. Child, of Waseca, Minnesota, who directed his
reading until his admission to the bar in 1880. He then entered upon the practice of his
profession in Waseca, where he remained until 1885. In the summer of 1884 he visited Dakota
territory in search of a location and the following year removed to Hillsboro, where he has
now been engaged in the active practice of law for three decades. In 1909 he was elevated
to the bench, being appointed by Governor Burke a member of the state supreme court,
in which connection he served for two years. He had previously been city justice of the
104 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
peace and municipal judge of Waseca, Minnesota, and in Hillsboro has filled the offices of
city attorney and mayor. He has likewise been states attorney of Traill count}', has been
a member of the state board of control of penal and charitable institutions, has been assist-
ant attorney general and at the present writing is tilling the office of assistant United States
district attorney. His public service has been of the utmost benefit and value to the state,
as in all his duties he has been actuated by a public-spirited rlf;votion to the general good.
On the 12th of July, 1886, Mr. Carmody was united in marriage to Miss Anna JIadden,
of Waseca, Minnesota, by whom he has three children, namely: Winifred Mary, a Dominican
Sister located at Sinsinawa, Wisconsin; Irene Frances, the wife of J. G. McClintock, of
Rugby, North Dakota; and George Christie, who is a teacher in the College of St. Thomas
at St. Paul, is pursuing the night law course and reports the St. Thomas athletics for the
Pioneer Press. He also played on tlie St. Thomas football team for three years, during
which time the -team never lost a game in which he participated.
Judge Carmod}' and his family are all members of the Catholic church and tlie .ludge
belongs to Grand Forks Lodge, No. 255, B. P. O. E. He is likewise a member of the Knights
of Columbus, of which he served as state advocate for three years, and of the Ancient Order of
United Workmen, of which he has been grand master workman for the state and a member of
the board of directors for eleven years. He also has membership with the Degree of Honor, the
Independent Order of Foresters and the American Yeomen. He has been the president and
the vice president of the Volunteer Firemen's Association and he has served as president of
the State Bar Association. He ranks with the distinguished and eminent jnembcrs of the
North Dakota bar, his ability bringing him prominently to the front in the trial of important
cases before the courts. His interests and activities are many and have been of a far-
reaching and beneficial character, but most of all he is known in his profession and is regarded
as a distinguished and able lawyer by his colleagues and contemporaries.
PROFESSOR GUY ELROY BEMIS.
Professor Guy Elroy Bemis, of Jlinot, prominent in educational circles, was born at
Roscoe Center, Minnesota, July 16, ISSO, a son of George W. and Lois Arabella (Waldo)
Bemis. The latter was a representative of one of the old pioneer families of Minnesota, her
father having built the first frame house in Dodge county. She was born in New Hampsliire,
while George W. Bemis was a native of Ohio. In early life he became a farmer in Minnesota
and also engaged in teaching. Subsequently he took up the profession of dentistry and is
now practicing in Thompson, Montana. His wife passed away about 1900.
In their family of eight children Professor Guy E. Bemis was the fourth in order of
birth, lie attended country schools in Minnesota and also the Litclifield high school and
the Wisconsin Business College at Racine, Wisconsin, completing his course there with tlie
class of 1902. When but eleven years of age he began working for others, entering the
employ of Mr. Hackney, now an extensive landowner of North Dakota, for whom he herded
cattle. Since that time he has practically supported himself. He worked for others as
opportunity offered until he completed his education. He had no assistance from anyone
and ]irnvided the means which enabled him to meet liis expenses during liis school days.
Taking up the profession of teaching, he was connected with a business college at Watertown,
Wisconsin, for a year, after which lie was transferred to Fond du Lac, wlicre he had charge
of a school from August, 1904, until July, 1906. At the latter date lie went to Bismarck,
establisliing the Bismarck Business College, which he conducted until September 18, 1911,
wlien he sold out and came to Minot. Here he purchased the equipment of a school which
had been closed and using its furniture, he was in a short time conducting a successful
school, which has since been continuously growing. The equipment today is very complete,
including adding machines, letter presses, typewriters and everything necessary for tlie
conduct of such a school and the enrollment today is about one hundred students annnally.
He devotes his entire time to the college and the methods of instruction arc most thorough,
well qualifying the pupils for onerous and responsible duties. He arrived in Minot on Sat-
PROFESSOR GUY E. BEMIS
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 107
urday, opened his school on Monday and throughout the intervening period has been regarded
as an important acquisition to the educational interests of the city.
On the 12th of October, 1915, Professor Bemis was married to Miss Florence Mae
Wilson, a native of Minot and a daughter of George and Clara (Corbett) Wilson, now residing
at Stanley. Professor and Mrs. Bemis attend the Presbyterian church and in politics he
is an independent republican, voting as his judgment dictates, yet supporting the principles
of the republican party. Fraternally he is connected with the Elks lodge at Minot and has
many friends both within and without that organization. He certainly is deserving of
much credit for what he has accomplished. There are few boys who start out in life for
themselves at the age of eleven years who manifest such determination and ambition in
securing an education. He realized how valuable this is as a foundation for later success
and in his thorough training he found the basis of his own life work. He has made the
school a credit to the city in whicli it is located and it draws to Minot many students from
elsewhere.
OLE HJ5RBRANS0N.
Ole Herbranson, the period of whose residence in Cass county, North Dakota, covers
forty-three years, is well known as a successful and enterprising agriculturist, owning an
excellent farm of two hundred and forty acres on section 14, Normanna township. His
birtli occurred in Houston county, Minnesota, on the 28th of October, 1859, his parents
being Ole and Carrie (Vinnord) Herbranson, who emigrated to the United States some time
in tlie '50s and located in Minnesota, where they were married. In 1872 they came to Cass
county, North Dakota, and took up their abode on the farm which is now in possession of
our subject, the father purchasing one hundred and sixty acres of land from a half breed for
one hundred dollars. This he cultivated successfully during the remainder of his active busi-
ness career as well as an adjoining tract of eighty acres which he purchased. He passed
away in 1914, at the age of ninety-five years, and the community mourned the loss of one of
its honored pioneer agi-iculturists and esteemed citizens.
Ole Herbranson, who eame to this state with his parents, in boyhood acquired his
education in the district schools and after attaining his majority continued to work with
his father on the home farm, gradually assuming its management. About 1900 he bought
the home place of two hundred and forty acres in Normanna township and it is now a well
improved and productive property, in the operation of which he has won a gratifying annual
income.
In 1885 Mr. Herbranson was united in marriage to Miss Gunild Hoflfen, a native of
Norwaj', by whom he has five children, as follows: Caroline, who is the wife of Pete Reisley,
of Kindred, North Dakota; Olava and Ole, both at home; Mathilda, who gave her hand in
marriage to Hilmer Bratwold, of Kindred; and Gilbert, at home.
Politically Mr. Herbranson is a stanch republican, while his religious faith is indicated
by his membership in the Norwegian Lutheran church, to which his wife and children also
belong. In matters of citizenship his influence and support are given on the side of advance-
ment and progress and he holds to high standards in man's personal relations witli his
fellowmen.
HELMER M. HABBERSTAD.
Helmer H. Habberstad, wlio is devoting his time and energies to general farming on
section 11, Normanna township, Cass county, was born November 20, 1875, on the farm
where he now makes his home and has therefore for forty years been a witness of the
growth and development of this section of the state. His parents were Martin and Mary
(Tostorud) Habberstad, both of whom were natives of Norway. It was in the year 1869
that the father came to the United States and in 1871 his wife crossed the Atlantic. They
108 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
became residents of Houston county, Minnesotii. wlieie they were married and establislied
tlieir liomc, residing there until 1875. The year previous the father came to Cass county,
North Ualvota, looking for a favorable homestead site auu' selected the farm upon which his
son now resides. The following yeai he took up his abode upon tlie pro|)erty. purchasing
railroad land. As the years passed on he carefully tilled the soil and developeil liis crops
and as his financial resources increased he added to his holdings until he became the owner
of five hundred and ten acres of the best land of this part of the state. He still lives on the
old homestead with his son and is one of the highly respected pioneer residents of North
Dakota.
Helmcr JI. Habberstad spent his youtlil\iI days umler the parental roof, having tlie
usual experiences that fall to the lot of the farm lad. The public schools alVordcd him his
educational opportunities and later he had the advantage of a course in the Decorah Insti-
tute at Decorah, Iowa, and at Vahlers lousiness College, also of Decorah. He then returiu>d
home to resume the work of the farm and in 190G acquired title to the property, purchas-
ing his father's interest in the old homestead. He is therefore now the owner of valuable
holdings, having one of the fine farms of Cass county, highly cultivated and splendidly
improved. In addition to devoting his attention to the further development of his farm he
is connected with the Farmers Klevator Company of Kindred as a stockholder and is also a
stockholder of the Ecpiity Exchange of St. Pa\il.
In JIarch, 1902, Mr. Habberstad was united in marriage to Miss Emma Stenbjem. of
Spring Grove, Minnesota. Mr. Habberstad gives his political endorsement to the repub-
lican party, feeling that its principles contain the best elements of good government. He
was elected a member of the board of supervisors and in 1901 was appointed to the position
of engrossing and enrolling clerk in the state legislature. He belongs to the Norwegian
Lutheran church and guides his life according to its teachings. Those who know him class
him with the representative farmers of Cass county. Among his many acquaintances he
is very popular, being esteemed highly for his sterling worth and his many admirable traits
of character.
JOSEPH T. NE\\TX)VE, M. D.
Dr. Joseph T. Newlove, who is practicing his profession in Minot, was born in Macville,
Ontario, Canada, December 16, 1867, and is the son of James H. and Hannah (Whitlam)
Newlove. Both parents were born in Canada, of English descent, and the father's natal day
was July 14, 1836, while the mother was born some years later. She died in 1875, but Mr.
Newlove is still engaged in farming in Ontario.
Joseph T. Newlove was a student in the Detroit College of Medicine and Surgery, of
Detroit. ^Michigan, from which he was graduated with the class of 1896. After completing
his medical course he removed to Towner, North Dakota, and practiced there until 1902,
since which time he has resided in Minot. He soon demonstrated his cajiability and has
built up a large and profitable practice. Although he devotes almost his entire time to his
professional work he is connected with business circles as a stockholder and director of the
Pioneer Life Insurance Company.
Dr. Newlove was married .January 25, 1899, to Miss Hattie C. Frisby, who was born
near Morris, Jlinnesota, and is a daughter of Philip and Salina (Stutts) Frisby, natives of
Pennsylvania, who settled in Minnesota in jiionecr times. They experienced Indian raids and,
in fact, all the dangers and hardships of frontier life. About 1888 they located at Towner,
North Dakota, where the father engaged in ranching for a number of years. He is now
deceased, but his wife survives and is living in Washington. Dr. and Mrs. Newlove have
had two children: Beulah E., who was born on the 13th of October, 1901, and who died
March 6, 1914; and James Philip, born December 7, 1906.
Dr. Newlove is a republican and has held numerous local offices of tnist. He holds
mcmber.ship in the Masonic blue lodge at Minot, has taken the degrees of both the York and
Scottish Bites and belongs to the Mystic Shrine at Fargo. Along strictly professional lines
he is identified with the Northwestern District Medical Society, the North Dakota State
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 109
Medical Society and is a fellow of the American Medical Association. He finds these organi-
zations of great value as they enable him to keep in touch with the work of other pro-
gressive physicians. In the business and social relations he has won the respect which
genuine merit always commands.
NELS OLSON.
Nels Olson, a well known and enterprising farmer of Reedj township, Cass county,
owns and cultivates two hundred and sixty-eight acres of rich and productive land. His
farm, in its well kept appearance, presents a marked contrast to its condition in early days
when he lived in a log cabin with a sod roof and had comparatively few of the comforts of
life. He was born in Sweden, May 7, 1845, a son of Ole and Elnora Olson, who were natives
of that country, where they spent their entire lives, rearing their family of six children there.
Nels Olson is the only one of the family now living. His education was acquired in
the schools of his native country and he was a young man of twenty-five years when, in
1870, he sailed for the new world, making his way to Minnesota, where he spent the first
winter. In the spring of 1871 he arrived in Cass county, North Dakota, and took up his
abode upon his farm on section 8, Reed township, where he has now remained for forty-
five years. Not a furrow had been turned nor an improvement made when the tract came
into his possession, but with characteristic energy iie began to develop it and in course of
time once wild prairie was bringing forth good crops. He built a log cabin which he covered
with a sod roof and occupied that home for some years, after which it was replaced by a
more commodious and modern dwelling. He now owns two hundred and sixteen acres of
arable land, which he has improved with good buildings, and his farm has been converted
into very desirable property.
In Sweden in 1869 Mr. Olson was married to Miss Hannah Sanberg, a native of that
coimtry, and they became the parents of seven children: Anna, the wife of August Nolin;
Edward, at home; Samuel; Albert; Selma, the wife of Peter Westling. of Moorhead. Min-
nesota; and two who have passed away. The wife and mother died in 1908 and many
friends as well as her immediate family were left to mourn her loss. She was a consistent
member of the Lutheran church, to which Mr. Olson also belongs.
His political support is given to the republican party and, while he has never sought
public office, he has served for several years as a member of the school board. His has been
an active and well spent life, bringing to him a substantial measure of success so that he
has been able to provide a comfortable home for his family and lay up a tidy sum for the
proverbial rainy day. He has never had occasion to regret his determination to come to the
new world, for he found here the opportunities wliich he sought and in their utilization has
gained a place among the well-to-do citizens of Cass county.
WILLIAM C. FORMAN, JR.
William C. Forman, Jr., of Hankinson, Richland county, is well known in his section
of the state as the editor of the Hankinson News. A native of Michigan, he was born in
Lake county on the 2d of August, 1875, and is a son of William C. and Debbie H. (Hurly)
Forman. The paternal grandfather, James Forman, was born in Canada, whither the family
had removed from the United States. They were Tories during the Revolutionary war. The
maternal grandfather was born in Ireland, where he passed away, but his widow removed
with her children to Canada. The father of our subject was born in Ontario in 1839, and
the mother was born in Ireland in 1847. They were married in St. Joseph, Michigan, whence
they came to North Dakota in 1884, settling in Sargent county. The town of Forman was
named for a brother of William C. Forman, Sr., and the latter still lives there. For a
number of years he resided on his farm which he homesteaded. He is a carpenter by trade
and followed that occupation in Michigan. Many years ago he made the long trip to Call-
110 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
loriiia by way of the Isthmus of Panama and tells many interesting stories of his experi-
ences on that occasion. For about twelve years he was in the employ of the Union Pacifio
Railroad. He is a stalwart democrat in politics and served efl"ciently as postmaster of For-
man during President Cleveland's second administration. He is now (illing the ollice of
deputy clerk of the courts. The mother of our subject died in 1903 in the faith of the
Episcopal church, lier demise being deeply regretted by her many friends. She was the
mother of two children, a son and a daughter, the sister of our subject being Mrs. R. B. Lowry,
a resident of Baker, Montana.
William C. Fornian, Jr., received his education in the common schools and when but
eight years of age began work in a printing office, so that during practically his entire life
he has been connected with the printing business. For four years, however, he was employed
in a bank. In 1899 he arrived in Hankinson, Richland county, and purchased the Ilankin-
son News, which he has successfully conducted during the intervening sixteen years. The
paper has a circulation of twelve hundred and is well jMtronized as an advertising medium.
He also does a good job printing business, as he has an up-to-date plant and is straightfor-
ward in his business methods. He understands all phases of the printing business and is
recognized as an efliciciit and progressive newspaper man. In April, 1912, he was appointed
postmaster of Hankinson and discharged the duties of his office with accuracy and in a
systematic manner, serving until 191G, when he was succeeded by F. 0. Hunger.
On the 11th of August, 1897, occurred the marriage of Mr. Forman and Miss Carrie J.
Tisdel, who was born in northern Iowa and by whom he has three sons: William C, George
H. and JIarshall L. Mrs. Forman is a devout communicant of the Lutheran church and the
high principles which govern the conduct of Mr. Forman are indicated by the fact that he
liolds membership in the Jlasonic blue lodge and chapter. He has served as worshipful
master of his lodge. In politics he is a republican and no matter of public concern fails
to secure his careful attention. He has become widely known and has made his paper a
factor in community advancement.
HARBO SORENSOX.
Ilarbo Sorenson is a farmer living on section 2, Normanna township, where he oper-
ates five lumdred and sixty acres of rich and productive land belonging to his wife and her
family. He also owns personally three hundred and twenty acres of land on section 27,
Warren township, and he is accounted one of the representative agriculturists of this part
of the state. Like the majority of the substantial and worthy citizens of Cass county, he
is of Norwegian birth, his natal day being September 23, 1859. His father, Soren Halverson,
followed his sons to the United States about the year 1893 and is now making his home
with a son in Lake county. Minnesota.
Harbo Sorenson spent the days of his boyhood and youth in the land of the midnight
sun and was a young man of twenty-two years when in 1881 he bade adieu to friends and
native land and sailed for the United States. He at once made his w^ay to North Dakota
and took >ip his abode on section 27, Warren township. Cass county, where he purcliased
railroad land, becoming owner of a tract of one hundred and sixty acres. Later he extended
the boundaries of his property by the purchase of an additional quarter section, so that he
now owns three hundred and twenty acres constituting one of the excellent farms of the
community. However, he is residing upon a farm of five hundred and six-ty acres owned
by his wife and her family and is busily engaged in its operation, further development and
improvement. He is one of the extensive farmers of his township and is a most progressive,
active and enterprising business man. He carefully studies the needs and conditions of the
soil and plants his crops accordingly, rotating them from season to season in order to keep
the soil in excellent condition. His labors are attended with a gratifying measure of suc-
cess and he is classed with the prosperous and representative agriculturists of the district.
He is also a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company of Warren.
In 1884 Mr. Sorenson was united in marriage to Miss Olea Tuskind, a native of Nor-
way. She, however, came with her parents to the United States in 1871. To Mr. and Mrs.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 111
Sorenson have been born four children: Albert, who operates the home farm; Henry, who
operates his father's threshing machine; Olga; and Clarence. The family are all members
of the Norwegian Lutheran church and in his political views Mr. Sorenson is a republican,
giving stanch and stalwart support to the party, for he believes that its platform contains
the best elements of good government. He served for several years as a member of the
board of townsliip trustees and has ever been actively interested in plans and projects for
the benefit and improvement of township and county. He is a member of the school board
and the cause of education finds in Iiim a stalwart champion. A self-made man, he deserves
much credit for what he has accomplished. He came to the country a poor boy without cap-
ital but possessed energy and determination and upon those substantial qualities has
builded his success, his life record demonstrating what may be accomplished when energy
and ambition point out the way. Moreover, his life record is an indication that success and
an honored name may be won simultaneously, notwithstanding the fact that many feel that
business and honorable jjrinciples are not harmonious elements. ,
JOHN E. PENCE, M. D.
Among the progressive and efficient physicians and surgeons of Jlinot is Dr. John K.
Pence, who was born at Baldwin, Iowa, on the 26th of October, 1884, the fifth in order of
birth of a family of seven children. His parents, William T. and Mary A. (Campbell)
Pence, are both natives of Ibwa and their natal years were 1845 and 1849 respectively.
They now live in Maquoketa, Iowa.
John R. Pence attended the high school at Maquoketa and subsequentl}' was for two
years a student in the University of Iowa and spent a similar period in Northwestern
University, which conferred upon him the M. D. degree in 1909. In June immediately fol-
lowing his graduation he came to Minot and during the intervening seven years he has
engaged in the general practice of rnedicine and surgery. In making a diagnosis he is
careful to take into account every condition affecting the case, gives his patients the best of
care and in his treatment utilizes the latest discoveries in the field of medicine and surgery.
He has been accorded an excellent patronage and has gained a high standing in his profession.
Dr. Pence was united in marriage on the 22d of April. 1914, to Miss Florence Stenersen,
a native of Minnesota and a daughter of John H. and Abbie (Person) Stenersen. The
father, who is of Norwegian birth, is now engaged in the lumber business in Port Arthur,
Canada. His wife is also still living. Dr. and Mrs. Pence have a daughter, Mary, whose
birth occurred on the 17th of March, 1915.
The Doctor is a republican and is now serving his fifth year as city health officer, in
which capacity he has done work of great value to the city. He is a member of Star in
the West Lodge, No. 33, A. F. & A. M., of Minot; of Minot Lodge, No. 6, K. P.; and Minot
Lodge, No. 1089, B. P. 0. E., of which ho is now serving as exalted ruler. Through his
membership in the Northwestern District Medical Society and the North Dakota State
Medical Society and through wide reading along professional lines he keeps informed as to
the latest discoveries in his profession and this progressive spirit is one of the factors in
his success as a phvsician.
WILLIAJI DOMIER.
The business interests of Clifford find a worthy representative in William Domier,
who is a dealer in agricultural implements and has various other active connections with
business affairs. In fact his interests are so broad in their scope and important in their
nature as to furtlier in large measure the material development of the community. Mr.
Domier was born in Norway, .January 23, 1859, a son of Henry and Carrie (Running)
Domier. who came to the United States in 1866 and settled in Goodhue county, Minnesota,
where they spent fifteen years. In 1881 they arrived in North Dakota, taking up their
112 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
abode in Rosoville towiishii>, Traill county, wliere Mr. Domier secured a homestead claim on
whicli he resided until his death in 1902. His widow survived him for seven ytars, passing
away in 1909. »
William Domier pursued his education in the district schools of Minnesota, being but
a lad of seven years when the family crossed the Atlantic. At a very early age, liowcver,
he became a wage earner, working as cliore boy for neighboring farmers and doing general
farm work as early as his nintli or tentli year. He is truly a self-made man, for from that
time forward he has depended solely upon his own resources. In 1882 he began farming
on his own account, homesteading one hundred and sixty acres on section 20, Roseville
township. Traill county. There lie resided for three years, after which he sold that prop-
erty and went to Nelson county, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land,
there carrying on general farming for eleven years. He next took up his abode in Steele
county, where he purchased one hundred and sixty acres and for nine years he resided in
that coiyity, carrying on general agricultural piusuits. In 1905 he removed to ClilTord to
become manager for the Goose River Implement Company, in which connection he has since
continued. He still owns his farm in Steele county, located eight miles west of Clifford.
He is regarded as one of the substantial residents of the town in which he resides, for
aside from his farming and mercantile interests he is a stockliolder in the Farmers Elevator
Company and in the Traill County Telephone Company. His business connections are of
an important character and have won him place among the representative and valued
residents of this part of the state.
In 1881 Mr. Domier was married to Jliss Josephine Quelle, a native of Norway, who
died November 29, 1911. Mr. Domier is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church. His
political allegiance has always been given to the republican party since age brought him
the right of franchise. He has served as a member of the town board and for many years
he was chairman of the board, while living in Steele county. He takes a deep and helpful
interest in community affairs, casting his influence always on the side of progress and
improvement and his clforts in behalf of public welfare have been productive of" excellent
results.
OLK K. l-LSAKER.
The real estate dealers of any coniunniity arc factors of no small importance in its
upbuilding as they are instrumental in bringing in new residents and in securing improve-
ments. Ole K. Ulsaker, who is the oldest real estate dealer in Wahpeton in point of years
of connection with the business, has aided in many ways in the development of the city
and has also gained financial independence. He was born in Norway on the 1st of December,
1850, a son of Knute K. and Margaret (Finseth) Ulsaker, likewise natives of that country,'
the former born in 1806 and the latter in 1811. The father was a son of Ingvald Ulsaker]
a lifelong resident of the Land of the Jlidnight Sun. and he also passed his entire life there.'
He died in 1876 and was survived for a number of years by his wife, who died in .January,
1901. Both were members of the Lutheran church, the teachings of which guided their
lives. To them were born eight children, four of whom are still living, namely: Knute K.,
a farmer of Richland county, Ole K.; Thrond K.. a fruit farmer in California; aiTd Swen, a
mini.ster of the Lutlicran church in Wahpeton.
Ole K. Ulsaker attended the public schools of Norway and after emigrating to this
country continued his education in St. Olaf College at Northfleld, Minnesota. Subsequently
he attended Luther College at Decorah, Iowa, whence he came to North Dakota, settling
first at Kindred. After remaining there for three years he took up his residence in Walipe"-
ton in 1881, having been elected county treasurer in fall of 1880, which office he held for
ten }-ears, or five terms, his efficiency leading to his continued reelection. In 1891 he turned
his attention to the real estate business, in which he has since engaged. He buys and sells
land outright, and as he is always well informed as to what is on the market and is an
excellent judge of realty values his transactions have been very profitable and he is now a
man of independent means. He owns five excellent farms, all of which are well improved
. HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 113
and from which he derives a gratifying addition to his income. He is likewise a director
and vice president of the National Bank of Wahpeton and also owns considerable city
property.
In 1885 Mr. TJlsaker was united in marriage to Miss Cecil Huss, a native of Nicollet
county, Minnesota, by whom he has five children: Oscar, who is engaged in the practice of
law at Moore, Montana; Althea, the wife of Oscar Erickson, superintendent of schools at
Hatton, this state; Carl, a graduate of the high school and of the State School of Science
and first lieutenant of Company I, North Dakota National Guard, now stationed at Mercedes,
Texas; Walter, who is attending high school; and Lawrence, who is ten years of age.
Mr. Ulsaker is a republican in politics but has never been able to spare the time to
take an active part in public afl:airs although he is not remiss in any of the duties of a
good citizen. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran church, to which he belongs and
the influence of which he seeks to extend. The success which he has gained is due solely
to his own energy and ability as he began his career as a poor boy.
GEORGE W. BOWEN.
George W. Bowen, agent for the Soo line at Valley City, was born in St. Thomas,
Ontario, Canada, April 5, 1866, a son of Henry and Nancy (Bolton) Bowen, who were also
natives of Ontario. The father always made his home at St. Thomas, where he was engaged
in milling.
After his school days were over George W. Bowen took up the study of telegraphy and
became an operator on the Canadian Pacific Railroad, while later he was employed by the
Michigan Central Railway Compan}', and in 1888 he joined the forces of the Northern Pacific,
being stationed along the Missouri division. He so continued until 1889, when he became a
representative of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railroad at St. Paul and was
in the general offices at St. Paul until May, 1893, when he joined the Soo line and was sent
to Valley City, since which time he has been agent at that point.
On the 4tli of August, 1890, Mr. Bowen was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Deuer,
a native of Illinois, and they have become the parents of eight children: Lawrence D., who
after leaving high school became a member of the firm of Bowen & Hollingshead at Valley
City; William H., who is engaged in clerking in Valley City; Grace, at home; and Fred,
Arthur, Florence, Marjorie and Margaret, all in school.
Mr. Bowen is identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Knights
of Pj'thias and is loyal to the teachings of both organizations. He is regarded as an efficient
agent by the road which he represents, as a substantial and upright citizen by his fellow
townsmen and In business he has won success, making judicious investments in land, his
holdings in Colorado farm lands amounting to six hundred and forty acres.
JACOB L. SKRR^^ETH.
Jacob L. Skrivseth, who has been connected with the photographer's art and business
for thirty-nine years, owns and conducts a studio in Minot and receives an excellent patronage
from the city and surrounding territory. His birth occurred in the district of Nordmore
on the west coast of Norway on the 26th of December, 1853. His parents, Lars and Mollie
(Aasprong) Skrivseth, were also* born in Norway and came with their family to the new
world in 1869. After farming for some time in Freeborn county, Minnesota, they removed
to Traill county, North Dakota, whence they went to Crookston, Minnesota, where they
passed away, both being buried in the Crookston cemetery.
Jacob L. Skrivseth, who is the third in order of birth in a family of seven children,
attended the public schools of Norway and after the family home was established in
Minnesota continued his education there. He was seventeen years of age when he began
working for others, finding employment in a store and later in a hotel. In early manhood
114 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
he took up photography at Albert Lea, Minnesota, and after learning the business went to
Faribault, J[innesota, wiionce he removed to Fargo, North Dakota, in the latter '80s, opening
the first studio in that place thirty-seven years ago. 'He remained there until he located
in Moorhead, Minnesota, as a partner of O. E. Flaten, and on leaving that place he removed
to Traill county, this state, where he liad farming interests, and also engaged in business
in Hillsboro, that county. He was later successively in Mayville and in Crookston, Minnesota,
but in 1905 became a resident of Minot, North Dakota. He has since resided there, save for
a short period spent on the Pacific coast, and during the greater part of the time has followed
his profession as a photographer. In the year of the Alaska- Yukon-Pacific Exposition he went
to Seattle and for a little while engaged in business there, but the greater part of the time
devoted his attention solely to sight seeing. He then returned to Minot and opened a studio
over the First National Eank. He now has a large and profitable patronage not only from
.Minot but also from the surrounding country. He does all kinds of photographic work and
holds to a high standard of artistic excellence. He is also a good business man and as the
years have passed he has prospered financially. For a number of years he owned the
"skrivseth block, which he erected but which he sold when he went to Seattle, and he has
also disposed of his stock in the Union National Bank. He is now interested Hn farming
in Montana.
Mr. Skrivseth was married ISSO to Miss Bertha Christenson, who was born near
Nordfjord, Bergen, Norway, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Knute Christenson. Her father died
in Minnesota, but her mother passed away in Norway. Mr. and Mrs. Skrivseth have three
children: Henning D., of ilinot, who is assisting his father and who married Miss Nellie Best;
Margaret, the wife of 0. C. Anderson, of Fargo, who is engaged in the monument business
with an uncle; and Jay B. L., who is still at home and who is in the employ of the Great
Northern Railway Company.
Mr. Skrivseth is a progressive in politics and in the 1912 campaign served as chairman
of the county central committee. In the early days of the organization of Traill county he
served as town clerk in what is now Void, but was then a part of Norway, later Logan
township. He was elected to the ofiices of alderman and mayor of Hillsboro, this state, and
in all of his otlicial capacities he has performed his duties with regard solely to the welfare
of the public. Religiously he is a member of the Free Lutheran church and fraternally he is
a member of the Knights of Pythias of Minot, in which he has passed through all the chairs
and which he has represented in the grand lodges of the states of North Dakota and Minnesota.
He was also a grand officer of the Minnesota Knights of Pythias. He is likewise a member
and an ex-president of the Sons of Norway and is a stockholder in the fraternal homes of
the orders. He has devoted his entire life to one business and this concentration of his
energies has enabled him to become an expert in that line and to win an enviable and well
deserved success. Moreover, his personal characteristics are such that he has gained the
sincere respect and the warm goodwill of those who have been associated with him.
HALVOR ,1. IIAGEN.
Amon" the prominent, energetic and progressive business men of Fargo is Halvor J.
Hagen, president of the Seandiuavian-Ameriean Bank. He is honored and respected by all
not" alone by reason of the success which he has achieved, but also owing to the straight-
forward business policy which he has followed, and his efl'orts have ever been of a character
that has contributed to public prosperity as well as to. individual success. A native of
Norwav, he was born in Trondjhem on the 1st of September, 18G0, a son of Jens and Gunliild
Hagen,' who came to the United States in 1870, settling in Menomonie, Wisconsin. In 1873
they arrived in the Red River valley of North Dakota, establishing their home in Richland
county, near Fort Abercrombie, where the father secured a homestead, whereon he remained
until his death in October, 1913. For about five years he survived his wife, who passed away
in 1908. In (he meantime he had become one of the large landowners of Richland county,
making extensive investments in property, which advanced in value through the improve-
ments which he placed upon his land and also owing to the rapid settlement of the district.
HALVOR J. HAGEN
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 117
Halvor J. Hagen pursued his education at Willmar Seminary at Willmar, Minnesota, and
then turned liis attention to larming near Abererombie, being thus identified with agricul-
tural interests for a number of years. In 1802, however, he turned his attention to banking
becoming connected with the National Bank of Wahpeton, and with its officers he organized
the First State Bank of Abererombie, of wliicli lie became the president and financial manager.
In 1910 he organized the Scandinavian-American Bank of Fargo, of which he became the
president, and to this institution he has since given his personal attention, beinding his
energies to administrative direction and executive control. Under his guidance the bank has
made steady progress and is now recognized as one of the strong financial institutions of
the northwest. He is still a member of the board of directors of the First State Bank of
Abererombie and is also identified financially and officially with other banking institutions
of the state.
On the 4th of July, 1894, Mr. Hagen was married to Miss Amy Wood, of Sauk Center,
Minnesota, and they have become the parents of three children: Allen, who is employed in
the Scandian National Bank of Minneapolis; Horace; and Naomi.
The parents hold membership in tlie United Lutheran church and :Mr. Hagen is identified
with various social, fraternal and civic organizations. In fact, his interests are most varied
and indicate him to be a man of well rounded character, alive to the questions and conditions
of the day. He is an active, cooperant factor in the Fargo Commercial Club, being in hearty
sympathy with every movement to promote the welfare and upbuilding of the city. He
belongs to the United Lutheran church and is a member of the Young Men's Christian Associa-
tion, which indicates his activity in behalf of moral development. That he is interested in
the home of his ancestors and the welfare of liis fellow countrymen is manifest in his member-
ship in the Norse Society and the Scandinavian Working Men's Association. He is also presi-
dent of the Per Hjelm Hansen Memorial Society of Fargo and of the Sons of Norway. Mr.
Hagen is a thirty-second degree Scottish Eite Mason and a member of El Zagal Temple of
the Mystic Shrine. That he stands for those things which have marked cultural value is in-
dicated in his membership in the Scandinavian Fine Arts Society of Minneapolis. His interest
in the events which have formed the history of the state is manifest in the fact that he is a
member of the board of directors of the State Historical Society, is secretary of the Red
River Valley Old Settlers' Association and was one of tlie founders of the liistorical park
at Abererombie, of which he is the present custodian. When president of tlie Red River
Valley Old Settlers' Association, on the occasion of its twelfth annual meeting at Wahpeton,
he delivered a most interesting address, which is here given in part. He said: "It becomes
my pleasant duty to respond to this most generous welcome. We thank you most graciously.
And when I look over the program and see what good things are in store for us at this meet-
ing, the many good speeches that you will hear, the many happy reminiscences that will be
told, the sumptuous feast that will be spread — when I see those things, I am reminded of
tlie story of the young man «'ho had a bicycle for two, with his best girl on in front; he
said he apprecia ed the situation because he had something pleasant to look forward to. Wo
have something pleasant to look forward to here on this occasion. Our sojourn here shall
be pleasant — for this spot was the great gateway through which so many passed to enter
the promised land. I think I see them now in imagination — that great army, grim and deter-
mined men — westward bound — lialt on the brink of the Red River of the north — and I seem
to hear God whisper into their ears: 'Tliis land will I give you and your children.' And, I
am grateful, gentlemen of this association, from whom I have received so many courtesies,
for allowing me to crown my almost one-third of a century of pioneer life by giving me the
chief official position in j'our association. I am gratified that this honor has come to me at
Wahpeton — the spot where twenty-nine j'ears ago last month I crossed the ferry to help begin
the empire building of the Red River valley. I wish to acknowledge, at this time, on behalf
of the association, the liberality of the people of Richmond county, as expressed through their
county commissioners, and of the hospitable citizens of Wahpeton, as shown through the
honorable city council and by the complete preparations here in evidence for our entertain-
ment. I would also acknowledge the cordiality of our reception by the Wahpeton Board of
Trade, and the untiring labors in our behalf by Colonel John W. Woodhull, the efficient secre-
tary of that body. . . And now let me speak in brief of the Red River valley — this vast,
noble domain, every foot of which is made sacred by the toil of pioneer hands. We love its
Vol. n— 7
118 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
very soil; for it ise consecreatcd by the toil of that great army, so many of whom are now
laying down their burdens and cares and passing to niing'e their heroic dust with tlie soil, to
make it still more sacred. We have in this spot a spU'iidid inheritance. It is the last spot
God made in this part of the world; tlie swift-Mowing .-ilrianis at the close of the ice age and
the settling of Lake Agassiz left it a soil jialpitating with fertility — inexhaustible in pro
ductiveness. He .seems to have poured into this valley all the wealth of soil He had left
after fasliioning tlie remainder of the universe. And so it comes that we have great stores
of fertile soil, beautiful rivers, sunlit prairies, and woods wreathing bank and valley. Add
to this a glorious climate — sudden at times, perhaps, but bracing — befitting atmosphere for
the strenuous builders of an empire — and we have a new paradise framed by God as His last
and noblest achievement. Into this realm came the sifted population of the best countries
of Kurope — the stoutest and the bravest, the sturdiest and tlie fittest — for none but brave
and stanch will undertake to break the way for civilization. On they came, to wring from
savagery a civilization by founding liomcs and building cities. The inhospitable wilderness
was here in all its wild abandon. Here the black bear lumbered lazily in the forest fast-
nesses; here the wolf howled, the buffalo roamed. Here superstition worshipped and sac-
rificed its bloody victims upon the altar of its savage faith. Here tepee and trail told of the
restless, roaming instinct that beat in the wild breast. Upon this scene the sturdy German,
the passionate Irishman, the resolute Xorwegian, the practical Scot, the ingenious Saxon,
the patient Swede, the rugged Bohemian came, full of industry, full of devotion, full of
faith. All the quarter they ever asked for was a strong arm and a long day in which to
work. We have seen the result. We see it today — this valley made glorious with their
achievements, amply provided — a happy people in all its wide domain, beautiful homes,
noble churches, numberless school buildings, a place designated in the geographies of the
earth as the 'granary of the world.' And speaking of this state as the granary of the w'orld,
reminds us of the fact that there has been one plant that has been to the pioneer a friend
indeed — a plant the most royal in the world. It is a tyrant and causes us to lose niucih
sleep. It w^orks us to death half the year and makes us vagrants the other half. To adopt
from the oratory on cotton, one might say: What a royal plant it is. The world waits in
attendance on its growth. Empires and republics, kings and ])otcntates, rich and poor, black
and white, all bow before it. The showers that fall wdiispering on its tender leaves are
heard around the woild. The sun that shines upon it is tempered by the praj-ers of all
the people. The frost that chills it and the dews that descend from the stars are noted, and
the trespass of a little bug on its stem is more to England than the advance of the Bussian
army on her Asian outposts. It is gold from the instant it puts forth its tiny shoot. Its
kernel is current in every bank, and when heading out to meet the all-maturing sun. it
nods a head of gold that brings a smile of hope from the farmer. The farmer is thus
marshaled under a flag that commands the allegiance of the world, and can wring a subsidy
from every nation on earth. So, industry and a handful of wheat and a willing soil have
created a transformation that surpasses the flight of the imagination. Instead of the Indian
wigwam we have the palatial home; instead of the broncho and his trail, the iron horse
thunders across its track of steel; instead of the waving grass, the waving grain; where
the altar of superstition once stood, there now rises into view the dome of the church
and the schoolhouse. Industry smiles at the changes she has wrought, and the pioneers —
many crowned with the frosts of age — live to enjoy it in its hap|)y consummation. Thirty
years have passed, beginning with no government, no cultivated fields, no civilization — today
the greatest tract of territory in point of productiveness of any equal area on the face of
the earth. I say greatest because it produces more of the material absolutely necessary to
human existence than any other territory of equal area on all the earth; for its size, it pro-
duces more bread and material for better bread material than any other region in the world.
And, greater than all, it contains more citizens who work for themselves; who own the
lands they till, and who dwell beneath the shadows of their own rooftree; more citizens
who love God; who love their country and their tUig. than in all the rest of the worlds
The land is valuable; the assessed valuation has in these forty years passed from a few
dollars towards the hundred millions. Nor has tliis wealth been dug out of Klondike's
mines or the diamond fields of South Africa; nor has it been won in the gambling dens of
Wall street. Every dollar of it is a created wealth — wrung from the reluctant soil by the
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 119
brawny hand of toil. And there is not only productivity in her soil, but there is beauty in
her domain. The natural beauties of North Dakota, though not those of destruction and
desolation, exceed tlie far-famed grandeur of Italy. True, no Alps nor Appenines burst from
her broad bosom and rear their cold, dead peaks mile upon mile into heaven's mighty vault;
no Vesuvius belches angry flame at the stars; no Xiagara churns its green waters into a
rainbow-tinted foam, nor do we hear the savage roar of the avalanche. But here we have
sun-kissed prairies, the purple tints of the lotus eater's land; the pastoral beauties of Tempe's
delightful home; suns set and suns rise, whose gleaming gold might ransom a universe of
kings. This valley of ours is a noble heritage. And today it stands in its multitudinous
forms of industiy and civilization as an enduring monument to the forethought, enterprise
and devotion of those who founded and wrought. And as the dark locks whiten, as steps
totter, as eyes grow dimmed let it be to the satisfaction of the pioneer to know today and
the remaining days that the pioneer's battle has been a hard-fought one, but nobly won."
CHAELES H. MAKTIX, D. V. S.
Dr. Charles H. Martin, engaged in the practice of veterinary surgery at Valley City,
was born in Ottawa, Illinois, in December, 1869, a son of Phillip R. and Sarah (Berry)
Martin, both of whom were natives of England. The father, who was born in Devonshire,
died in 1912, when seventy years of age. The paternal grandfather came to America in the
late '50s and after a period spent in Michigan removed to Illinois, where he followed farming.
In 1879 Phillip R. Martin removed from Illinois to North Dakota, establishing his home near
Buffalo, Cass county, where he secured a homestead, preemption and tree claim. The re-
mainder of his active business life was spent upon this farm and when he retired he removed
to Powers Lake, where he continued to make his home until called to his final rest. He
took great interest in local affairs and was a worthy citizen of the community.
Of a family of five children Charles H. Martin was the eldest and after mastering the
branches of learning taught in the public schools he attended the commercial college at
Valparaiso, Indiana, and still later entered the Ontario (Canada) Veterinary College, from
which he was graduated with the class of 1894. He then located for practice at Buffalo, Cass
county, North Dakota, where he remained until 1903, when he came to Valley City, where
he has since continued and in the intervening years he has won a good practice.
In 1896 Dr. Martin was united in marriage to Miss Harriet S. Richie, a daughter of
W. T. Richie, who came to this state in 1879. Mrs. Martin was bom at Mapleton, North
Dakota, and passed away at Valley City, in July, 1914, leaving seven children: Zella, at
home; Douglas, Phillip and Howard, all in school; Dorothy; Madge; and Mary.
Fraternally Dr. Martin is connected with the Kniglits of Pythias and with the Loyal
Order of Moose and along professional lines his membership is in the North Dakota Veterinary
Association, of which he served as secretary for several years. He has filled the office of
district veterinarian and assistant state veterinarian for a number of years and holds high
rank as one possessing marked skill in his chosen calling. For thirty-seven years Dr. Martin
has been a resident of this state, having remained in Illinois only until ten years of age,
and he has therefore been a witness of much of the growth and development of North Dakota.
At all times he has been interested in its progress and has borne his share in the work of
public improvement, giving loyal support at all times to those measures and movements
which he deems of practical value in promoting the best interests of the community.
J. S. JOHNSON.
J. S. .Tohnson, president of the Christine State Bank and a well known dealer in lumber
and farm implements, has not only been connected with the business development of Christine
but has also been active in public affairs, having held a number of offices, including that of
state representative. He was born in Norway on the 6th of June, 1854, a son of Lara ant'
120 . HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Carrie (Tliompsen) Johnson, botli likewise natives of that country, the former horn in 1824
and the latter in 1827. The mother passed away in hev native country in 1808 but in 1881
the father emigrated to the United States and purchased a farm in Jlinnesota. He was also
a landowner in Norway and cnirafjed in farmin<; throughout his entire active life. His demise
occurred in 1911, when he had reached tlie advanced age of 87 years. His political allegiance
was given to the republican party after becoming a naturalized citizen of the United .States
and his religious faith was that of the Lutheran church. To him and his wife were born
throe children: H. A., who is farming in Meeker county, Minnesota, and who is a machinist
by trade; J. S.; and Isabelle, the wife of John Holt, a farmer of Wilkins county, Minne-
sota, and chairman of the board of county commissioners. The paternal grandfather reached
the advanced age of one hundred and two years and passed his entire life in Norway, as
did the maternal grandfather, who was a farmer by occupation.
J. S. Johnson received his education in his native country and remained there for sev-
eral years after attaining his majority. In ISSO he crossed the Atlantic to the United
States and made his way to Minnesota, where he engaged in carpentering and farming for
three years, after which he removed to Christine, North Dakota. In 188S he took a commer-
cial course in the Curtiss Business College at Jlinncapolis. In 1886 he established a lumber
business, which he has since successfully conducted and to which he has added a line of
farm inii)lements. As the years have passed his trade has grown and he is now one of the
leading business men of Iris town. He also has other interests, being president of
the Christine State Bank, which he established in 1889 and which has the confidence of the
community as it has always been nuinaged in accordance with principles of sound finance.
He also owns considerable land in western North Dakota and he formerly had an interest
in the Christine Mercantile Company, which he recently sold.
In 1883 Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Anna Olson, a native of Norway,
who passed away three years after her marriage. In 1902 he was again married, Miss
Albertina R. Lukason, likewise a native of Norway, becoming his wife. Two children have
been born to this union, Agnes R. and James A.
Mr. Johnson is a republican and has considerable inlluence in political circles in his
part of the state. Since attaining his majority he has taken part in public affairs and has
served as town treasurer and as school treasurer and in 1896 and again in 1898 was honored
by election to the state legislature, proving a, public-spirited and able law maker. His
religious faith is indicated by the fact that he holds membership in the Lutheran church
and fraternally he is connected Avith the Masons and the Woodmen. He is one of the sub-
stantial men of his community and can always be depcndeil upon to aid in jironioting the
general welfare.
J. B. RADFORD.
J. B. Radford, one of the leading citizens and inosperous agriculturists of Cass county,
came to this state thirty-seven years ago and in the careful conduct of his agricultural
interests has won gratifying success, for he is now the owner of six hundred acres of rich
and productive land in Warren township, residing on section 34. His birth occurred in Fond
du Lac county. Wisconsin, on the 14tli of February, 1859, his parents being Joseph and
Frances (Taylor) Radford, both of whom were natives of iMigland. They were married in
Wisconsin and resided in that state during the remainder of their lives, passing away in
Fond du Lac. By trade the father was a nuison and plasterer.
J. B. Radford was reared under the pan^ntal roof and obtaini'd his education in the
graded and high schools of Fond du Lac. It was in June, 1878, when he was a young man
of nineteen years, that he came to North Dakota. He had learned the trade of mason under
his father and after his arrival here worked for one year in Fargo, assisting in the erection
of some of the first brick buildings in the town. In February, 1879, he took up his present
home farm as a preemption and subsequently changed this to a homestead. The same
year he acquired a tree claim on which he proved up and in later years he has purchaed two
other quarter sections, his landed holdings now embracing six hundred acres in Warren
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 121
township. He also owns a city residence in Faigo and during the past twenty-three or
twenty-four years has spent the winter seasons there.
In October, 1882, Mr. Radford was united in marriage to iliss Sarah Wold, of Cass
county, who is a native of Norway. To them liave been born four children, as follows:
Frances, who is deceased; Joseph T., who follows farming in partnership with his father;
Amy, who has passed away; and Grace U., at home.
Politically Mr. Radford is an independent republican and for the past twenty years has
served as county chairman of his party. He has also made an excellent record as a member
of the township board of trustees, having thus served for about twenty-five years, while
for four years he was a member of the board of trustees of the State Agricultural College
under Governor Burke. Fraternally he is identified with the Knights of Pythias. By his
enterprise and energy along political lines and by his scientific and modern methods of
agriculture Mr. Radford has earned the high esteem of his fellow citizens and the place in
the communitv to wliieli he is entitled has never been denied him.
JOHN E. hol:\i.
Modern scientific farming finds expression in the work of John K. Holm, who is today
the owner of three thousand acres of land in Barnes county and with the aid of his sons
is cultivating altogether forty-two hundred acres. His broad fields of grain look like a
great billowy sea. stretching on and on as far as the eye can reach, and in addition to con-
trolling and managing this great property he is also engaged in general merchandising at
Cuba. His birth occurred in Carver count}', Minnesota, October 12, 1857, a son of Jlr. and
Mrs. Andrew E. Holm, who were born, reared and married in Sweden. In 1855 they arrived
in Minnesota and cast in their lot with the pioneer settlers of Carver county at a period
when the Indians were all around them. At the time of the Sioux Indian war of 1862
Andrew E. Holm was one of the first drafted to fight the red men and walked to St. Paul,
a distance of forty miles, for equipment, but owing to rheumatism he was released and
returned home. He thereafter continued firming througliout his remaining days, passing
away at an advanced age. He met all of the hardships and privations of frontier life and
lived to enjoy the success and prosperity which changing conditions and his own industry
brought about. His family numbered two sons and two daughters.
The second in order of birth was John Holm, who spent his boj-hood in his native
county, having the usual experiences that fall to the farm bred lad. In 1879 he married
Annie Ranft, a native of Pennsylvania, and they have become parents of seven children:
John, now farming in Barnes county; George, Henry Albert and Powell Edward, all assist-
ing their father in his extensive farming operations; Anna, the wife of Henry Dill, living
near Minneapolis, Minnesota; Katie Matilda, at home; and Herman Fritz.
Following his marriage in 1879 Mr. Holm started out in business life on his own
account but did not meet with the success he had anticipated when in Minnesota. Accord-
ingly in 1885 he sought opportunities elsewhere and removed to Barnes county. North
Dakota, where he cultivated rented land for a number of years. He then returned to
Minnesota, intending to remain, but found that he had become imbued with a love of North
-Dakota and in 1891 returned. He here bought a quarter section of land on crop payments
and began farming, since which time he has added steadily to his holdings until he is now
the owner of about three thousand acres of land, which he and his sons are cultivating, and
in addition he rents twelve himdred acres, so that they are now engaged in farming alto-
gether forty-two hundred acres. The major part of the land is devoted to the growing of
small grain and he also raises alfalfa and timothy as feed for his stock, having upon his
place a herd of one hundred head of Red Polled cattle. He also bought out the general
merchandise store at Cuba, which had been conducted as a farmers' cooperative store, and
has since carried on a successful general mercantile business. He has his own threshing
outfit and all modern farm machinery, and there are few in the United States who are
carrying on agricultural pursuits on a more extensive scale. He is likewise serving as
122 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
postmaster at Cuba and is closely identified with evpjy interest of tlio iiniimiinity wliicli
lias to do with the general welfare.
Mr. Holm is justly regarded as a most sagacious and farsightcd business man, wide-
awake, alert and enterprising. His phenomenal success is due to his judicious selection in
buying farm lands and to his wise control and management of his farming operations.
Altlioiigli in his sixtieth year, in appearance and nuncmcnts he would be readily taken for
a man of forty. Industry, enterprise and good judgment have characterized him at every
point in his career. He possesses an optimistic nature and is not afraid to venture wljere
favoring opportunity points out the way. While he came to North Dakota without a
dollar and has had to suffer many hard knocks at the hand of fate, he has persevered and
has found that opportunity, which slips away from the sluggard and tauntingly jilays
before the dreamer, yields its rich rewards to the man of energy and determination.
KLIAS BOWMAN.
Klias Bowman is a representative of one of tlie pioneer families of Cass county. For
almost forty years he has been a witness of the growth and development of this part of tlie
state and has aided largely in promoting its progress, particularly along agricultural lines.
He is still busily engaged in farming and is accounted one of the wide-awake and ]irogres-
sive farmers in his district. He was horn in Sweden, December 6, 1853, a son of Carl and
Fredericka (.Johnson) Bowman, both of whom were natives of that country. The father
there passed away, after which the mother with her three sons came to America in 1876,
settling in Reed township, Cass county, North Dakota, where she spent her remaining days.
Klias Bowman was a young man of twenty-three years when he crossed tlu' Atlantic
to the new^ world with his mother and came to this state. He afterward worked for eleven
years for his brother, F. Boman, and then took up his abode upon the farm where he now
resides in Raymond township. In the intervening years he has made a marked change in
the appearance of the place, converting its wild land into prod\ictive fields, from which ho
annually gathers rich harvests, while to his farm he has added many improvenuMits tliat
show him to be a progressive man and one whose efforts are entirely practical. He has
planted a line grove and now has one of the good farms of his part of the county.
In 18S8 Mr. Bowman was united in marriage to Miss JIargaret .Johnson, a native of
Sweden and a daughter of Nels and Helena .Johnson, also natives of that country. The
father is still living in Sweden, but the mother has passed away. To Mr. and Mrs. Bowman
have been born four children: Ida E., at home; Helen W.. tlic wife of A. N. Lindsay: and
Carl .J. and Esther M.. both at home. The wife and mother passed away in 1901, leaving a
husband and four children to mourn her loss. Her death was a matter of deep regret to many
friends, for she had gained the good will and kindly regard of all who knew licr. ^Ir.
Bownnin is a self-nmde man who has gained all that he possesses since coming tu tlu' new-
world. He has worked persistently and energetically as the years have gone liy, realizing
tliat industry is the basis of all honorable advancement. He s\ipports the republican party
at the polls and for two terms has served as a member of the school board and has made a
highly creditable record in that capacity. Although his private affairs make heavy demands
upon his time and attention, he always finds opportunity to cooperate in movements seeking
the general welfare.
RUDOLPH HERDINA.
Rudolph Herdina, who has gained a gratifying success as a farmer, is residing on
section 29, Dwight township, Richland county. A native of Bohemia, he was born on the
31st of March, 1873, of the marriage of Frank and I'hilomena (Schubert) Herdina, both of
whom were born in Austria, the former in 18.52 and the latter In IS.'iO. In 187.'j they crossed
the ocean to the United States and. making their way westward, settled in Minnesota, where
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 123
the father turned hia attention to farming. Subsequently he removed to North Dakota,
vvliere he resided for fourteen years, after \vlii?li he returned to Minnesota and he and Ids
wife are now living at Blooming Prairie, that state. He is a democrat in politics and his
religious faith is that of the Catholic church. When he came to this country he was a
poor man but through industry and good management he has now acquired a competence.
To him and his wife were born twelve children, all of whom are now living and of whom
our subject is the eldest. The paternal grandfather, Frank Herdina, also emigrated to the
United States and made his way to North Dakota, where he homesteaded land, although he
passed away in South Dakota at the home of a son.
Rudolph Herdina received his education In the public schools of North Dakota and
remained here when his parents returned to Minnesota. He was early trained in practical
farming and has followed the occupation to which he was reared. When twenty-two
years of age he began his independent career and that he has been successful is indicated
in the fact that he now owns three hundred acres of fertile and well improved land on
section 39, Dwight township, Richland county. He follows general farming and is enter-
prising and progressive in his work, cultivating his crops carefully and using the latest
machinery. He is a director in the Farmers & Merchants Bank at Wahpeton.
In .1899 Mr. Herdina was united in marriage to Miss Lydia Chezik, a daughter of
Joseph and Rose Chezik, early settlers of this state, the father taking a homestead claim in
Richland county, which he farmed until he retired from active life. In his early manhood
he followed blacksmithing and for some time was in the employ of the government. He
was in this state during pioneer times and recounts many interesting frontier experiences.
Mr. and Mrs. Herdina have five children, all of whom are at home, namely: Viola, Phillip,
Marwil, Chester and Valerian.
Mr. Herdina casts his ballot in support of the men and measures of the democratic
party and in religious faith is a Roman Catholic. He began his career as a poor boy and
has at all times depended solely upon his own resources and can truly be termed a self-
made man. Although he has given the closest attention to his business affairs he has not
neglected his duties as a citizen and has always been willing to cooperate in movements
seeking the public welfare and advancement. During the thirty-three years that he has
resided in this state he has witnessed a remarkable change and takes justifiable pride in
the fact that he has had a part in bringing about the transformation.
MARTIN 0. THOMPSON.
Martin O. Thompson, an attorney of Lisbon, was born in Meeker county, Minnesota,
March 5, 1882, and with his parents came to North Dakota in the spring of 1884, the
family settling on a homestead near Fort Ransom, in Ransom county. He is a son of
Andrew and Inger (Hendrickson) Thompson, who were born, reared and married in Nor-
way and came to the new world in the late 'TOs, making their way to Minnesota, where
they remained for only a short period and then came to North Dakota, as previously
stated. They had a family of six children: Hannah, Thomas and Dora, all residents of
Fort Ransom; Martin 0.; Elbert, also of Fort Ransom; and Lena, living at Bemidji, Min-
nesota. The father died June 2, 1902.
Martin 0. Thompson obtained his early education in the common schools of Fort
Ransom and afterward spent two years in the Minnesota Normal & Business College, which
institution has since passed out of existence. For a year he was a student in the North
Dakota State Agricultural College and for a year in the college at Fargo. He subsequently
attended the State University for two years as a law student, there winning the B. L.
degree. For a period of one year thereafter he was employed as a law clerk in the office
of M. C. Lasell, of La Moure, and in 1912 he went to Lisbon after spending the summer of
1911 in looking about for a favorable location in which to practice his profession. He
opened an office in the Hamilton Bank block, where he has since remained, and in the inter-
vening period his practice has steadily grown in volume and importance. In the election
124 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
of November, lUl-1, lie was made state's attorney, having been tlie candidate on the demo-
cratic ticket, and is now the incumbent in the ottiee.
On tlie 5th of May, 1915, Mr. Tliompson was married to Miss Nettie Martin, wlio was
born in Mimay county, Minnesota, May 7, 1890, a daughter of Amond and Lena (Evanson)
Martin, botli of whom were natives of Wisconsin, wlience tliey removed to Jlinnesota, their
liome at present being in Fergus Falls, that state. The father was formerly identified with
merchandising but now gives his attention to farming. To him and his wife have been
born twelve children and theirs is a notable record, for the family circle yet remains
unbroken by the hand of death.
Fraternally Mr. Thompson is connected with Mystic Lodge. No. 14, I. 0. 0. F., at Lisbon
and also with the Ancient Order of L'nited Workmen. At one period in his career he devoted
about a year to the study of art, specializing in sculpture, and he takes keen pleasure in
fine works of art but he now concentrates his attention upon his professional duties, whicli
are bringing him into close connection with tlie most important work of the courts in his
district.
HENRY 0. GARDNER.
Henry 0. Gardner, a retired farmer living in Forman, was born at Toten, Norway,
September 17, 1S59. His father, Ole Gaardlos, was also a native of Norway, where he spent
his entire life. He alwijys engaged in farming and specialized in dairying and the raising
of clover. He died in April, 1902, while his wife, who bore the maiden name of Helen
Baomerud, passed away in June, 1902. She was born in the same locality as her husband
and they were married in 1845. They became the parents of eleven children, of wliom
Henry 0. is the fourth, and three of that family are still living.
Henry 0. Gardner was educated in the schools of Norway and afterward worked with
his father upon the home farm until April 1, 1878, when he resolved to try his fortune in
the new world and crossed the Atlantic to America. He settled in Jlinneupolis and as the
city was then somewhat involved in a financial panic he was forced to go out into the country
to obtain employment. He secured work on the farm of Charley Porter, in Redwood county,
Minnesota, with whom he remained for three months, after which he engaged in railroading,
in work in the harvest fields and in elerkhig in a general sture for a perind of four years.
At the end of. that time, or in 1S83, he removed to Jlontana, where he engaged in prospecting,
and he also worked for the government, assisting to build Fort MeGinnis. He was thus
engaged for about four years and in the fall of 1885 he returned to Norway.
There on the 10th of ^March, 1880, Jlr. Gardner was married to ^Miss Kirstine Dyste,
who was born March 8, 1859, ill lliirdalen, Nonvay, a diiughter of .John E. and Anna
(Volengcn) Dyste. Her father, who was born in 1814, passed away in 187:i, while her
mother, who was born in 1832, died in 1911. Tlieir family numbered nine children, of wlimn
:Mrs. Gardner is the seventh. Mr. and itrs. Gardner arc the only representatives of their
respective families in America. Following their marriage their bridiil trip consisted of a
voyage to the new world and a trip across the country to the North Dakota home. They
settled on a claim situated on section 32, l^utland township, Sargent county, and later
Mr. (iardner took up a tree claim located on section 31 in the same township. He afterward
added a third quarter section and engaged in farming his tract of four hundred and eighty
acres for seventeen years, during which time he made a specialty of raising stock. His
business affairs were carefully and wisely managed and his enteriirise imd sound judgment
were manifest in the success which attended his efforts. He is luiw liailiiig a retired life
and from his farm derives a good rental.
In his political views Mr. Gardner is a republican and has filled a imiiilicr of local olFiees,
serving on the township board of siijiervisors, also as treasurer, justice of the ])eacc and many
times as a member of the school board. Fraternally he is a JIason, belonging to Blue Lodge,
No. 5, at Forman, to the chapter at Lidgerwood, the commandery at Lisbon and El Zagal
Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Fargo. He and his wife are members of the Norwegian
Lutheran church. He has never had occasion to regret his detci inination to come to the
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 125
now world, for lie liere found tiie oppoitiinitii'S which he sought and in their employment
has worked his way steadily upward. His has been an active and well spent life in which
labor lias been crowned with success, the fitting reward of earnest, persistent eflort.
HARRY W. JIONTGOilERY.
Harry W. Montgomery, who is secretary and manager of the Jlinot Insurance Company
and to whom the success of that concern is largely due, was born at Grundy Center, Iowa,
September 20, 1884. His parents, Frank F. and Laura (Shaw) Jlontgomery, were natives
respectively of Brooklyn, Kew York, and Xenia, Ohio. After removing to Xorth Dakota in
the spring of 1889 the father engaged in the furniture business at Jamestown until 1898,
when he went on the road as a traveling salesman for Siegel Brothers, of Chicago. In 1907
he removed to that city, where he passed awaj- on Thanksgiving day. 1U14. His wife is
still living and makes her home in Chicago.
Harry W. Montgomery, an only child, attended school at Jamestown and was gradu-
ated from the high school there in 1903. He remained under the parental roof until 1907
although before that time he had begun to work for others. In April of that year he
removed to Minot and organized the Minot Insurance Company with R. E. Barron as presi-
dent and Mr. Montgomery as secretary and manager. The company is incorporated and
has fine offices in the new Jacobson block. It does a general insurance business and as it
represents a number of tlie best companies and as the men who are directing its affairs
are well informed as to ail kinds of insurance and are energetic and reliable it is but
natural that it should be accorded a large and representative patronage. In addition to
his responsible duties as manager he gives some time to the adjusting of claims.
Mr. Jlontgomery w-as married in August, 1907, to Miss Sarali ilorris, who w-as born
in Wisconsin and is a daughter of M. P. and Sarah Morris, who were early pioneers of
Grand Forks, Xorth Dakota. The father was connected with the Grand Forks Herald for
some time but subsequently worked on the Jamestown Alert for about seven years and is
now the publisher of the Stutsman County Democrat. He is also filling the office of post-
master of Jamestown and for about ten years he was on the county central committee.
His wife died in 1908. Mr. and Jlrs. Montgomery have three children: Harold, born June
17, 1908; Margaret, born June 3, 1912; and Ilraa, whose birth occurred November 12, 1914.
Mr. Montgoraerj- gives liis political support to the republican party but has never
aspired to ollice. He is a prominent member of the Elks lodge and is now serving as trustee
and as chairman of the Elks committee. He is likewise identified with the Sons of the
American Revolution. Although he has resided in JMinot for only eight years he has already
gained a recognized place as a factor in business circles and personally he has made many
sincere friends.
EIXAR MUUS.
Einar Muus gives a great deal of Ids time and attention to looking after the interests
of the Great X'orthern Lumber Company, Incorporated, of Minot, of which he is secretary
and treasurer, but also has other important business connections. He was born in Vestre
Toten, Norway, on the 1st of June, 1881, a son of Jacob and Julianna (Tetrud) Muus, also
natives of that place. The father was a farmer and foUow-ed that occupation until his
demise, which occurred in his native land. In 1910 the mother came to the United States
and is now living in Velva, Xorth Dakota.
Einar Muus, who is the sixth in order of birth in a family of eight children, received
the greater part of his education in X'orway, but following his removal to this country
attended Concordia College at Moorhead, IMinncsota, for nine months. He was sixteen
years of age when he crossed the Atlantic to the United States and he at once made his
way to Minot, North Dakota, where he worked for others for some time. For a while he
126 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
was in the employ of the Great Xortliein Railroad a..J later became connected with the
Kulaas Lumber Company, with which he remained for three years. In 1904 he engaged in
the lumber business independently and in 1905 he organized the Great Northern Lumber
Company, Incorporated, of which he is secretary and treasurer. The concern does a gen-
eral lumber business and deals in builders' supplies of all kinds, and the promptness with
which it tills orders, the high quality of the lumber sold and the straightforward methods
followed have combined to build up a large and prolitable patronage. Much of the success
of the company is due to the enterprise and the sound judgment of Mr. iluus, who is recog-
nized as one of the successful business men of his city. He is also president of the Balfour
Lumber Company and owns considerable land in the state which he rents. He is a director
of the Masonic Temple Building Association and of the Sons of Norway Building Association
and his advice and business c.\perienee have been of great value to those organizations.
Mr. Muus was married on tlie 23d of June, 1909, to Miss Nella Haugen, who was born
in Biri, Norway. Her parents, Martin and Christina (Haugen) Haugen, are both natives of
that country and are still living there. Her fatlier is a farmer and has met with success in
his chosen occupation. Mr. and .Mrs. iluus have three children: Erling, whose birth occurred
on the 9th of June, 1910; Julianna, born April 23, 1912; and Nora, whose birth occurred on
the 2Gtli of November, 1913.
Mr. .Muus endorses the national policies of the republican party but at local elections
casts an independent ballot. He has been called to public office and for two years has
served as a member of the city council of Minot and for a similar period as clerk of the
board of education. He belongs to the Masonic blue lodge, the chapter and commandery at
Minot, and to Kem Temple of the Mystic Hlirine at Grand Forks, and for one term he held
the office of secretary of the lodge. He is also identified with the Sons of Norway, in which
he has held all of the offices. Among the qualities which have enabled him to win success
are industry, determination and readiness to utilize opportunities, characteristics which
never fail to win respect and esteem as well as material reward.
JACOB OMDAHL.
Jacob Omdahl. filling the position of postmaster at Galesburg, was born in Norway
on the 18th of June, 1860, a son of Anders an<l Karen (Alfson) Omdahl, both of whom
spent their entire lives in Norway. No event of unusual importance occurred to vary the
routine of life for Jacob Omdahl in his boyhood, his time largely being devoted to the
acquirement of an education in the public schools. In 1879 he came to the United States,
settling in (loodhne county, Minnesota, where he secured employment as a farm hand.
He afterward worked in the same cajiacity in various counties of that state luitil 1885,
when he came to North Dakota, recognizing the ojiportunities here oll'ered. He took up a
homestead in Steele county and proving up the property and securing title thereto he
began adding to his land, purchasing another (piarter section adjoining the home place. He
then developed and cultivated a tract of three hundred and twenty acres until 190fi, when
he left the farm and removed to Galesburg, where he has since resided. He still owns the
property and derives therefrom a substantial annual income. In December, 1913, he was
appointed postmaster of his town, in which capacity he is now serving, making an excellent
record through the capable and reliable manner in which he administers the affairs of the
office. He also conducts a confectionery store and is meeting with good success in that
undertaking.
On the nth of J\ine, 1889, occurred the marriage of Mr. Omdahl and Miss Ellen Wilson,
of Minneapidis. Minnesota, and a native of Norway. To this union six children have been
born: Arthur \V., who is identified with the Board of Trade in Minneapolis: Ksther Nora, who
is studying to be a trained nurse in the Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis; Alary E.,
who is teaching in the schools at Devils Lake, North Dakota; Clarence E., who is pursuing
a course in Akers Business College at Fargo; Alfred M., who is a high school student; and
Ruth .1.. who is attending the graded schools.
In polities Mr. Omdahl is independent, voting according to the dictates of his judgment.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 127
His fellow townsmen, appreciative of his worth and ability have at various times called
him to public ofEce. He has served as a member of the town board and also as township
assessor and as a member of the school boaid. He has long been regarded as one of the
leading men of his township and in 1910 he was appointed to the office of census enumer-
ator. He and his wife are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church and they display
many sterling qualities which have gained them the warm regard of all with whom they
have been associated. Mr. Omdahl has never regretted his determination to come to the
new world. The opportunities which he here sought he found were to be secured and he
learned that industry in this country wins its reward. Gradually he worked his way upward
and his life record indicates what may be accomplished when one has the will to dare and to
do.
WALTER GREEN.
Walter Green, living in Diirbin township, Cass county, is the owner of valuable farm
property comprising five hundred and sixty acres, to the fui'ther development and cultivation
of which he gives his undivided attention. He was born in Michigan, January 2, 1S57, and
is a son of Eli and Esther (Gard) Green, both of whom were natives of that state. There
they were reared and married and after living for many years in Michigan they came to
North Dakota in 1880, settling upon a farm in Cass county. There they spent their remain-
ing days and the father became recognized as one of the leading farmers of the county, add-
ing to his possessions from time to time until his extensive land holdings embraced thirty-five
hundred acres, all of which was well improved. Much of this property has been sold bj- his
son. He was a progressive and enterprising man, accomplishing whatever he undertook, and
the methods which he followed commended him to the confidence and goodwill of all. In
the family were two children and the younger son, Frank, is now deceased.
Walter Green, the surviving member of the family, has always remained with his father
and he is still the owner of five hundred and sixty acres of land, which his father entered
and which constitutes a valuable farm property, to the care and supervision of which he
directs his activities, thus leading a useful, busy and active life. He has a wide acquaintance
in this part of the state and is spoken of in terms of high respect as a progressive and capable
business man.
L. N. ABBOTT.
L. N. Abbott, the efficient manager of the real estate business of Crandall, Flynn &
Tuttle, of Fairmount, is a man of marked public spirit and takes a great interest in every-
thing tending to promote the community welfare. He was born in West Cambridge, NeAV
York. .June 11, 1873, a son of E. B. and Elizabeth T). (Dennis) Abbott, natives respectively
of Saratoga county. New York, and of Washington county, that state. The father, who was
born in 1845. is still living but has retired, making his home in New York. The mother,
whose birth occurred in 1850, died in 1900. They were married in the Empire state and con-
tinued to live there until 1879, when they removed to ^Michigan. The father met with grati-
fying success as a stockman and farmer. In politics, he is a republican and has held a
number of town offices, and he belongs to the Presbyterian church, as did his wife. To them
were born four children, of whom two are living, the brother of our subject being Clarence,
who is engaged in the automobile business in Breedsville. Michigan.
L. N. Abbott received his education in the public schools of Breedsville, ilichigan, and
on beginning his independent career went to Kalamazoo, where he became connected with the
Michigan State Hospital. He remained there for six years and rose from an attendant to
assistant supervisor. He has resided in North Dakota since 1901 and in the intervening
fifteen years has gained a reputation in Fairmount and Richland county as an excellent
business man. Not long after his arrival in Fairmount he became connected with the real
estate business conducted by Charles A. Tuttle and now is manager of the Crandall, Flynn
128 TTTSTORV OF NORTH DAKOTA
& Tultle Land Company, wliicli buys anil ;«'lls land in \oitli and South Dakota. Hi- is an
oxc'clk'nt judge of land values and as he keeps in close touch with the real estate market his
operations in that field have been very prolltabU'.
In 1902 occurred the marriage of Mr. Abbott and Miss Pearl E. Tuttle, a daughter of
Albert H. Tuttle, a prominent attorney of Hartford, Slichigan. To this union have been
born three children: Maxine, eight years of age; and Dale and Donald, twins, five years old.
Mr. Abbott is a stanch republican and is active in party work, lie is at present serving
as mayor and has nuide an excellent record in that capacity, conducting muTiicipal all'airs in
a business-like manner. He is also on the school board. He was identilied with the Xatioiuil
Guard for several years and during the Spanish-American was was a member of the Thirty-
second Jlichigan Infantry, his military experience covering in all six years. During the war
he was in Sliafter's brigade, but saw no active service. Fraternally he belongs to the Knights
of Pythias, in the state organization of which he is now grand outer guard, and to the
Masonic blue lodge, in which he is junior warden. He is always willing to give of his time,
energy and thought to the development of Fairnu)unt and has done a great deal to promote
the community advancement not only as an individual but also as a member of the com-
mercial Club.
n. II. THIK
H. H. Thue is a well known, i]opular and pros|)orous nu'rchant and business man of
Horace, where he has made his home since 1890. Notably prompt, energetic and reliable,
'he so directs his elVorts that substantial results accrue and at the same time his eftorts are
a factor in promoting jmblic prosperity. He was born in Norway, March 14, 1802, a son of
Mr. and Mrs. li. li. Thue, both of whom passed away in that land. He had the benefit of
instruction in the iniblic and normal schools of his native country and in 1881 when a youth
of nineteen years sailed for the new world, thinking to lind better business conditions anil
opportunities on this side of the Atlantic, whore many uf liis fellow countrymen had pre-
ceded him. A large number had settled in Minnesota and to that state Mr. Thue made his
way, going first to Byron, Olmsted county. He had studied the English langiuigc in Norway
and was therefore more or less conversant with the speech of the jjeojile among whom he
cast his lot. He first secured employment at farm labor, which he followed tluougli the
summer months, while in the winter seasons he attended school and for a short period he
taught in the schools among the people who spoke the Norwegian tongue. The year 1SS:{
witnessed his arrival in North Dakota, at which tinu' he nuide his way to Norman, where
he worked through the harvest season. In the succeeding winter he returned to Minnesota
and again attended school, thus continuing his education thro\igh three winter terms. In
1884 he took >ip the homestead in Polk county, Minnesota, and although he lived tliereon for
a time he did not prove up. The same year he located in Crookston and secured a clerkship
in a general store, remaining in that position for two years. He spent the succeeding two
Vfars in Hatton, North Dakota, where he took np the juofession of teaching and was also
employed in various other ways.
The year 1890 witnessed Mr. Time's arrival in lloraie. North Dakota, and throni;li the
succeeding summer he worked as a farm hand, while in the following fall he embarked in
nierchanilising at Horace, in which business he has since been engaged, having been jironii-
nently indentilied with commercial interests at this point for the past twenty-five years.
He carries a laige and carefully selected line of goods, puts forth every endeavor to meet
the wants of his customers and in all his dealings is thoroughly reliable and trustworthy.
In fact he is one of the best known, most popular and highly esteemed country merchants
of Cass county and he well merits the success that has come to him in the conduct of his
mercantile interests.
Mr. Thue was married in Horace, in 1890, to Miss Caroline I'.rink. a daughter of C. f).
Brink, a pioneer of Cass county. To Mr. and Mrs. Thue have been born eight children,
Christian H., Selma, Florence, Orla, Theresa, Edna. Norma and Horace W., all of whom are
with their parents.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 129
Mr. Time and his family are all members of the jSTorwegian Lutheran church and its
teachings lind exemijlilieation in their lives. Mr. Thue is a reimblican in his political views
and has served as ijostmaster of Horace and for some years as justice of the peace, discharg-
ing his duties at all times with promptness and fidelity. In the latter office he rendered
decisions which were fair and impartial and which won for him golden opinions from all
sorts of people. Fraternally he is connected with the Modem Woodman of America. In
every relation his life measures up to high standards and those who know him entertain
for him the warm regard which is ever given in recognition of sterling personal worth. In
manner he is social and genial, is always courteous and obliging in business and as the years
have gone on he has gained a wide circle of \varm friends who speak of him in terms of the
higliest regard.
JOHN F. McGUIRE.
John F. McGuire is one of the leading representatives of electrical interests in Minot
and has proved very capable as the local manager of the H. M. Byllesby Company of Chicago,
electrical engineers. He was born in that city on the 16ih of April, 18S0, of the marriage
of Patrick and Catherine (Herley) McGuire, the former of whom was born in Ireland and the
latter in St. Lawrence, New York. The father removed to Chicago in early manhood and
resided there for forty-four years, passing away on the 15th of September, 1914. He was a
blacksmith by trade. The mother died on the 21st of July, 1908.
John F. McGuire, who is the third in a family of nine children, received his education in
the public schools of his native city and in the commercial department of De Paul Univer-
sity. When seventeen years of age he began learning the electrical business and when
about twenty years old entered the employ of the Commonwealth Edison Company of
Chicago. He remained with that concern for about four years and worked his waj"^ upward
through all of the departments until he became connected with the contracting work of the
concern. In October. 1909, he removed to Minot, North Dakota, and became associated
with the Consumers Power Company as the representative of the H. M. Byllesby Company
of Chicago, electrical engineers, and since 1913 has been in full charge of the business of
that company in Minot. He devotes his entire time to the interests entrusted to his care
and his work has been very satisfactory to the company. He not only thoroughly under-
stands the electrical business, but he also possesses sound judgment and executive ability
and is a valued factor in the industrial circles of Minot.
Mr. McGuire was married on the 19th of April, 1911, to Miss Eleanor Halla, whose
parents, John and Sage (Quirk) Halla, were early settlers of Chicago. The father is
deceased, but the mother is still living in that city. Mr. and Mrs. McGuire liave a son,
John Halla, whose birth occurred on the 21st of April, 1914.
Mr. McGuire is independent in politics and has never been an ofBce seeker. His religious
faith is indicated by the fact that he is a communicant of the Roman Catholic church, and
fraternally he belongs to the Elks. His interest in the growth and development of Minot
finds expression in his membership in the Commercial Club, and he is active in carrying out
the projects of that body. He is progressive and up-to-date and keeps in touch with
advancement in the electrical field tiirough reading along technical lines and through his
membership in the Order of Jovians, an electrical association, and in the National Electric
Light Association.
PETER G. SWENSON.
Among the prominent citizens of Hillsboro, North Dakota, is Peter G. Swenson. who
has been engaged in the practice of law there since 1893 and served as state's attorney
of Traill county for four years. His birth occurred at Trondhjem, Norway, on the 23d of
December, 1866, but he was brought to this co\intry by his parents in boyhood and received
130 HISTORY OF \ORTH DAKOTA
his education in the Decorali Institute at Docoiali, Io"a, and in tlie law deifartmcnt of the
University of Jlinnesota, from wliich he was graduated with his professional degree in 18U3.
The following year ilr. Swenson located for the practice of his profession in Hillsboro,
North Dakota, where he has since remained and during the intervening period of twenty-
three years has built up a large and representative clientage. He studies his eases carefully,
taking into account every point that might possibly have a bearing upon the outcome of
the trial. In liis arguments before the court he is lucid and convincing, and the records
sliow that he has won a large portion of the cases in which he has appeared as counsel. In
1894 he was elected to the office of states attorney of Traill county and lilled that position
for four years, making a highly creditable record. He is a director of the Hillsboro National
Bank.
In 1895 Mr. Swenson was united in marriage to Miss Sofie Olson, and they have four
children, a son and three daughters. He takes the interest of a good citizen in political
affairs, but has held no important office outside of the strict path of his profession,
preferring to concentrate his energies upon the practice of law. He has, however, served
as a member of the board of education. He not only occupies a high position at the bar of
Traill county but is also popular personall.y. Fraternally Mr. Swenson belongs to Hills-
boro Lodge, No. 10, A. F. & A. M; Fargo Consistory; and El Zagal Temple of the Mystic
Shrine. He is also a member of Hillsboro Lodge, No. 30, K. P.
JOHN HENRY WORST.
John Henry Worst has devoted his life quite generally to educational work and for
twenty-one years was president of the North Dakota State Agricultural College at Fargo.
He has made that institution one of tlie most important factors in the advancement of
agricultural interests in the state and believes firmly that the farmers of the country
should cooperate to a greater extent than they have so far done and is convinced that if
they exerted a larger influence in affairs of government politics would be materially purilied
and the government would be strengthened.
Mr. Worst was born in Ashland county, Ohio, on the 23d of December, 1850, a son of
George and Margaret AVorst. His parents began their married life in that county at a
time when the Western Reserve was still covered with forest and their home was a primitive
log cabin. The father was a Gennan Baptist minister who farmed during the week and
preached on Sunday, as was at that time the custom in his denomination. Our subject
attended the common schools in his early boyhood and subsequently was a student in the
Smithville (Ohio) Academy, and in Salem College at Bourbon; Indiana, which has long
since passed out of existence. Still later he continued his education in Ashland College at
Ashland, Ohio, but did not complete his course there. Later, however, tliat institution con-
ferred upon him the degree LL. D. in recognition of his excellent woik as an educator,
especially as president of the North Dakota Agricultural College.
In early manhood .Mr. Worst began teaching in the rural schools and during the
summers followed agricultural pursuits but at length, on account of im])aired health, turm^l
his attention to merchandising, with which he was connected for two years. At another
time he was for two years editor of the Fairfield County (Ohio) Republican, but in 1883 he
came to North Dakota and took up a homestead in Emmons county. He resided there for
twelve years and during that time endured the hardships and privations incident to pioneer
life in the northwest. This experience of actual conditions was of great benefit to him
in his later work as head of the Agricultural College, enabling him to understand the needs
of the farmers of the state from a practical as well as from a theoretical viewpoint. While
engaged in proving up and farming his homestead he also held a number of offices. In the
fall of 1883 he was ajipointed county siiperintendent of schools and was later elected to
that office, serving therein until 1889, when he was chosen .state senator from the twenty-
sixth legislative district. He filled that jiosition of honor until 1894, when he was elected
lieutenant governor and during the winter of 1895 he presided with dignity and impartiality
over the deliberations of the state senate.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 131
In the winter of 1895 Mr. Worst was made president of the North Dakota State Agri-
cultural College and director of the government experiment station connected with the
college, but resigned the latter position in 1913.. He kept in close touch with the work
being done in similar schools in other states, constantly seeking to make the Xorth Dakota
State Agricultural College of greater service to the farmers of the state and to promote in
every way possible the agricultural interests of the commonwealth. He manifested a high
order of executive ability, securing the hearty cooperation of the faculty and the student
body, and was recognized as one of the leading educators in his special field in the country. On
the 28th of February, 1916, he was removed from the presidency of the college, no cause
for such removal being assigned. Mr. Worst is now managing editor of the North Dakota
Farmer and also of the New Rockford Daily State's Center.
Mr. Worst was united in marriage in Congress. Ohio, on the 10th of October, 1872,
to Miss Susan Wohlgamuth, a daughter of Jacob and Barbara Wohlganuith. She was born
near Massillon, Ohio, where her father was engaged in farming. Mr. and Mrs. Worst have
become the parents of the following children: Olive Jeanette, who married Dr. Guy F. Rogers;
Clayton Leroy; and Lloyd Warner.
Mr. Worst is a stanch republican and previous to becoming president of the State
Agricultural College took an active part in politics, making many campaign addresses and
gaining an enviable reputation as a political speaker. In 1914, at the earnest solicitation
of his friends, he became a candidate for nomination for United States senator, but did not
make a personal campaign and was defeated at the primaries. He is well known frater-
nally, being a thirty-tliird degi'ee Mason and having served for twenty years as wise master
of Pelican Chapter, Rose Croix, and having also taken the York Kite degrees and being
past chancellor commander of the Knights of Pythias and a member of the Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks.
His interest in the commercial and civic advancement of the city is indicated by the
fact that he belongs to the Fargo Commercial Club and heartily supports its various proj-
ects for the general welfare. During the past seventeen years he has served either as
president or secretary of the Tri-State Grain and Stockgrowers Association, a body of
some eight thousand farmers who meet in Fargo annually for the discussion of subjects of
interest to farmers and the agricultural development of the three states. North Dakota,
Minnesota and South Dakota. He has also maintained a progressive attitude toward social,
business and political problems and has sought through careful study to do his share toward
reaching their correct solution. During the thirty-three years of his residence in the state
and especially during the twenty-one years that he was president of the North Dakota
State Agricultural College he has endeavored as an oflficial, writer and lecturer to serve the
common people and most of all to dignify the profession of agriculture. It is his firm belief
that if the farmers were educated in agricultural statesmanship so that they could officially
represent the forty billion dollars invested in the farming indiistry and could share in the
federal and state governments in proportion to their numerical strength that politics would
be raised to a higher plane and that the government would be more efficiently and more
democratically administered. The farmers of the nation produce a great part of the
national wealth, bear the national burden and cast a majority of the votes and he believes
they should exert a much larger influence in governmental affairs than they do at present.
In advocating advanced movements which he believes to be for the good of the state
and nation he is but manifesting the spirit of initiative and faith in the future which has
been one of the strongest characteristics of the Worst family as for generations they have
been pioneers, removing from the older civilization to the newer so as to take advantage
of its unusual opportunities and to have a part in its development. Our subject's great-
grandfather emigrated from Holland to the United States when only twelve years of
age and became one of the early settlers of Pennsylvania, clearing and bringing to a high
state of cultivation a tract of timber land. He was a man of fine character and great deter-
mination and was highly esteemed in his community. He reached the remarkable age of one
hundred and six years. His son, the grandfather of President Worst, cleared and partly
developed two farms in Pennsylvania and later located in Ashland county, Ohio, where he
also cleared a farm. He, too, reached an advanced age, dying when ninety-seven years
old. His son, George Worst, continued the family tradition and settling on the Western
132 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Reserve in northern Ohio during its pioneer days, b«)Ught a tract of wild land under cultiva-
tion. He died when seventy-four years old. Our subject was a pioneer of North Dakota
and both of his sons Avere located for a time in Alaska. It is to such men as these that
the nuuvelous development of this country has been chielly due.
KEV. jnCHAEL SCH.MITT.
Rev. Michael Schmitt, pastor of St. derome's Catholic church at llohall, was born at
Harper, Keokuk county, Iowa, JIarch 23, 1884, a son of Frank and Margaret (AVehr)
Schmitt, both of whom were natives of Germany. Coming to America in the '60s, they settled
in Iowa, the father purchasing land in Keokuk county, where he carried on farming for many
years. He eventually retired from active business but continued to reside upon his farm until
he passed away in February, 1910. l-'ur about eight years he had survived his wife, who died
in July, 1902.
Their son, Michael Schmitt, was reared and educated in the public and parochial schools
of Keokuk county, Iowa, and at the age of seventeen years began studying for the priest-
hood, spending five years as a pupil in St. Francis' Seminary at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He
was afterward for two years a student in St. Ambrose's College at Davenport, Iowa, and for
one year in the Kenrick Seminary at St. Louis, Missouri. He completed his studies in the
Seminary of St. Paul in St. Paul, Minnesota, in the year 1912 and immediately afterward
came to Mohall, having been appointed to the pastorate of St. Jerome's church, with which he
has since been connected, building up the church here in a most satisfactory manner. He
also has charge of St. James' church at Sherwood, St. Philomena's church at (ilenburn and
Holy Family cfiurch at Deering. He is now erecting a fine church edifice at Sherwood at a
cost of fifteen thousand dollars and is building a parochial residence at Jlohall at a cost of
five thousand dollars. He is likewise building a cluuch at Deering and thus the work is
being steadily carried forward. He belongs to the Knights of Columbus and he concentrates
his entire eil'ort upon the cause to which he has consecrated his life.
i5i:AnLi:v \v. clabaugh.
Bradley W. Clabaugh, the owner and editor of tlie l";iii mount News, is one of tlie well
known, inlluential citizens of Richland county. He was l)iirn i]i Frederick, Maryland, Jan-
uary 12, 18C7, of the marriage of Norman U. and Margaret (Font) Clabaugh. both natives
of that state, the former born on tlie :ilst of August, 1818. and tlic hitter in ls21. The
Clabaugh family is of Scotch descent but has V)een established in tlie Cnited States for
many years. The parents of our subject were married in Jlarylaiid and passed away in that
state, the father in 1892 and the mother in 1887. The former was a millwright and inventor
and was a man of good business judgment. In politics he sujiported the democratic party
and for one term he served as sherill of his county. His religious faith was that of the
Lutheran church. To him and his wife were born ten children; G. M. D.. who is a coach
trimmer residing in Frederick, Maryland; Mary, the wife of William Scachrist, a dairyman
living in Maryland; Bruce, who is deceased; Cliarles B.. an engineer living in Frederick;
William F., who owns a lime kiln in Keller, West Virginia; Susie, the wife of Fitzhugh Hauer,
a painter of Frederick. Maryland; Addie W., who is living in Washington, 1). C; Bradley
W.; R. L., a barber living in Washington. D. C; and Alvah, a resident of Baltimore.
Bradley W. Clabaugh was reared under the jiarental roof and received his education in
the schools of Frederick. In 1884. when seventeen years of age, he entered a newspaper
office and learned the printer's trade, with which he has since been connected. After a time
he went to Butte, Montana, and while there worked on the leading papers of the state, thus
gaining valuable experience. In 1888 he joined the Typographical Union at Baltimore. In
1896 he removed to Fairmount, South Dakota, and established the Fairmount News, which
he has since conducted and which has a circulation of twelve hundred. The paper gives the
REV. ^nCHAEL SCHMITT
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 135
local news and also brief accounts of happenings of general interest and it has gained an
enviable reputation for reliability. Mr. Clabaugh also does considerable job printing, for
which his office is well equipped.
In 1S95 occurred the marriage of Mr. Clabaugh and Miss Wilhelmina Wiedeman, a
native of Wisconsin, and they have two children: Vera M., who was graduated from the
high school at Fairmount, and also from the Valley City Normal School and is now acting
as assistant postmistress at Fairmount under her mother, the present postmistress; and Del-
win B., who is attending school.
Mr. Clabaugh is a democrat in politics and his advice is often sought in party councils.
He belongs to the Masonic order and the Knights of Pythias, and his wife is a member of the
Eastern Star, in which she has served as worthy matron for a number of years. She is also
a member of the Federated AVomen's Clubs, and her religious faith is indicated by the fact
that she is a member of the Congregational church. Mr. Clabaugh devotes his time and energy
almost exclusively to his newspaper and printing business and the success which he has
gained is largely attributable to the fact that he has continued to engage in the same busi-
ness which he entered as a young man.
PETER FUGELSO.
Peter Fugelso was one of the first settlers in Ward county and has continued to identify
himself with the interests of the county since his arrival there. He is one of the proprietors
of a hardware store in Minot and carries the most complete stock of any hardware dealer in
the county and as large a stock as anyone in the state. He was born in Trondhjem, Norway,
on the 28th of March, 1862, a son of Peter and Gurine Fugelso, both of whom were born in
that country. He is the youngest of a family of ten children and lost his father when but
three weeks old. In the spring of 1887 the mother came to America, where several of her
children were living, and settled at Foxholm, Ward county. North Dakota. She resided there
until 1908, when she died at the venerable age of ninety years.
Peter Fugelso received the greater part of his education in the common schools of
Norway, but after his emigration to the United States attended school for a short time in
Yellow Medicine county, Minnesota. As his father had passed away he was compelled to
earn his living when but six years old and he worked for others in his native land until he
was a young man of nineteen years, when he crossed the Atlantic to America. He landed
at Quebec, Canada, on the day that President Garfield was shot and continued his journey to
Canby, Minnesota, where he worked for several years. In 1886 he made his way up the
Mouse river from Fargo, North Dakota, with ox teams and took up a homestead in Ward
county, which had been organized only a short time before. His land was situated on the
present site of Foxholm, and he remained there until 1898, when he removed to Minot. For
some time he was employed in the store of Martin Jacobson as bookkeeper and clerk, but in
1901 he was appointed postmaster, which office he held for five years. He then accepted
a position with his old employer, Martin Jacobson, but on the 1st of Januaiy, 1907, he with
D. R. Jacobson purchased the hardware business of Martin Jacobson. They deal in shelf and
heavy hardware and handle a very complete line of goods. Their patronage is deservedly
large and their liberal business policy and unquestioned integrity have gained them high
standing in business circles. Their store is recognized as one of the leading mercantile
establishments of Minot and is a factor of no small importance in the commercial develop-
ment of the city. Although he still owns his homestead and also holds title to other land
in the state Mr. Fugelso devotes his entire time to the hardware business.
On the 2d of March 1899, occurred the marriage of ilr. Fugelso and Miss Sigrid Larsen,
whose birth occurred in Norway and who is a daughter of Guneris and Louisa Larsen, who
passed their entire lives in that country. Mrs. Fugelso accompanied her brother to this
country when eighteen years of age. By her marriage she has become the mother of six
children, Gerda Louise, Ralph Peter, Alph Severin, Leif Erick, Erling Sverre and Norman Carl.
Mr. Fugelso is a stanch republican and in addition to serving as postmaster of Minot
for five years was district assessor for two terms. He takes a commendable interest in public
Vol. n— 8
136 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
affairs and is never remiss in any of the duties oi-« good citizen. His religious faith is
that of the Norwegian Free Lutheran church and the sincerity of his belief is manifest in
the upriglitness of his daily life. Fraternally he belongs to the Maccabees and the Sons of
Norway and he is also a member of the Old Settlers Association, of Ward county of which
he is secretary. When he located in that county the town of Minot had not yet corae into
existence and Burlington was the county seat of the newly organized county. As the years
have passed he has not only witnessed the transformation of the county from a wild and
unsettled district to a region of well cultivated farms and prosperous towns but has
also done his part in bringing about the change. He is justly held in high esteem by all who
have come in contact with him.
JOSEPPI J. JIcINTYEE.
Joseph J. Mclntyre, carrying on general farming and stock raising, is one of the extensive
landowners of Cass county, his difl'crent purchases of property aggregating nine hundred and
sixty acres, all in llapleton township. Mr. Mclntyre is of Canadian birth, tlie place of his
nativity being Welland county, Ontario, and the date May 24, 1847. His parents were
Malcolm and Hulda (Doane) Mclntyre, the former a native of Scotland and the latter of
Canada. Coming to the new world, Malcolm Mclntyre was married in Canada and there
he and his wife spent their remaining days, rearing their family of seven children, of whom
four are yet living.
Joseph J. Mclntyre spent his youth in his native country and pursued liis education in
the public schools there. He was twenty-nine years of age when he arrived in Cass county
in 1S7C, at which time he took up his abode in the village of Mapleton, where he conducted
an implement store for several years. In 1880, however, he removed to the farm which he
now occupies and from time to time he has extended its boundaries until the place comprises
today nine hundred and sixty acres of valuable land, much of which he has brought to a
high state of cultivation, so that the fields return to him a gratifying annual income as the
result of the golden liarvests which he annually gathers. He makes stock raising a feature
of his farm as well as the production of grain and his business is carefully, systematically
and successfully managed.
In 1879 ilr. Mclntyre was married in Canada to Miss Henrietta Sherk, a native of that
country and a daughter of Peter and Drucilla (Boogner) Sherk, who spent their entire lives
in Canada. William F. Mclntyre, son of Joseph J. and Henrietta Mclntyre, operates the
home farm and is also one of the directors of the Mapleton State Bank and a stockholder
in the Farmers Elevator. He is a Avorthy exemplar of the Masonic fraternity, has taken
all the degrees of the order and belongs to the Mystic Shrine. His political allegiance is
given to the democracy and he has ably served as clerk of the school board.
Mr. Mclntyre is a member of the Odd Fellows lodge and his wife holds membership in
the United Brethren church. In politics he is a democrat and has served on the township
board and also as school director for a number of years. His interest in community affairs
is deep and sincere and he cooperates heartily in all those movements which relate to the
public welfare and further the general good. He has never had occasion to regret his
determination to come to the United States, for in Cass county he has found business
conditions which have brought to him substantial success as the years have gone on.
CARL T. JACOBSEN.
Carl T. .Jacobsen, who laid out Jacobsen's addition to Minot and who has been identified
with various business activities, was born in Denmark, April 28, 1847, the family home being
at Bristrop near the ocean. His parents were Jacob and Maren Jacobsen, also natives of
Denmark, where they spent their entire lives. When but ten years of age Carl T. Jacobsen
began working for others in Denmark at herding cattle and was thus employed until
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 137
eighteen years of age, \v]ien lie entered the regular arm}-, with which he served until Octo-
ber 32, 1871. He was then married, after which he was employed in a brewery in Denmark
for four years. Later lie secured a situation in a salt factory in Denmark, in which he
remained for two years, and at the end of that time he secured a situation as driver on a
beer wagon, making trips from city to city. He spent eleven and one-half years in that
way and in 1891 consummated his plans for coming to America. He landed at Quebec on
the 4th of May, 1891, and thence made his way direct to St. Paul. For two months he was
employed in railroad work at Sandstone, after which he came to Minot and occupied a
similar position for nine years, never losing a single day while in the employ of the Great
Northern Railroad Company at Minot. At the end of nine years he secured a homestead ten
miles west of Minot, near Burlington, where for seven j'ears he engaged in farming and
stock raising, carefully and wisely directing his interests. He then sold the property and
returned to Minot. where he now resides. He purchased two acres of land and later added
another acre, after which he engaged in the raising of garden products. In 1906, however,
he platted the land and has since sold off a large portion of it in town lots, the tract being
known as Jacobsen's addition. He also engaged in speculative building, erecting a number
of houses on the lots, and then disposing of the property. At the present time, however, he
is practically living retired, enjoying a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves.
On the 27th of October, 1872, Mr. .Jacobsen was united in marriage to Miss Anna K.
Jacobsen, who was born February 27, 1848, and whose parents both passed away in their
home across the ocean before she became the wife of our_ subject. Mrs. Jacobsen passed
away April 12, 1911. She had become the mother of ten children, as follows: Andrew, an
agriculturist residing at Burlington; Martin, who is a general merchant and banker of Cut
Bank, Montana; Daniel R., who is a member of the Minot hardware firm conducting business
under the name of Jacobsen & Fugelso; Erik, who conducts an elevator and is also engaged
in the hardware business at Eolla, North Dakota; Henry, who is engaged in ranching near
Sweetgrass, Montana; Anton, also a rancher of Sweetgrass, Montana; Bertel, who lives in
Minot and is employed as a clerk by the firm of Jacobsen and Fugelso; Carl A., who is at
liome and is also employed as a clerk by Jacobsen & Fugelso; and two who are deceased.
Mr. .Jacobsen nor none of his sons have ever used tobacco in any form. In his political
views Mr. Jacobsen is a republican but tlie honors and emoluments of oflice have had no
attraction for him. He gave his undivided attention to his business affairs until he retired
and he is now enjoying a well earned rest, his former toil bringing to him the competence
that enables him to enjoy all of life's comforts and some of its luxuries.
LEWIS E. GEORGE.
Lewis E. George, a well known newspaper man, who since .June 1, 1911. has been editor
and publisher of the Hillsboro Banner, was born February 9, 1867, in Cannon Falls, Minne-
sota, his parents being Moses and Lucretia (Lewis) George. He completed his education in
the high school at Dodge Center, Minnesota, and when twenty years of age began publishing
a newspaper there. He has since been identified with newspaper publication at Ada, Minne-
sota, at Olivia and Fertile, that state, and on the 1st of June, 1911, he came to Hillsboro
and began the publication of the Banner, which he has since owned and edited, making it
an attractive journal, widely read. It is given to the dissemination of local and general
news and its free discussion of the significant problems of the day constitutes an interesting
feature of the paper. Mr. George has been continuously connected with the printing busi-
ness from the age of thirteen years, for even while attending school he worked at the trade
after school hours and during vacation periods. He made his initial independent step, as
stated, when twenty years of age, when he began to publish a weekly paper called the
Dodge Center Times. After two years' connection therewith he sold out and removed to Ada,
Minnesota, where he published the Ada Herald for a year and then removed to Fertile,
where he published the Fertile Journal for twenty years with the exception of one year
spent in publishing the Olivia (Minn.) Press. On the expiration of that period he returned
to Fertile and repurchased the .Journal, continuing its publication until 1910, when he sold
138 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
out. It was ill June of the following year tliat Tic fnireliased the Ilillsboro Baniu'r and
through the intervening period of five years he has been closely associated with the inter-
ests of the city in which he makes his home.
!Mr. George was married to Miss Constance Johnson, a daughter of W. P. Johnson, of
Crookston, Minnesota, and their children are Carl, George, Vila, Rai, Lyle and Dona. In his
fraternal connections Mr. George is a Mason, a Knight of Pythias and an Odd Fellow. His
political indorsement has ever been given to the republican party, in the interests of which he
issues his ]>aper, and upon the party ticket he has been called to several local oflijces. For six-
teen years he served as city recorder of Fertile and in March, 1915, he was elected a member
of the city commission of Ilillsboro for a term of four years, being therefore the present
incumbent in the oflice.
DANIEL R. JACOBSON.
Daniel R. Jacobson is the senior partner in (lie hardware firm of Jacobson & Fugelso, of
Minot, and belongs to that class of representative and valued citizens that Denmark has
furnished to North Dakota. He was born in that country October 5, 1877, a son of Carl T.
Jacobsen, who homesteaded in Ward county and is now living retired in Minot. Daniel R.
Jacobson began his education in the schools of his native country and after tlie family came
to the new world continued his education in the Minot high school. He was a youth of
fifteen years when he began working for others in Denmark and the following year he
accompanied his parents to America. He afterward worked on the range as a cowboy for
a number of years in the northwestern part of this state and at the end of that time secured
a homestead upon which he farmed and raised stock, carefully, systematically and success-
fully conducting tlie business for tliree years, but in 190,3 he removed to Minot. He then
engaged in teaming for about eiglitecn months and later became a member of the lirm of
Jacobson & Fugelso. owning and conducting a hardware store. Theirs is a well appointed
establishment and they enjoy a substantial trade. They have founded their success upon
thoroughly reliable business methods and have ever realized the fact that satisfied customers
are the best advertisement. Mr. Jacobson also still owns farm lands in North Dakota which
he rents.
On the 20th of Maj', 1903, Mr. Jacobson was united in marriage to Miss KIUmi Kittleson,
who was born near Ridgeway, Iowa, a daughter of Albert Kittleson, a native of Christiania,
Norway. He became an early settler of Iowa and had the privilege of securing a claim
where the city of St. Paul now stands but did not like the location and established his
home in the Hawkeye state. He devoted his attention to general agricultural pursuits
throughout his active business career and following the demise of his wife in Iowa came
to North Dakota with his children, settling in Minot, where he continued to reside until
called to his final rest in 190G. He met with a gratifying measure of success in his farming
operations and spent the evening of his life in honorable retirement. Mrs. Jacobson is the
youngest in a family of four children and by her marriage has become the mother of two
children, Henrietta I'herilda and Almira Viola, both at home.
Mr. Jacobson holds membership with the Modern "Woodmen of America, gives his
political allegiance to the republican party and indicates his religious faith by his member-
ship in the Lutheran church. His has been a well spent life actuated by honorable inuposcs
and characterized by the adoption of high ideals.
ASHER A. DmNE.
A.sher A. Divine is one of the well known and prominent stock raisers of Cass county,
living on section 8, Mapleton township, where he has a valuable and highly improved farm
of tliree hundred and twenty acres, on which he is making a specialty of the raising of
Holstein cattle, Yorkshire hogs and Percheron horses. His farm is thoroughly equijiped
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 139
for this purpose and his business places him among the leaders in this line in the eastern
part of the state. Mr. Divine is a native of Michigan, born October 26, 1856, his parents
being Westbrock and Elizabeth E. (Eossa) Divine, both of whom were natives of New York.
In early life, however, they became residents of Michigan and were married in the latter
state, where Mr. Divine took up the occupation of farming, following that pursuit in order
to provide for his family, numbering a wife and five children, two of whom are now living.
Asher A. Divine spent the days of his youth in his native state and its public school
system afforded him his educational privileges. He worked in the fields through the sum-
mer months and studied through the winter seasons and when his textbooks were put aside
he concentrated his energies upon the labors of the fields. In 1879 he went to South Dakota
and established a hotel at Doland, Spink county, where he remained for three years. On
the expiration of that period he began farming in that state but in 1894 came to North
Dakota, establisliing his home in Cass county. For eight years he filled the important posi-
tion of foreman on the Smith farm and later was for two years superintendent of the
Blanchard farm, owned by J. L. Grandin. While thus engaged he carefully saved his earn-
ings and at the end of that time purchased the farm on which he now resides, on section 8,
Mapleton township. His farm comprises three hundred and twenty acres of rich and pro-
ductive land, which he has improved with excellent buildings. He has two large silos upon
the place, substantial barns and sheds and a pleasant and comfortable residence. He makes
a specialty of raising stock. He has done much to improve the grade of stock raised in this
section of the state and has thus advanced public prosperity.
Mr. Divine has been married twice. In 1880 he wedded Miss Sabrina Curtis and to
them were born two sons: Glenn, who is married and lives in South Dakota; and Harry,
now a partner of his father in the operation of the home farm. The wife and motlier
passed away in 1905, and in 1906 Sir. Divine married Mrs. Frances (Geary) Heapes a
daughter of Colonel E. C. and Amelia (Wells) Geary, both of whom were natives of New
York, where they remained until 1866 and then removed westward to Minnesota. In the
'80s they came to North Dakota, settling at Fargo, where the father served as registrar and
receiver of the land office and there made his home until his death, which occurred in 1913.
His widow still survives. In their family were six children, five of whom are living. By her
former marriage Mrs. Divine had one son, Francis G. Heapes, a member of Company B,
North Dakota National Guard, who accompanied his regiment to Mexico.
Mr. Divine is a prominent Mason, belonging to the lodge at Fargo. He has taken all
the degrees of the York Rite, including that of Knight Templar, and has also become a
member of the Mystic Shrine. He is likewise connected with the Ancient Order of United
Workmen. In his political views he is a republican and has served as a member of the
school board and in some of the township offices. His wife belongs to the Eastern Star and
in religious faith is a Christian Scientist. Both Mr. and Mrs. Divine have a wide acquaint-
ance in Cass county and their salient traits of character are of such sterling worth that
they enjoy the highest regard, confidence and goodwill of all with whom they have been
associated. In business Mr. Divine has displayed untiring activity, keen sagacity and enter-
prise, and the careful management of his interests has brought him to a position among the
most progressive agriculturists of Cass county.
FREDERICK A. BURTON.
Frederick A. Burton, of Wahpeton, who is serving in his fourth continuous term as
county auditor, was born in Cranston, Rhode Island, on the 1st of June, 1851. His parents,
William and Marcella (Nicholas) Burton, were likewise natives of that state, where they
were reared and married. The father, who was a farmer by occupation, removed westward
in 1854 and settled on a farm in Allamakee county, Iowa. He resided there for a number
of years and passed away at Waukon, that state. He was a republican in politics and took
a keen interest in public affairs. To him and his wife were born four children, two of whom
are living. The brother of our subject, Lewis Burton, resides at McNeal, Arizona. He
homesteaded land there a few years ago and is now engaged in farming and in merchandis-
140 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
ing. The paternal grandfatlier, George Burton, wns also born in Rhode Island and the
great-grandfather served in the Revolutionary war and eventually died from the ettccts of
the hardships which he endured while at the front. The Burton family was established in
America long before that conflict by tv.o brothers, who emigrated to the new world from
Wales. The maternal grandfather, William Nicholas, was likewise a native of Rhode
Island.
Frederick A. Burton was but three years of age when taken by his parents to Allamakee
county, Iowa, and there he grew to manhood. After attending the common schools he
entered the Waukon high school and upon finishing his education he engaged in teaching
for three years. He then became a grain buyer in Iowa, continuing in that occupation there
until his removal to Preston, Minnesota. In 1888 he became a resident of Wild Rice, Cass
county. North Dakota, where he engaged in the grain business for a number of years, but
at length removed to Abercrombie in 1893. In 1901 he was appointed deputy county
auditor of Richland county and removed to Wahpeton, the county seat, where he served in
that capacity for six years. In 1908 he was elected auditor. He has since been reelected
three times and is still serving in that office. He is systematic and accurate in carrying
on his work and is recognized as one of the best officials that the county has had.
On the 2Tth of August, 1884, Mr. Burton was married to Miss Ida Bigelow, a native of
Ohio, who removed to Iowa with her mother but subsequently went to Preston, Minnesota.
Six children have been born of this union, of whom five are living, namely: Edwin W,, a
resident of Wahpeton; Vixtor E.. who works for the Ottertail Power Company; Blanche E.,
a trained nurse living in Fargo; and Cora E. and Gertrude M. M., both at home.
Mr. Burton is a I'cpublican in politics and in addition to th^ offices which he has held
in Richland county he served as alderman at Preston, Minnesota. Fraternally he is con-
nected with the JIasonic blue lodge and with the Modern Woodmen. He is highly esteemed
not only because of his ability but also because of his integrity and his agreeable personal
qualities.
REV. LAURENCE G. MOULTRIE.
Rev. Laurence G. Moultrie, a clergyman of the Episcopal church, now acting as rector
at Valley City, was born in Devonshire, England, in 1SG6, a son of tlie Rev. Gerard Moultrie
and a grandson of John Moultrie, both natives of "the merrie isle." The last named was at
one time head master at Rugby, which position established him as an eminent educator, and
he was also widely known through his poetic w-ritings. His son, Gerard Moultrie, became a
minister of the Episcopal church and spent his entire life in England, where he passed away in
1885. He married Elizabeth Anstej', also a native of that country, and they became parents
of five sons and four daughters, of whom Laurence G. was the seventh in order of birth.
After pursuing his classical course at St. Edwards school. Oxford, Rev. Laurence ('•. Moul-
trie became a student in the theological seminary at Faril)ault, Minnesota. He came to the
United States in 1887 with the intention of farming, whidi occupation he followed for four
years, but in that time ho became convinced that he would find a broader field of xisefulness
in the ministry and entered upon preparation thereof. He was ordained in 1895 and after-
ward spent three years in pastoral work at Detroit, Minnesota, while later he was located
for a time in Kansas City. In 1899 he was appointed to All Saints church at Valley City,
North Dakota, where for seventeon years he has now remained, cloing splendid work for the
upbuilding of the church and the extension of its influence. He is an earnest, convincing
speaker and a broad-minded, public-spirited man. thoroughly interested in the questions that
affect the sociological, economic and political conditions of the country.
On the 2.'5d of October, 1895, Rev. Moultrie was married to Miss Caroline Isabelle Dane,
a native of Minnesota and a daughter of Brewster and Lavina Dane, wlio were pioneer
settlers of Minnesota, Mrs, Moultrie, who always took a deep interest in church work and
greatly aided her husband in his pastoral duties, died in December, 1913, leaving a son,
Gerard Earlc. who was graduated from the Shattuck Militarj' Academy at Faribault, Minne-
sota, in 1916.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 141
Rev. Moultrie gives bis political allegiance to tlie republican party and is now serving
as alderman of his city. He is very prominent in Masonic circles, belonging to the blue
lodge, chapter, council, commandery, Scottish Rite and Mystic Shrine. He is grand orator
of the Grand Lodge of North Dakota, grand high priest of the Grand Chapter and grand
chaplain of the Grand Council, while of the Grand Commandery he is a grand prelate. For
a number of years he has served as secretary of both the lodge and chapter at Valley City. He
is also chaplain of the First North Dakota Infantry now serving at Mercedes, Texas. He is
much interested in local affairs, serving as superintendent of the cemetery, as a director of the
Chautauqua at Valley City and as editor of the North Dakota Sheaf, the district cliureh
paper. His influence is always on the side of advancement and improvement and progress
has ever been his watchword.
JOHN B. JOHNSON.
Norway has furnished a large percentage of substantial citizens to North Dakota, men
who have brought with them the enterprise, perseverance and industry which characterize
the people of the land of the midnight sun. John B. Johnson was born in Hardanger, Nor-
way, in 1859. His father, Brigt Johnson Ryklcen, was born in Norway in 1831 and became
both a farmer and sailor of that country. He crossed the Atlantic to the United States in
1866, settling in Winona county. Minnesota, after which he removed to Chippewa count \-,
that state, where he remained until 1878, when he established his home in Sheyenne town-
ship. Richland county. North Dakota, there continuing until 1885, which year witnessed
his arrival in Sargent county, North Dakota. He settled on a farm about a mile from
De Lamere, although the town was not created until the following year, at which time it
consisted of a general merchantile store, established by John 0. Rustad, of Kindred. Cass
county, and a postoffice. The town was named for a Mr. De Lamere, who was one of the
officials of the Northern Pacific Railroad and whose two sons served in the Spanish- American
war. The father of John B. Johnson settled on the northeast quarter of section 7, Hall
township, Sargent county, which he purchased, and there he carried on general farming,
contributing to the agricultural development of the district until his death, which occurred
in 1908. He was a republican in his political views. In 1855 he wedded Christie Olson Moe,
who was born in Norway in 1833 and is now living with her son John in De Lamere at the
age of eighty-three years, being still very active and well preserved. By her marriage she
became the mother of ten children, of whom John B. is the second, and six of the number
are yet living. Four of the children were born in Norway and accompanied their parents
on their removal to the new world.
John B. Johnson was a little lad of seven summers at the time he came with his father
and mother to the United States, after which he pursued his education in the district schools
and later continued his studies in the Lutheran College at Decorali, Iowa. He was after-
ward employed in a general store at Montevideo, Minnesota, devoting three years to that
occupation. In 1878 he accompanied his father to North Dakota and homesteaded a claim
constituting the northeast quarter of section 8, Hall township, Sargent county. He took up
his abode thereon and with characteristic energy began its development, continuing its culti-
vation until 1892, at which time he removed to Jtilnor, where he engaged in the hardware
trade in connection with his brother-in-law, Ole Hanson, with whom he remained for a year.
In 1893 he established his home in De Lamere and entered into partnership with Carl Dahlen,
of Hall township, and Erick Sovde, of Milnor township, forming a company for the conduct
of a general mercantile business. Theirs was the second general store in De Lamere. On the
3d of March, 1893, he sold the first pair of shoes from the new store, which was the first bit
of merchandise to leave the establishment. During this time Mr. Johnson and the two
owners of the former town site, Ole Larson and John Rustad, became involved in a contro-
versy in regard to the distribution of the town property. The two former owners made an
effort to keep all of the town property in their own names, refusing to sell or to lease any
of the lands. This metliod did not strike Mr. Johnson as fair and consequently he proceeded
to have the town moved farther west, with the aid and influence of M. M. Johnson, a promi-
142 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
nent North Dakota politician of tliat day, and after a hard struggle John B. Johnson was
able to move the town to its present location. He was made the lirst postmaster after the
removal. Since the removal to the new site the town has flourished and lilr. Johnson has
been one of the most active |)roinoters of its growth and development. After a time lie pur-
chased the interest of liis partner and became sole owner of the general store which he con-
ducted for six years. In 189S he embarked in the hardware and implement business, in wliicli
he continued until 1910, when, owing to ill health, he traded his business for a three hunilred
and twenty acre farm located in Sargent county. He still makes his home in De Lamere.
On the 24th of March, 1884, Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Anna M. Han-
son, who was born in Crawford county, Wisconsin, in 1867, a daughter of Morris and Kari
Hanson, who were natives of Sogn, Korway, and on emigrating to the United States settled
in Wisconsin. They drove from Milwaukee to their farm, situated near De Soto, Wisconsin,
making the trip with a team of oxen. Both parents are now deceased and Anna M. John-
son was the youngest of their family of six children. To Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were born
six children: Bernliard who was born in 1885 and died in 1907; Clarinda, born in 1887;
Christina, in 1899; Albert, in 1891; Christian, who was born in 1893 and died in 1894; and
Julia, who was born in 1894 and died in infancy. The wife and mother passed away
November 24, 1895, and her death was the occasion of deep and widespread regret among
those who knew her. Albert Johnson, the fourth child of the family, is a progressive young
lawyer, who will graduate from the University of Chicago with the class of 1917 and who
seems to have a bright future before him.
Politically John B. Johnson is a republican and for fifteen years he acceptably filled the
office of justice of the peace. He has also been school clerk and is secretary of the drainage
board of Sargent county. He has been a delegate to many of the state conventions of the
republican party and he has served as chairman of tlie republican county central committee,
of which he is still a member. At one time he was survey clerk and helped to lay out
practically all of the roads in his township. A spirit of progress and advancement has
actuated him at all times. He was one of the promoters of the telephone service now
enjoyed by the people of De Lamere and vicinity and he has been actively connected with
the educational interests of his locality. He taught school for years in Richland county and
in the town of De Lamere, in fact was the first man to teach in the town schools. He is
likewise connected with the moral progress of the community, being an active and faithful
member of the Lutheran church, of which he is the secretary. His inlluence is always on the
side of progress, reform and improvement, of truth and right, and his work has been of a.
practical character that accomplishes substantial and far-reaching results.
JAMES HOLES.
Wlien death called James Holes on the 2d day of June, 1916, there passed from this life
one who up to that time was the earliest of the living settlers of Fargo. He had for
many years figured as a well known and progressive farmer and business man of Fargo
township, Cass county, where he settled ere tlie city of Fargo was established, and with
every phase of pioneer development and later progress in the district he was closely identified.
He was born in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, January 29, 1845, his parents being James
and Mary (Hibbert) Holes, who were natives of Derbyshire, England, and came to the United
States in 1832, settling near Ithaca, New York, the father assisting in making the rock cuts
south of that city. He subsequently removed to a farm five miles from Ithaca and later
establislied his home in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, where he settled upon a tract of
land in the midst of a forest, there hewing out a farm. In the spring of 1850 he removed
to a farm near Oswego, New York, where James Holes spent sixteen years of his boyhood
and youth, his education being acquired in the common schools near the family home. The
father died when his son was a lad of fifteen years and the care of the home farm then
fell upon the young shoulders of the son and upon his mother. He remained with her to
assist her in every possible way until he reached his twenty-first year, when he followed
the advice of Horace Greelev and came to the west. At that time he had saved from hi»
JAMES HOLES
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 145
earnings about one thousand dollars and he received an additional eight hundred and fifty
dollars from his father's estate. It had been a long cherished ambition prior to his removal
to the west that he might one day own one thousand acres of land and with his capital of
eighteen hundred and fifty dollars he made his way to St. Cloud, Minnesota, and soon there-
after began investing. Two years later, when he had reached the age of twenty-three, he
was the owner of thirteen hundred acres on which there was no indebtedness.
Subsequently Jlr. Holes disposed of portions of his property from time to time and
in July, 1871, he came to Dakota territory, camping the first night — the 4th of July — four
blocks west of where the present postoffice of Fargo now stands. The town, however, had
not been platted at that time. His object in coming was to hold the land for the Puget
Soimd Company, which company knew of the intention to build a town upon the site.
Mr. Holes was to receive one thousand dollars a year with the privilege of conducting a
supply store at the same time and was to be paid extra for any work he did in the way of
development. Upon his arrival, however, he found that the company had made other
arrangements and he purchased a claim from Ole Hansen, who formed one of the Scandi-
navian colony that left Goodhue county, Minnesota, in May, 1871, and at Gerogetown crossed
the Red river into Dakota territory, from which point they came north, fording the
Sheyenne river and arriving on the present site of the city of Fargo on the 17th of May,
1871. They were the first settlers upon the town site and their claim extended to both
sides of what are now the corporation limits. These settlers were bought out by the
Puget Sound Company. The quarter section of land which Mr. Holes purchased from
Mr. Hansen remained his place of residence and he owned one hundred and eighty acres
adjoining the corporation limits of Fargo and also seventeen hundred and forty acres near
Hunter, in Cass county. In all the intervening years to the time of his death he was a
well known and valued resident of that district, carrying on agricultural pursuits for an
extended period. For six years prior to his demise he had the state agency for North
Dakota and Montana for the Emerson Wild Oats Separator Company and during the j^ear
1914 did a business of forty-five thousand dollars. At a meeting of the Washington Club
held a short time prior to his death he was called upon to give an account of early conditions
in Cass county and on that occasion said:
"During the summer of 1868 and 1869 I made several trips to Fort Abercrombie, where
the village of Abercrombie now is, so when I came to the Red River valley on July 18, 1871,
I was not an entire stranger to the conditions that prevailed here at that time. I came
alone with a pair of horses, covered wagon and tent, driving from St. Cloud, Minnesota, to
what is now Fargo. The first persons I met were Jacob Lowell and Henry S. Black. I met
them about two miles south of where Moorhead is now, and they directed me to a feiTy near
where the new filtration plant now stands. This ferry was so small we had to cross the
horses first and then the wagon afterward. W^hen I got to the west side of the river the
first thing that attracted my attention was a tent and a man sitting in the shade playing
a waltz on a violin. Soon a woman came out and waltzed to the tune he was playing. This
was Captain George Egbert and wife. As I got on higher ground I saw a little north and
west a board house near the slough. This belonged to Henry Fuller and was the first board
house built in Fargo. In the western part of Fargo Andrew Holes and his wife were camped,
Mrs. Holes, who now lives in Moorhead, being the first white woman who lived in Fargo.
I drove to where they were camped and camped with them. Two months prior to this, on
May 17, 1871, the first settlement of Fargo was made by a party of Scandinavians from
Goodhue county, Minnesota, who had crossed the Red river at Georgetown, Minnesota, and
come up the west side of the river and settled just north of Fargo and south of where
Peter P. Goodman and Jacob P. Metzger settled in December, 1870. They consisted of
young men bachelors and a few married men. All their wives were left behind at Fergus
Falls, that being the nearest white settlement. These parties were nearly all bought out
by the Puget Sound Company, Ole Jansen Lee, Lars Martin, the Johnson Brothers, and one
or two others remaining. Ole Hansen settled where James Holes now lives, but on the
river. Mr. Peterson settled in Oak Grove. Mr. Johnson settled where the Washington
school now stands. There was another settler in the northeast part of the city who built
a log cabin near the lagoon or old river bed. At that house the directors of the Northern
Pacific Railroad were entertained by Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Holes on several occasions. South
146 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
of Fargo, Ole Jansen Lee, Ole Matlierson, Lars Martin, Easton and Jens Johnson, brothers,
settled. This constitutes all or nearly all of the colony who settled here May 17, 1871. These
people, constructed primitive cabins of logs wjth bark roofs, the bark being covered with
sod, making a cool roof in summer and a warm roof in winter. None of these houses had
either doors or windows; such lu.xuries were not yet indulged in. About the first of July
other Settlers began to arrive, Mr. Andrew McHench and wife, Henry Fuller, whose wife was
at that time in the state of Maine, Charles Roberts and wife, Jacob Lowell, Ilenry S. Black,
James Holes and others. The country was entirely wild. Countless millions of grasshojipers
swarmed everywhere. The woods were full of great owls and prairie wolves were sneaking
around the prairies. The hooting owls and barking wolves broke the monotony of the
nights. The mosquitoes in summer and blizzards in winter did much to make life miserable,
but notwithstanding we managed to get enough out of life so none of the first settlers com-
mitted suicide and all those who stuck to the Ked River valley and did what they could
have prospered financially. As to the city of Fargo, I have not been disappointed. It has
become about such a city as I expected it would, fortj' years ago, as it is well situated and
should become a large citj'."
In June, 1889, Mr. Holes was united in marriage to Miss Rlioda Harrison, a native of
Wisconsin, who passed away in 1908, and they became the parents of three children: James
H., who was a resident of Foster, California, but who has returned to Fargo and will take
charge of and manage the Holes estate; Bernard R., of Fargo, who is in the employ of the
Ford Automobile Company; and Marguerite V., who acted as private secretary to her father
and will assist her brother in the management of the estate. The Holes home is one of the
most beautiful residences in the state and is presided over by Miss Marguerite Holes in a
most gracious manner. She had the careful rearing of her mother, who was a beautiful and
intellectual lady and who possessed exceptional ability as an artist, which fact is demonstrated
by the many attractive canvases painted by her which adorn the walls of the home. The
daughter has the motlier's artistic temperanumt as is shown by the exterior embellishments
and the interior decorations of the home, over which she has now presided for eight years.
Mrs. Holes was a great worker in the cause of charity and the poor of the city have
reason to remember her kindliness and helpfulness on many occasions. Mr. Holes, too, was
a generous contributor to charitable organizations, giving freely where aid was needed. His
activities extended into various fields. He was a member of the American Equity Society
and was its president for a number of years. He was also a member and director of the
Farmers Mutual Society, of which he served as vice president for several years. In his
political views Mr. Holes was a progressive republican and for nine years served as county
commissioner and for a number of years was a member of the township school board, of
which he was treasurer. His interest in the public welfare was of a most substantial
character and his labors contributed to the material development and progress of his section
of the state, where for a number of years he was the oldest living settler. When death
called him the funeral services were held at his residence on Korth Broadway and were
so largely attended that the liouse could by no means accommodate the concourse of
people who gathered. The worth of his work as a pioneer settler and ])rogressive citizen
can scarcely be overestimated and his name will long be honored and his memory cherished
in the community in wliich lie lived.
E. J. HURLEY.
E. J. Hurley is engaged in the real estate business at Fairmount and also has important
farming interests. He was born in Pierce county, Wisconsin, on the Sth of September, 1838,
a son of Thomas and Catherine (Welch) Hurley, both born in Ireland in IS.'IO. The paternal
grandfather, James Hurley, emigrated with his family to the United States in 1847 and
passed away in Galena. Illinois. He was a cabinetmaker by trade. The maternal grand-
father, Michael Welch, became a resident of El Paso. Wisconsin, many years ago and there
his demise occurred. The parents of our subject were married in Janesville, Wisconsin, in
June, 1855. The mother came to the United States in 1845 and the father in 1847. The
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 147
Hurley family first settled in Massachusetts, but removed successively to New Hampshire,
New York, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Thomas Hurley, father of our subject, died in El
Paso, Wisconsin, but the mother died in Ellsworth, that state. He was a communicant of
the Catholic church and gave his political allegiance to the democratic party. He held a
number of township offices and took an active part in public affairs, wielding a large
influence in his community. He was not only a fine business man and a very successful
farmer, but he was also an excellent mathematician. To liim and his wife were born five
children, four of whom are living, namely: James, who formerly engaged in farming, but
is now working in a store in Ellsworth, Wisconsin; E. J.; Mrs. Mary Ann Hawkins, whose
husband is farming near Hammond, Wisconsin; and Thomas, rural mail carrier of Wlieaton,
Minnesota.
E. J. Hurley received his education in the common schools and early in life became
familiar with agricultural work. Previous to coming to Dakota territory in 1880 he worked
on a farm in Minnesota and after living in this state for a time returned to Minnesota,
where he resided until the fall of 1901. He then removed to Fairmount, Richland county,
this state, and opened a real estate office. He has since devoted a great deal of his time and
attention to the real estate business, buying and selling outriglit and on commission, and
his accurate knowledge of what constitutes a good farm has enabled him to deal in farm
lands to a good advantage. He still owns land in Minnesota and his farming interests
return to him a good income.
On the 14th of February, 1891, Mr. Hurley married Miss Susie J. Hopkins, who Avas
born in Virginia, but became a resident of Graceville, Minnesota, in 1880. Her father,
Stephen Hopkins, devoted his life to agricultural pursuits. To Mr. and Mrs. Hurley have
been born five children: Stephen E., who is a young man of twenty-two years, is an attor-
ney of unusual promise and has won considerable note as a lecturer and as a literary man.
He is a graduate of the law school of the Georgetown University and of the Catholic Univer-
sity of America, both at Washington, D. C. Catherine, Josephine, Marcella M. and Susie
R. are all at home.
Mr. Hurley is a stanch adherent of the democratic party and has served ably as justice
of the peace for a number of years. His religious faith is that of the Catholic church, to
the teachings of which he is most loyal. Fraternally he holds membership in tlie Knights
of Columbus and the Catholic Order of Foresters. He was one of the trustees of the School
of Science at Wahpeton and is always ready to give of his time and thought to the promo-
tion of the general welfare. His business interests are ably managed and he has met with
a gratifying and well deserved measure of success.
W. M. WAGNER.
Among those men who have contributed in large measure to the commercial growth
and expansion of Wahpeton is W. M. Wagner, president of the Wagner Candy Company.
He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on the 25th of August, 1856, a son of John and
Amelia Wagner, both natives of Germany. They became residents of Milwaukee in 1854,
and the father engaged in blacksmithing there for some time, subsequently removing to
southern Minnesota, where his demise occurred. His wife passed away in North Dakota.
His religious faith was that of the Lutheran church, and his political allegiance was given
to the democratic party. He and his wife were the parents of eight children, namely: John,
a retired farmer living in Grand Meadow, Minnesota; Mrs. Krouse, whose husband is also a
retired farmer of Grand Meadow; W. M. of this review; H. J., a confectioner of Arthur,
this state; Frank, a resident of Grand Meadow, Minnesota; Mrs. Fox, who died in Marion,
Wisconsin, in 1909; Albert, who is farming in Minnesota; and Mrs. Anna Jancj', the wife
of a farmer of Nelson, Wiconsin. The paternal grandfather, John Wagner, was a lifelong
resident of German}'.
W. M. Wagner received his education in his native state and remained at home until
1879, when he went to Grand Meadow, Minnesota. He worked as a farm hand in that
localit}' for two summers, after which he came to North Dakota, where he followed the car-
148 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
peiitei's trade for a time. Subsequently he went to Citsselton, where he engaged in harness-
making until 1882, when he went into business for himself at Ai-thur. In 1889, after
remaining there for seven years, he removed to Wahpeton and established a furniture store,
which he conducted for nearly eight years. At the end of that time he sold out and went
into the retail confectionery business, in which he continued until 1910, when he organized
the Wagner Candy Company, Inc., which is capitalized for fifty thousand dollars and which
sells at wholesale candy, tobacco and cigars. The business is represented by frvvo men on the
road and its products have already gained an enviable reputation for purity and high quality.
In addition to his manufacturing interests Mr. Wagner owns valuable land in Canada and
fruit land in ilontana. He has prospered in all that he has undertaken and is justified in
taking pride in his success as he has at all times depended solely upon his own eilorts.
On the 7th of April, 1894, occurred the marriage of Mr. Wagner and Miss Mary J.
McKinnon, who was born in Canada and by whom he has two children: Arthur J., who
travels for the Wagner Candy Company; and Hattie May, a high school graduate. The son
and daughter are both members of the Episcopal church, but the parents attend the Methodist
church.
Mr. Wagner is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has
passed through all of the chairs, and with the Yeomen. His political support is given the
republican party, and he served acceptably as alderman of Wahpeton for four years. He is
interested not only in the material advancement of his community, but also in its progress
along other lines and is recognized as a man of marked public spirit. He is widely known
and highly esteemed.
ALEXANDER A. WALIOIR, V. S.
Dr. Alexander A. Walker, of Casselton, Cass county, who has the distiction of being
the oldest veterinarian in the state, devotes practically his entire time to his practice, which
is extensive and profitable. He was born in Ontario, Canada, on the 18th of December, 1846,
a son of James and Ann (McKee) Walker. The father was born in County Armagh, Ireland,
and passed away in 1898, and the mother was born on the Atlantic ocean, while her parents
were on their way to America from Ireland. Her father, Alexander McKee, was born
in County Monaghan, Ireland, and his last days were passed in Ontario, Canada.
The mother of our subject died in 1907. She became the wife of James Walker in Ontario,
to which country he had removed from Ireland with his father, James Walker, 8r, James
Walker, Jr,, followed farming throughout his active life and gained a gratifying measure
of success. He was an advocate of reform in politics, and his religious faith was that of the
Presbyterian church. To him and his wife were born eleven children, of whom nine are liv-
ing, the subject of this review being the second in order of birth.
Alexander A. Walker attended the common schools of Ontario and still further pursued
his education in a normal school. Subsequently he prepared for his chosen profession by
study in the Ontario Veterinary College at Toronto, from which he was graduated in 1S82
with the degree of V. S. He had previously practiced as a veterinarian for two months in
Toronto and for some time in Casselton. North Dakota, In 1881 lie returned to Toronto
and completed his professional studies there. He again located in Casselton, where he has
since remained. He has built up a large practice as he has been very successful in his
profession and he has not only gained a high standing as a veterinarian, but has also accu-
mulated a competence. Although he is sixty-nine years of age he is still active and keeps
informed as to the discoveries in veterinary science.
In 1872 Dr. Walker was married, in Ontario, Canada, to Miss Mary Haines, a luitive of
that province, and they had five children: Mary Ann, deceased; Matilda, who is living in the
state of Washington; Isabelle, a resident of Oakland, California; James Alexander, a resi-
dent of Fargo; and Ruth, who is living in the state of Washington. The wife and mother
died in 1890, in the faith of the Baptist churcli, and her demise was deeply regretted bv all
who had come in contact with her. In 1901 Dr. Walker married Miss Jennie Hocking, a
native of Michigan.
The Doctor is a republican and for the past eleven years has served as county justice
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 149
of the peace. He is also police magistrate of Casselton and in both capacities has won an
enviable reputation for fairness and impartiality. Both he and his wife are members of the
Christian churcli, in the work of which they take an active interest. He is identified with
the Yeomen and the Orangemen. He has lived in Casselton for many years and the high
esteem in which he is held is an indication of his genuine worth.
HANS JOHNSON.
Hans Johnson, a hardware merchant of Milnor, was born in Norway in 1874, his parents
being John and Bertha (Larson) Johnson, who were likewise natives of the land of the raid-
night sun. It was in the year 1882 that the father brought his family to the United States
and for a short time they resided in Minnesota, but in 1883 removed to Sargent county,
North Dakota, where he made permanent settlement. TJiere he entered land from the govern-
ment in what is now Shuman township. Tlie entire district was then wild and undeveloped
and he took an active part in promoting the pioneer progress of the locality. He converted
his land into rich and productive fields and remained thereon until his death, which occurred
in 1913. He had for fifteen years survived his wife, who passed away in 1898.
Hans Johnson is the third in order of birth in a family of nine children, all of wliom are
living. He spent the first seven years of his life in his native country and then accompanied
his parents to the new world, after which he pursued his education in the schools of Sargent
county. North Dakota. When his textbooks were put aside he took up the occupation of farm-
ing, working first as a farm hand but later purchasing land as soon as he had saved a sufficient
sum from his earnings to enable him to acquire property. He became the owner of a tract in
Shuman township and there carried on general agricultural pursuits until 1905.
In 1902 Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Bertina Olness, wlio was born in Grant county,
Minnesota, in 1883 a daughter of Anfin and Sarah Olness, who were natives of Norway and
became pioneer residents of Minnesota. There they reared their family of eight children,
including Mrs. Johnson, who was their third child and died in the year 1905, leaving a
daughter, Selma B., who was born in 1904.
The following year Mr. Johnson left the farm and removed to Milnor, where he entered
the hardware business, buj'ing the store of A. H. Anderson and also the stock of H. K.
Pennington, those two liaving conducted business under the firm style of the Milnor Hard-
ware Company. Mr. .Johnson has met with success from the beginning and now has the
leading store of the kind in the town. His business methods are such as will bear the closest
investigation and scrutiny, for at all times he is tlioroughly reliable and progressive and has
won his success through constructive methods.
In his political views Mr. Johnson is a stalwart republican and has held some local offices,
including that of supervisor of Shuman township, Sargent county, while at the present time
he is one of the aldermen of Milnor. He belongs to the Masonic lodge at Milnor and is a
member of the Lutheran church, associations which indicate much of the nature of his
interests and the rules which govern his conduct. His life has ever been guided by high and
lionorable purpose and through his close application to business and unremitting energy lie
has gained a creditable position among the substantial business men of his section of the
state.
HON. J. F. TREAT.
Hon. J. F. Treat, manager at Fargo for the Germania Life Insurance Company, has been
identified with this line of business since 1890 and is today one of the leading figures in
insurance circles in this state, acquainted with every phase of the business and actuated in
all that he does by a spirit of continuous progress. He was born in Geauga county, Ohio,
September 11, 1861, a son of John F. and Ruth A. (Brewer) Treat, the former a native of
Maine and the latter of Ohio. In early manhood John F. Treat adopted the seafaring life
150 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
and during the Civil war commanded the gunboat ^larirron, dying on board that boat in 1863.
His widow long surviving him. passed away in Columbus, Ohio, in 1893.
J. F. Treat was reared at home, acquiring his education in the Grand Eiver Institute
in Austinburg. Ohio, and following the completion of his studies he came to North Dakota in
1883, settling in Barnes county. There he took up a claim and broke prairie, devoting his
attention to farming for five years. On the expiration of that period he engaged in the grain
business and in the sale of farm implements, remaining active along those lines for five years.
His entrance into the field of insurance was made in the year 1890, when he became associ-
ated with the Equitable Life Insurance Company of New York. In 1895 he became a repre-
sentative of the Germania Life Insurance Company, being made manager of this business in
North Dakota. For twenty years he has continued in that business, directing the interests
for the company in this line and his efforts and control liave been important factors in build-
ing up a business of large proportions.
In 1882 Mr. Treat was married to Miss Eva L. Kiser, of Geauga county, Ohio, and to this
marriage have been born a son and a daughter: Walter E., who is associated with his father
in the insurance business; and Frances L.
Mr. Treat is a very prominent Mason, belonging to Shiloh Lodge, No. 1, F. & A. M.;
Keystone Chapter, No. 5, E. A. JI. ; Auvergne Commandery, No. 2, K. T.; Fargo Council, No.
1, R. & S. M.; Dakota Consistory, No. 1, A. & A. S. K.; El Zagal Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S.;
and also St. George's Conclave, No. 6, Red Cross of Constantine at Duluth, Minnesota. For
eleven years he was potentate of El Zagal Temple and in 1902 was also an officer of the
Imperial Council of the Mystic Shrine of North America. In fact he has occupied all of the
chairs of the .Shrine and in 1911 at Rochester, New York, was elected imperial potentate.
He is likewise a member of Fargo Lodge, No. 260, B. P. 0. E. Politically Mr. Treat is a
republican and is now serving as president of the Fargo park commission. In 1905 he became
a member of the state legislature, in which he served for two terms. His interest in public
affairs has always been that of a public-spirited citizen who recognizes the duties as well as
the privileges and opportunities of citizenship. He is actuated in all that he does by a spirit
of progress and the opinion of his fellow citizens establishes him as one of Fargo's leading
residents.
CHARLES HANSON.
Charles Hanson, of Wahpcton. who is making an excellent record as superintendent of
the schools of Richland county, was born in Green county, Wisconsin, on the 24th of May,
1866. His parents, N. T. and Mary Jane (Smith) Hanson, were born respectively in Maine
in 1822 and in Pennsylvania in 1831. The maternal ancestors were members of the Friends'
church. The father came to Wisconsin as a young man- and there his marriage occurred. He
bought land and devoted a number of years to fiirming, after which he went east and at the
time of his demise, in 1890, he was living in Connecticut. His wife preceded him in death,
passing away in 1881. To him and his wife were born seven children: Emma, a resident of
Monroe, Wisconsin; Pauline, who is living in North Dakota; John, a retired farmer residing
in Monroe, Wisconsin; Charles; Ruth, deceased; George, a farmer of North Dakota; and
Edw-ard, a publisher living in Oiicago.
Charles Hanson received his early education in the country schools of Wisconsin and
later entered the high school of Monroe, that state, from which he was graduated in 1889.
After teaching for a time he became a student in the State Normal School at Whitewater,
Wisconsin, completing the course in 1895. He has since engaged in educational work with
the exception of one year, which he spent in the University of Wisconsin, thus fitting himself
for still more efficient work in his chosen profession. In 1903 he came to North Dakota and
for a time he taught near Buffalo, this state, but in 1905 he removed to Richland county,
having been elected principal of the Walcott school, which position he held until 1912. He
proved so efficient in that capacity that in 1914 he was elected county superintendent of
schools and since taking office he has succeeded in advancing the standards of school work
throughout the county. His long experience as an instructor has made him thoroughly
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 151
familiar with the problems that confront the teacher and this knowledge, together with his
resourcefulness, enables him to in most cases find a way out of difliculties. He also has
executive ability and the faculty of securing the cooperation of those under him.
In 1913 Mr. Hanson was united in marriage to Miss Lena Lium, a native of Wisconsin.
She is a communicant of the Lutheran church and he is identified with the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, the Knights of the Maccabees and the Woodmen. His political allegiance is
given to the democratic party and his election to the ofti<"e of county superintendent is a
tribute to his personal popularity and ability as the county is republican by a large majority.
At a previous election he was a candidate for the office, but was defeated by only forty-four
votes. He has no outside interests, devoting his entire time and attention to the duties of his
office, and the excellent record which he is making is no doubt due in part to this concentra-
tion of his energies.
JULIUS FAUCHALD.
Norway has furnished a substantial percentage of citizens to North Dakota, among
which number is .Julius Fauchald, of Minot, who was born in the land of the midnight sun,
September 12, 1866, a son of Nels and Marie iHovelsen) Fauchald, who were also natives
of the same country, the former born January 9, 1826, and the latter May 16, 1829. The
father was a farmer and land owner in Norway, where he passed away in 1908. his wife
surviving until 1912.
In their family of seven children Julius Fauchald was the sixth in order of birth. From
the age of fifteen years he has depended upon his own resources in a business way, for at
that time lie secured a clerk.ship in a store, in which he was employed for six years, a fact
indicative of his faithfulness and capability. In 1887 he crossed the Atlantic and on the 7th
of April of the following year arrived in Minot, where he entered the employ of Strain
Brothers, spending two years as a clerk in their store. He was afterward employed by
Peter Lee for two years and later purchased Mr. Jacobson's interest in the New York Store,
becoming a partner of G. 0. Frank, after which the business was conducted under the firm
style of Frank & Fauchald, that relationship being maintained for a number of years and the
business proving profitable. In 1901 Mr. Fauchald established a store at White Earth,
seventy-three milos west of Minot, and in 1906 he and his brother Morris purchased the
mercantile establishment of P. P. Lee. In 1903 he bought the interest of Mr. Frank in the
New York Store, which was added to the Lee establishment and Mr. Fauchald became sole
owner of the business in January, 1909. He stills conducts his mercantile interests under
the style of the New York Department Store and has an extensive establishment which is
liberally patronized, for his honorable business methods and his enterprise find favor with
the public. In 1908 he opened the five and ten cent store in the Mansfield building of Minot,
which he also conducts, and he is likewise proprietor of the New York Furniture and Hard-
ware Store. He is thus conducting extensive and important business interests. He has a
good trade in the five and ten cent store and he is enjoying a large patronage in his dry
goods, clothing and men's furnishings store. He recently sold his grocery business at Minot,
which is now being operated by the Shirley Company. From time to time he has extended
his eflTorts into other localities and is now operating a five and ten cent store at Devils Lake.
He also recently sold a store at Jamestown, but is still conducting business in various
other places In fact his name is a very prominent and familiar one in the commercial
circles of the state and he stands as one of North Dakota's foremost merchants. He is
director of the Union National Bank with which he has been identified for a number of
years, and is a director of the Second National Bank of Minot. His business affairs have
been of constantly broadening scope and have been a strong element in the development of
the material resources of North Dakota. He also owns property in Christiania, Norway,
and maintains a summer home in that country which is but thirty minutes' ride from the
city and within a stone's throw of the ocean. His property interests likewise include exten-
sive tracts of land in North Dakota and in Oregon and he maintains his residence in Minot.
In early manhood Mr. Fauchald wedded Miss Enga Nerseth, who was born near his
152 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
own bii'tliplace in Norway, her parents being Johannes and JIaline Xerseth, who spent their
entire lives in tliat country. The father devoted his attention to general agricultural pur-
suits throughout his active business career. Mr. and Mrs. Fauchald are the parents of seven
children, as follows: JIalvin, who is now associated in business with his father; Marie; Kora,
who is pursuing her education in New York city; and Burghild, Jalmer, Axel and Ncls, all
of whom are attending school in New York. Most liberal educational advantages have been
accorded the children, who have received instruction in the schools of this country and of Nor-
way. After a residence of two years in Europe the family returned to New Y'^ork in 1914,
establishing their home at Sunset Park, in Brooklyn, but in 1U16 they expect to remove to
Minot. The elder son was graduated from the Red Wing University and also from Luther
College of Decorah, Iowa, and the elder daughter has attended Red Wing Seminary and is
now in New York City.
In politics Mr. Fauchald is a republican, but has never sought nor desired oflice. He
belongs to tlic Synod church. When he came to the new world he could not speak the Eng-
lish language and his cash capital consisted of but thirty-five cents when he came to Jliniit.
The years have chronicled for him notable success. He possessed energy and determination
and he resolved to win advancement if it could be gained by honorable methods. Step by
step he has progressed until he is today one of the foremost business men and citizens of
North Dakota. While he has attempted important things and has accomplished what he
attempted, his success has never represented another's losses but has resulted from effort
intelligently applied, and the generous use which he has made of his means in assisting others
marks him as a man of kindly spirit who recognizes the obligations and responsibilities of
wealth. In all of his business affairs he has been considerate of others. His has never been
the command of the tyrant to go. but tlie call of the leader to come, and he possesses many
traits admirable and worthy of all praise.
HON. OLE T. TOFSRUD.
Hon. Ole T. Tofsrud has been prominently identified with the interests of North Dakota.
Three times he has been a member of the general assembly, active in framing constructive
legislation, and with commercial and financial interests he has also been jirominently asso-
ciated, being now president of the Security Bank of Rugby. The student of history cannot
carry his investigaticms far into the annals of North Dakota without learning how valuable
has been the contribution of Norwegian citizenship to the upbuilding of the commonwealth.
Mr. Tofsrud is among those who have had their nativity or trace their ancestry to the land
of the midnight sun. He was born in Norway, November 24, 1864, a son of Torgus and
Barbro (Hagen) Tofsrud, who were also natives of that country, whence in the spring of
1883 they sailed for the new world, establishing their home in Portland, North Dakota.
After a year they removed to Church's F'erry in Benson county, where the father filed on a
homestead on which he still resides.
Ole T. Tofsrud pursued his educaticin in tlie public schools of his native laml and after
coming to the United States he served as janitor of a school of Portland and also continued
his studies at the same time. Ambitious to make progress along intellectual lines, he after-
ward matriculated in the seminary at Willmar, Minnesota, and also became a student at the
Bruflat Academy at Portland. He was eighteen years of age when he came to the new
world, his uncle. Tore Peterson, of Portland, sending him sixty-four dollars with which to
pay his passage. This he repaid the first year, earning the money by work as a farm
hand and as a thresher. In 1885, after attaining his majority, he filed on a preemption of
one hundred and sixty acres in Pierce county. He and Torger Gronvold were the first men
to file on land in what is now Barton towiisliip. that county, Mr. Tofsrud securing the
southeast quarter of section 13. He lived upon his claim for three years and two years of
that time there were crop failures. He then went west, securing the position of time-
keeper on the construction of the Great Northern Railway. He was thus employed in con-
nection with the building of the road from the western slope of the Rocky Mountains to
the Columbia river. Later he returned to Pierce, North Dakota, having in the meantime
HON. OLE T. TOFSRUD
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 155
saved from his earnings about a tliousand dollars. He was next employed for a time
as second man in an elevator at Barton and in 1893 the county, appreciative of his worth
and ability, elected him to the office of county treasurer and he removed to Rugby to there
discharge his duties. He had served for only one term when he was nominated and elected
a member of the state legislature and he was reelected in 1895. In 1907 he was once
more chosen for the office, so that his service in the general assembly has covered three
terms. While in that body he very carefully studied the questions which came up for
consideration and gave his support to those bills which he believed would prove efficacious
laws if put upon the statute books of the state. In 1895 he opened a general merchandise
store in Rugby, where he conducted business for eight years, and for the past twenty-five
years he has also been engaged in farming. He owns seven hundred and twenty acres
of land in Pierce county and from his property derives a substantial annual income. In
1909 he became one of the dominant factors in the organization of the Security Bank of
Rugby and was made president of that institution, which position he now fills. He is also
president of the Walhalla Building Association and he is connected with several organiza-
tions of a semi-public character.
In 1898 Mr. Tofsrud was united in marriage to Miss Rodna Hiller of Pierce county,
who is a native of Norway. To them have been born four children, namely: Bertha, Tilda,
Rachael and Lillian. Mr. Tofsrud and his family are members of the Lutheran Free
church and his political allegiance has always been unfalteringly given to the republican
party, for he believes that its principles contain the best elements of good government. He
is now serving as president of the school board of Rugby and as president of the Pierce
County Agricultural Association. He is a member of the Sons of Norway and has always
been willing to do everything in his power to aid his fellow countrymen. He possesses the
characteristic industry, reliability and progressiveness which have ever marked the sons
of Norway and through his determination and force of character he has worked his way
upward from a humble position in the business world to a place of affluence.
ANDREW H. CLEMENSON.
Andrew H. Clemenson, who is successfully engaged in farming on section 35, Warren
township, Cass county, is one of the excellent citizens of North Dakota, who claim Norway
as their native land. He was born on the 18th of September, 1858, and is a son of Henry
and Bertha (Arves) Clemenson, who in 1870 emigrated with their family to the United
States, settling in Faribault, Minnesota, where the father followed his trade, that of shoe-
making, until June, 1871, when the family came to the Red River valley in North Dakota,
being among the first to settle in that region. He located on section 30, Stanley township,
Cass county, on land which he entered as a homestead claim as soon as the homestead law
went into effect. At that time eighty acres was the most which could be taken up as a
homestead but he subsequently filed on a quarter section as a preemption and a number of
years later bought another quarter section, becoming the owner of four hundred acres in all.
The first home of the family in this state was a log cabin, which was covered with a sod
roof, and there were the usual hardships of pioneer life to be endured, but as the years
passed conditions improved and land constantly increased in value. The father died on the
11th of November, 1904, but the mother is still living and makes her home with the subject of
this review.
Andrew H. Clemenson attended the common schools of Norway until he accompanied
his parents on their removal to this country at the age of twelve years and he continued his
education in the public schools of Minnesota and North Dakota. He aided his father in the
arduous task of developing a farm from the wild prairie and in so doing gained much valu-
able knowledge of agricultural methods. In 1883 he purchased eighty acres of land, upon
which he has since resided and upon which he has made many excellent improvements. For
a number of years he cultivated rented land in addition to his own farm and for the past
three years he has divided his attention between the operation of his farm and the opera-
Voi. n— 9
156 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
tion of tlio pumping station south of tlie Noitlu-rn Pacific Railroad at Horace, which is
located within a short distance of hi3 home.
In 1879 occurred the marriage of Mr. Clemonson and Miss Mattie Olson, also a native
of Norway, who came to this country in the sjjring prior to her marriage. To them have
been born eleven children, eight of whom are still living, namely: Martha, the wife of
William Qualloy, a farmer of Manitoba, Canada; Olga, who married Harry Christcnson, of
Horace. North Dakota; Betsy, the wife of August Halvorson, a railroad man living in Gantz.
^[innesota ; Bertha, at home; Samuel, who is engaged in farming; Mary, who is teaching in
Billiold, North Dakota; Oscar, an employe of the Northern I'acilic Railroad; and -Arthur, at
home.
Mr. Clemenson gives his political allegiance to the republican party and for twelve years
served as road overseer and for twenty-one years as a member of the school board, his long
retention in those offices being evidence of the ability which he displayed in the discharge
of his duties. He belongs to the Jungraan Lodge and has many friends both within and
without that organization as he is thoroughly reliable in all the relations of life and as his
personal qualities are agreeable.
THEODORE KALDOR.
Theodore Kaldor, of Hillsboro, a prominent representative of the legal profession in
Traill county, where he has practiced continuously since admitted to the bar in 1901. His
ability is evidenced by the large clientage accorded him. Moreover, his life record stands
in contradistinction to the old adage that a prophet is not without honor save in his own
country, for Mr. Kaldor is a native of Traill county, his birth having occurred on his father's
farm in Norway township. August 8. 1875. His parents, Cliristian 0. and Ragnhild Kaldor.
were both natives of Oier, Gudbrandsdal, Norway, and both came to the United States in
1868. They were married in Freeborn county, Minnesota, where the father followed farm-
ing for two years, and on the 22d of June, 1871, came to Traill county, where he was among
the first to take up a homestead. He continued to reside thereon, his attention being
given to its further development and improvement imtil his death, which occurred in 1909.
His widow still resides upon that place.
After mastering the branches of learning taught in the common schools Theodore
Kaldor attended Concordia College at Moorliead, Minnesota, and in 1896 was graduated
from the Mayville State Normal School. He continued his education at the University of
Minnesota, where he completed a course in the law department with the class of 1901. at
which time the EL. B. degree was conferred upon him. During vacation periods up to that
time he had worked upon his father's farm and in outdoor life gained that vigor and
strength which has constituted a basic element of his professional success. After thorough
training for the bar he at once opened an office in Hillsboro. where he has since reniaineil.
and while advancement at the bar is jiroverbially slow, he has nevertheless made steady
progress and his ability has gained him distinction, for in the trial of various important
cases he has given proof of his rcsourcefulni^ss, his comprehensive knowledge of the law and
his ready and almost intuitive understanding of the workings of justice. Aside from his
law practice he is interested in farming and banking, being connected with two banks and
owning eight hundred acres of farm lands in this state. mo.st of which is near his home
town.
On the 27th of June, 1905. Mr. Kaldor was united in marriage to Miss Nettie Lar.son.
a daughter of Necoli and Christine Larson, pioneer settlers of Traill county. Mr. and ]\Irs.
Kaldor are the parents of two children. Cliaunoey Theodore and Harvey Nathaniel, aged
respectively seven and five years.
Mr. Kaldor and his wife are members of the Lutheran church and he is identified with
the Masonic fraternity and the Sons of Norway. In politics he has always been a republican
and on various occasions his fellow citizens have manifested their confidence in his trust-
worthiness and ability by electing him to public office. For six years, from 1904 until
1910, he was states attorney of Traill county, and during the past five years he has been a
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 157
member of the board of education of Hillsboro and has also been a member of the board of
park commissioners since the creation of the park district four years ago, being president
of the park board during the last two years. He was likewise city attorney for two years.
Jlr. Kaldor labors earnestly and effectively as an official and as a private citizen to further
the best interests of the community in which he resides.
LOUIS FLIGEL5IAN.
Louis Fligelman, the popular and able mayor of Wahpeton and also a well known
dealer in farm lands, was born in Berlad, Roumania, on the 10th of May, 1869. His parents,
Joseph and Theresa (Epstien) Fligelman, were lifelong residents of that country. The
father, who was engaged in the leather business, was very successful, gaining financial
independence. He was a member of the Jewish Synagogue. There were seven children in
the family, namely: John, a merchant of Minneapolis; Herman, who is engaged in the dry
goods business in Helena, Montana; Jacob, also a merchant of Helena; Fred A., a merchant
of Great Falls, Montana; Louis; Jessie, the wife of David Fichman, a traveling man of
New York city; and Dora, Avho married S. S. Singer, a merchant of Great Falls, Montana.
Louis Fligelman received his education in the schools of his native land but in 18S5
came to Minneapolis with his brothers and sisters when they emigrated to the TJnited
States. In 1889 he removed to Wahpeton, Korth Dakota, and engaged in the land business,
along which line he has gained enviable prosperity. He buys and sells land outright and has
handled many valuable tracts, owning at the present time a large amount of land in Rich-
land county. He also deals in loans and his natural business acumen and good judgment,
combined with his thorough knowledge of business conditions, has made him one of the suc-
cessful men of his city.
In 1895 occurred the marriage of Jlr. Fligelman and Miss Helena Bessie, a daughter of
Adolph Bessie and a native of New York city. Mr. and Mrs. Fligelman have become the
parents of three daughters, Rosa, Henrietta and Jessica, all of whom are now attending
school.
Mr. Fligelman is an adherent of the democratic party where national issues are at
stake but at local elections is independent. In 1913 he was elected mayor as the choice of
the people rather than as the candidate of any particular party and he has since held the
office of chief executive of Wahpeton. He gives the same careful study and thought to the
solution of the problems that come up in connection with the administration of the city's
business that he gives to the management of his private affairs and his course in office has
won the commendation of his fellow citizens. Fraternally he is a member of the Masonic
order, the beneficent principles of which guide his life. He is held in the highest esteem and
his personal friends are many.
CHRISTIAN A. SUNDET.
Christian A. Sundet devotes his time and attention to the operation of his excellent
farm of two hundred and forty acres in Pleasant township, Cass county. His birth occurred
in Norway on the 14th of Jul}', 1855, and he is a son of Asle and Ora Sundet, also natives
of that country. About 1855 they removed with their family to the United States and,
making their way to the middle west, located in Houston county, Minnesota, where the
father engaged in farming until his demise. The mother also died there. They were the
parents of eight children, all of whom are living save one.
Christian A. Sundet attended the common schools of Minnesota and during the period of
his boyhood and youth also devoted much time to helping his father. By the time he had
reached man's estate he was well qualified to engage in farming independently and following
his marriage in 1879 he removed to Cass county, North Dakota, and located on his present
farm on section 26, Pleasant township. The place was unimproved when it came into his
158 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
possession and his first home was a small shanty. As the years have passed he has erected
fine buildings, has fenced his land and has brouglit it to a high state of cultivation, and he
also lias a grove which he planted and which is now an excellent windbreak. As he is
industrious and also plans his work well he receives a gratifying financial return from his
land and his capital is constantly increasing.
In 1879 occurred the marriage of Mr. Sundct and Miss Kathcrine Katin, who was also
born in Norway and is a daughter of S. and .Martha Ratin, likewise natives of that country,
who, however, emigrated to America with their family many years ago and resided here
until called to their final rest. Mr. and Mrs. Sundet have eight children: Mary, the wife
of Oscar Eude and a resident of Richland county. North Dakota; Sophia, who married
Gilmore Dockan. of Benson county; Cornelia, the wife of Henry Johnston; Albert, who
lives in Perley, Minnesota; Grant, at home; Alida, who is a graduate of the Park Region
Lutheran College at Fergus Falls, Jlinnesota, and who is engaged in teaching; Viola, who
is attending college; and Nina, at home.
Mr. .Sundet votes the republican ticket and for a number of years served in the office
of school director. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Lutheran church and take
an active and helpful interest in its work. When he came to North Dakota he was without
capital but he took advantage of the opportunities offered and persevered in spite of the
difficulties incident to the settlement of a new country and is now reaping the reward of
his labor and determination as he is one of the substantial men of his township.
KARL H. THOMTE.
Karl H. Thomte. a well known representative of mercantile interests in Lisbon, where
he is conducting business as a dealer in men's clothing and furnishings, was born in Lansing,
Iowa, September 25, 1875, a son of Hans and Kerrie (Hanson) Thomte, both of whom were
natives of Norway, whence they emigrated to the United States in the latter part of the
'608. They first settled in Iowa but afterward homesteaded in southern Minnesota in 1878,
becoming pioneer settlers of that state and experiencing all of the hardships and privations
incident to life on the frontier. The father was a tailor by trade and worked along that
line in a little Minnesota town while his wife and children occupied and developed the home-
stead. Her death occurred in the spring of 1S97 but Mr. Thomte is still living. They were
the parents of ten children, of whom nine survive. The father is a republican in his political
views and in fraternal circles is well known as a Knight Templar.
Karl H. Thomte pursued his education in the schools of Luverne, Minnesota. He then
went abroad, visiting various European points, and following his return in 1902 he and his
brother, .John Thomte, on the 2d of November of that year purchased the established busi-
ness of Sandagcr & Haugen, clothing merchants and pioneer business men of Lisbon. The
store has since been conducted under the name of Thomte Brothers and they carry a large
and complete line of men's and boys' clothing and furnishings. Their stock is attractive,
ranging from low to high priced goods, and shows all that the market affords in style and
workmanship. Karl Thomte is also interested in farming, having purchased seventy acres
of land at Island Park, Ransom county, which he intends to devote to dairying and to the
raising of chickens. His is a busy and useful life fraught with good results. He has other
interests, being a director of the Lisbon Building & Loan Association and one of the pro-
moters of the Sheyenne Valley Canning Company of Lisbon.
On the 20th of June, 1904, Jlr. Thomte was married to Miss Minnie Backlund, who was
born in Lisbon, North Dakota, December 6, 1884, a daughter of Xels and Louise (Anderson)
Backlund, both of whom were natives of Sweden, but became residents of Lisbon in the early
'70s. Mr. and Mrs. Thomte have a family of four children: Luvern, wlio died in childhood;
Karl, born February 28, 1909; Philip, September 5, 1910; and Mary Louise, August 9, 1915.
In his political views Mr. Thomte is an earnest republican and from 1912 until 1914
served as a member of the city council of Lisbon. In May of the latter year he was elected
mayor of the city and when in office his energies were directed to beautifying and improving
Lisbon and its roads. He held the ofllice for two years, refusing to become a candidate for a
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 159
second term as he felt that his entire time and attention were needed in connection with
his growing and important business affairs. He was also president of the Lisbon Commercial
Club during the years 1912 and 1914. He has taken a most active and helpful interest in
every plan and project for the improvement and benefit of the city and was the promoter of the
Ransom County Commercial Carnival, which was held in Lisbon in 1911, 1912 and 1913 and
did much toward aiding in developing this section of the state. Fraternally Mr. Thomte is
connected with the Masons as a member of lodge, chapter and commandery and he has
filled all of the ofTices in the last two branches. He is a member and receiver of the Ancient
Order of United Workmen at Lisbon and is a member and trustee of the Presbyterian church,
to which his wife and two oldest children also belong. He stands for those things which
are most worth while for the individual and for the community and his influence is always
given for the advancement of the material, intellectual, social, political and moral progress
of his city.
CHARLES A. GROW.
Charles A. Grow has assisted in every public enterprise for the upbuilding of Minot
during the years of his residence there. He was impressed with the city and its opportunities
upon his first visit to Minot m 1890 and following his return to become a permanent resident
he has borne active part in its development and improvement. A native of Pennsylvania,
he was born in Lewistown, November 2, 1867, a son of William and Sarah (Willhide) Grow,
both of whom were also natives of Lewistown. The father was a farmer by occupation and
in 1869 removed with his family to Ohio, where he became a landowner and carried on agri-
cultural pursuits for a number of years. He is now living retired in Cleveland. He served
as a soldier of the Civil war in a Pennsylvania regiment, enlisting in 1863 and continuing at
the front until the close of hostilities. In tracing the ancestral history of the family it is
found that they are of German lineage and that the family was founded in America in the
seventeenth century.
Charles A. Grow, who was the second in order of birth in a family of eight children,
seven of whom are now living, attended school at Youngstown, Ohio, and pursued a three
years' course in a business college there. At the age of fourteen years he began earning his
living and gradually worked his way upward in business circles until at the age of sixteen
years he was made manager of a clothing store in East Liverpool, Ohio, where he remained
for three years. He then went to Cleveland and was employed by the J. L. Hudson Clothing
Company for about two years. Later he went to Chicago and occupied a position in a cloth-
ing store of that city for a year. In September, 1889. he arrived in North Dakota and
accepted a position with the Apple Clothing Company at Grand Forks, acting as manager
there until 1899, and in the meantime acquiring an interest in the business. He then sold
out and in 1900 established a clothing store at Cando, North Dakota, where he remained
for two and one-half years. In the spring of 1903 he arrived in Minot, where he opened a
clothing store, dealing in men's and boys' furnishing goods. For thirty-three years he has
continuously engaged in this line of business, selling out in February, 1916, to M. G. Olson
& Company, of Grand Forks. He carried a full stock of boys' and men's clothing and
shoes and his well appointed store secured for him a liberal patronage because of his hon-
orable business methods and wise management. He is a stockholder in various other busi-
ness enterprises of Minot and is the owner of city property and lands in Ward county.
He operates a portion of his land himself and rents the remainder, some of which pays him
a dividend of twenty dollars, basing the land upon a value of one hundred dollars per acre.
In former j-ears the greater part of his attention was given to the clothing business and
he ranked with the foremost merchants of the city but he is now giving his entire time
to his real estate operations. His present success places him in a position far removed from
that in which he was found in his boyhood days when as a lad of nine years he was selling
newspapers in order to provide for his own support. Not only has he advanced materially
along business lines but has also assisted in caring for his parents. There were six children
younger than himself in the family and because of straitened financial conditions it was
160 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
necessary that he early start out to earn his own living. Laudable ambition has prompted
him at every step in liis career and gradually he has worked his way upward.
On the 25th of November, 1896, Mr. Grow was united in marriage to Miss Anna
Sullivan, a native of Fargo, North Dakota, and a daughter of Timothy and Katharine
Sullivan, both of whom were born in Ii eland. Emigrating to the United States, they took
up tlicir abode among the pioneer settlers of North Dakota and Mr. Sullivan assisted in the
construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad from Fargo to Bismarck. Subsequently he
removed to Jliiuiesota and turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, being now a land-
owner and farmer of Wildrose, this state.
Fraternally Mr. Grow is connected with the Knights of Pythias at Miimt. also the
Masonic lodge and the Elks lodge at Minot, in which he has passed through all of tlie
chairs. In 191.5 he was a delegate to the grand lodge of Elks at Los Angeles. He has also
been prominent in the Knights of Pythias and was grand chancellor of the domain of North
Dakota for the years 1905 and 1906. He organized the old Commercial Club and at all
times he has been actively and helpfully interested in every movement for the public
good. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he has done much to mold
political action in this community. He served as a member of the city council of Minot and
in 1915 was representative of the twentj'-ninth legislative district in the general assembly
in the fourteenth session. He also served with the rank of colonel on the staff of Governor
Sarles in 1906 and he is now president of the board of highway commissioners through
appointment of Governor Hanna. His opinions have long carried weight in the councils of
his party and it is a recognized fact that he is a most public-spirited citizen, his eflorts
being a potent force in advancing the general welfare and in promoting movements which
have had direct bearing upon the public good. On the whole, his is a notable and most
creditable record. He has succeeded where thousands of others would have failed, for he
lias faced diflicult conditions. He has never had anyone to confer with, obtained his edu-
cation largely by attending night school while working in the daytime and by using every
opportunity has gradually progressed. When employed as clerk, many times he had to
work until three o'clock in the morning, putting the stock in order and also trimming win-
dows at night. He possesses in marked degree the commercial sense, seeming especially
fitted for business of this character. Moreover, he carries forward to successful completion
whatever he undertakes and in his vocabulary there is no such word as fail. When lie sets
out toward a goal he reaches it, and as the years have gone on his powers have grown
througli the exercise of effort, each day finding him able to cope with more intricate
business problems and accomplish greater results.
ANDREW QUINNILD.
Andrew Quinnild, who was a .successful and well liked farmer residing in Pleasant town-
ship, Cass county, passed away on June 17, 1901. He was born on the 22d of November, 1847.
of the marriage of Peter and Betsy Quinnild, natives of Norway, who spent their entire lives
in that eoiintiy. Our subject was reared and educated in his native land and remained there
until ho was about twenty-four years of age. In 1871 he emigrated to the United States and
settled in Minnesota, whence in 1875 he came to North Dakota. He took up a homestead on
section 34, Pleasant township, Cass county, and at once began to break the prairie sod and
improve his farm. The first building which he erected was a log cabin with a roof covered with
fir branches. For a number of years this remained the family residence, but at length he had
acquired sufficient means to enable him to erect a fine frame dwelling and he also put up
excellent barns and outbuildings. His place comjirised two hundred and forty acres and as he
brought his land to a high state of cultivation and was both energetic and practical in the
operation of the farm he gained more than a competence.
Mr. Quinnild was married in ^linnesota to Miss Helen Olson, likewise a native of Norway,
who came to the United States in 1857. They became the parents of twelve children, namely:
Peter, deceased; Die, who is living in Hickson, North Dakota; Gustave and Bertha, both
deceased; Gustave, second of the name, who is now living in Minnesota; Hannah and Peter,
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 161
deceased; Helen and Peter, botli at home; Henry, who is operating the homestead; and Betsy
and Alvin, at home.
ilr. Quinnild supported the republican party after becoming a naturalized citizen of the
United States, but never sought public oiBce. He was a communicant of the Lutheran church,
as is his wife, and the sincerity of his faith was manifest in the integrity of his daily life.
His sterling qualities commended him to the esteem and warm regard of his fellowmen and
there was much sincere grief when he was called from this life. His widow survives and
resides on the homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, which she owns. She is well known
and has many warm friends.
L. J. JOHNSON.
AS the raising of grain is the most important industry in North Dakota the elevators
of the district are among the chief factors in its development and their annual business is
of large volume. The Farmers elevator at Horace is one of the leading business undertak-
ings of that town and its manager, L. J. Johnson, is recognized as a man of energy, initiative
and sound judgment. He was born in Sweden on the 25th of March, 1864. and is a son of
John and Mary (Larson) Johnson, the latter of whom died in that country. In 1883 the
father came to the United States with two of his children and a year later our subject and
a brother and sister joined the others of the family here. The father took up his residence
in Grant county, Minnesota, where he lived until his deatli.
L. J. Johnson came to North Dakota on his arrival in this country in 1883 and located at
Horace, where an uncle, P. J. Frykland, was living. At that time Mr. .Johnson was in such
straitened financial circumstances that he had to borrow ten cents from his uncle to buy
paper and stamps in order to write home and he W'as in debt sixty-eight dollars for his
passage mone}^. He found work as a farm hand as soon as possible and after discharging
his obligations began saving his money with the end in view of eventually purchasing land.
For a number of years he farmed as a renter, but about 1905 he bought two hundred and
iifty acres on sections 17 and 18, Stanley township, adjoining Horace, and has since resided
upon his farm, which is all under cultivation. In addition to his activity as an agriculturist
he has been engaged in buying grain for twenty-two years, devoting a great deal of his time
to that work. He represented the Andrews Grain Company of Minneapolis at Horace for
twenty years, while since 1914 he has been manager of the Farmers Elevator Company, which
bought out the interests of the ilinneapolis company at Horace. He understands the grain
business thoroughly and as he keeps a close watch on all of the details of the business the
enterprise has proved very successful.
In 1893 Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Bertha Olson, a native of Houston county,
Minnesota, by whom he has six children, Ethel, Martha, Walter, Elder, Lillian and Raymond,
all at home.
The political views of Mr. Johnson coincide with the principles of the republican party,
which he supports at the polls, and for fifteen years he has served as township clerk and for
many years as school treasurer, proving vei'y efficient in those capacities. He and his family
hold membership in the Norwegian Lutheran church and seek to extend its influence in
every way possible. Mr. .Johnson is not only a successful farmer and business man, but is
also a public-spirited citizen and in all relations of life has proved upright and honorable,
thus gaining the sincere respect of all who have come in contact with him.
GILBERT J. JOHNSON.
Gilbert J. .Johnson, one of the extensive real estate dealers of Wahpeton, Richland county,
was born in Bristol, England, on the 8th of .July, 1875, a son of David and Caroline E.
(Brain) .Johnson, both likewise natives of that city, the former born in 1841 and the latter
in 1843. They were married there and continued to reside in England until 1881, when with
162 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
their family, they came to the United States. The father, who was a decorator, followed
his trade for many years and for ten years resided in Wahpeton. He is now living retired
in St. Louis. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he is now a mem-
ber of the Episcopal church, althougli while living in England he was for some time a
preacher in the Wesloyan Methodist church.
Gilbert J. Johnson received his education in Birmingham, Alabama, and in AVahpcton,
North Dakota, and after leaving school engaged in farming for some time, taking up a
homestead in Richland county. He was later engaged in the hardware business at auistine
and Wahpeton, continuing along that line until 1905, when he turned his attention to the
real estate business, in which field he is still active. He buys and sells outright and has
handled a great deal of valuable farm land. He owns large tracts of land in Richland county
and also holds title to several thousand acres of Minnesota land. In addition to his real
estate operations he is a director in the National Bank of Wahpeton and is interested
financially in several other banks and in other business enterprises. Since completing his
education he has been dependent upon his ow^n resources and tlic enviable measure of success
which he has gained is proof of his aggressiveness and his sound judgment.
On the 6th of April, 1904, occurred the marriage of Mr. Johnson and Miss Emma E.
Clemmons of Barron, Wisconsin, and a daughter of A. N. Clemmons, an early veterinarian
of that town. Three children have been born to this union: Donald, Fred and Arthur, aged
respectively ten, eight, and three years.
Mr. Johnson is an adherent of the republican paity and takes the interest of a good
citizen in public atfairs. althought not an ofiice seeker. He is well known fraternally, belong-
ing to the Masonic blue lodge, the Royal Arch Chapter, the Knights Templar Commandery
and the Shrine. He is recognized as an able and reliable business man luid his personal
qualities are such that he has won the warm regard of many.
GILBERT H. CLEMENSON.
Gilbert H. Clemenson, who owns an excolhnt farm on section 30, Stanley township,
Cass county, has resided in that county since pioneer times and has not only Avitnessed, but
has been a factor in the development of the district. His birth occurred in Norway on the
2Gth of May, 1868, but when he was a little more than a year old he was brought by his
parents, Henry and Bertha (Arvcs) Clemenson. to the United States, the family home being
established in Faribault, Minnesota. The father, ^vho was a shoemaker, followed his trade
there for one year, but in 1870 made his way to Cass county. North Dakota, and located on
land now comprised in our subject's farm. He took it up on a squatter's- right, but in 1873,
after the homestead law went into effect, filed on it as a homestead. Almost immediately
after his arrival in Cass county he erected a log cabin, carrying the logs on his shoulder from
the timber where they were cut to the cabin site. In 1871 his family joined him in this
state and he continued to reside on his farm until his demise in 1904. While living in Nor-
way he served in the army for fifteen or twenty years. His wife is still living and resides
with her son Andrew.
Gilbert H. Clemenson received his education in the pioneer schools of Cass county and as,
like everything else in the state, the school system was in the early stages of development,
his education was necessarily limited. Through assisting his father in transforming the
wild prairie into a cultivated and well improved farm he not only learned much concerning
agricultural methods, but also gained valuable training in industry and in the determination
that surmounts all obstacles. In 1891 he began farming for himself, buying one hundred
and si.\ty acres on time from Addison Leech. During the following three years, however, the
crops throughout his part of the state were failures and as he was unable to make the pay-
ments on his land he sold his tract and for the next three years rented the home farm. In
1896 he purchased that place, which comprises two hundred and forty-three acres and which
is one of the most valuable farms of the county. He keeps everything in excellent condition
and as he uses up-to-date methods and employs modern machinery in his i work, his labors
are rewarded by excellent crops which seldom fail to bring a high price upon the market.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 163
He also owns stock in the Farmers elevator at Horace and is one oi' the substantial men of
his township.
In 1891 Jlr. Clemenson was united in marriage to Miss Augusta Hermanson, a native of
Sweden, and they have become the parents of twelve children, seven of whom survive, as
follows: Adolph; Robert, who married Ella Johnson; Mabel, the wife of Alfred Johnson,
who is a brother of Ella Johnson and is farming in Stanley township; Agnes; Lillian; Hed-
weg; and Florence. All of the children save Mabel are at home.
The family belong to the Norwegian Lutheran church and conform their lives to its
teachings. Mr. Clemenson is a republican in politics, but has been too busy with his private
interests to take an active part in public affairs. He is widely known throughout the county
and liis personal characteristics are such that his circle of friends is practically coextensive
with his circle of acquaintances.
JESSE D. VAN FLEET.
Jesse D. Van Fleet, a resident of Minot, is engaged in the undertaking business. He
was born in Wayne county, New York, April 6, 1858, a son of Peter B. and Rachel M. (Devoe)
Van Fleet, who were also natives of "Wayne county, New York, The father was a contractor
and builder who died about 1910, when eighty-two years of age. His wife passed away in
1907, when about seventy-eight 3'ears of age. Their family numbered five children, of whom
Jesse D. was the third in order of birth. Having acquired a high school education at Fair
Haven, New York, he attended the seminary at Red Creek, New Y'ork, but left school at the
age of seventeen years and obtained employment in a sash and door factory, spending about
four years in thoroughly learning and mastering the business. Later he was emploj-ed for
about two years in a store and then went to Portland, Oregon. He became foreman in a
large sash and door factory in that city, where he remained for three years, after which he
returned to New York and purchased an interest in the store in which he had previously been
employed, spending three years in that connection. He next went to St. Paul, Minnesota,
where he purchased an interest in the Jackson Street Fish Company, continuing in the busi-
ness for three years.
It was then that Mr. Van Fleet came to North Dakota, making his way to Larimore,
where for ten years he was in the employ of Warner & Stoltz, lumber merchants. He
then engaged in the lumber and fuel business in Larimore and also conducted an under-
taking establishment. Later lie turned his attention to the real estate business, in which he
remained until his removal to Minot in 1908. For three years, or until April, 1911, he con-
ducted a real estate office in Minot and then purchased the C. J. Wegan undertaking busi-
ness, which he has carried on successfully since. He also ow-ns a fine farm of five hundred
acres at Larimore and its rental brings to him a substantial income. He is likewise a stock-
holder in the Thompson Malted Food Company at Waukesha, Wisconsin, but devotes the
greater part of his time to his undertaking business and to care of his lands. He is a mem-
ber of the Undertakers' Association of North Dakota and is now serving a second term as
vice president of the state board of embalmers, having been appointed by Governor Hanna,
July 10, 1916, for a second four years term.
In 1878 Mr. Van Fleet married Miss Jennie Case, who was born near Auburn, Caj'uga
county. New York. Their children were: Ralph, who was born in 1887 and died at Larimore,
North Dakota, in 1895; Frank, who is assistant cashier of the National Bank of Larimore;
Clifford, who died in 1883, at the age of fourteen months, while the family were living at
Portland, Oregon; Kitty, the wife of A. F. McLean, general agent in North Dakota for the
National Life Insurance Company and a resident of Minot; and Peter B., who died in 1907 at
the age of seventeen years. The wife and mother passed away April 21, 1892, and on the
38th day of June, 1894, Mr. Van Fleet wedded Mrs. John Stevens, who was born at Chatfield,
Minnesota, and became one .of the early residents of North Dakota. She was the widow of
John Stevens, by whom she had a son, J. Floyd, who was educated at Cornell University and
is now a professor in the State University at Grand Forks.
Mr. Van Fleet holds membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he
164 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
lias passed tlirough all the chairs. His political faith is that of the progressive republicans.
He takes a most active part in the work of the Presbyterian church, in which he has served
as an elder for a quarter of a century. For a number of years he has been at the head of
the home missionary department of his church and is looking after the funds coming to the
board for supplying new churches. In fact he takes a most deep interest in all dei)artments
of the church work and docs everything in his power to further moral progress. He has
always felt with Lincoln that "there is something better than making a living — making a
life."
NILS 0. BRAKKE.
Among the e-xcellent citizens whom Norway has given to North Dakota is Nils O.
Brakke, one of the extensive landowners of Normanna township, Cass county. He has not
only been prominent in the agricultural development of his county, but has also been active
in public affairs, having served acceptably as a member of the state legislature. His birth
occurred on the 12tli of September, 1845, and his parents were Ole N. and Berget S. (Swen-
son) Brakke, both of whom were also natives of Norway, where their entire lives were spent.
Six of the eight children born to their union are still living.
Nils 0. Brakke was reared at home and received his education in the public schools of
his native land. In 1869, when about twenty-four years of age, he determined to try his
fortune in the United States and became a resident of Houston county, Minnesota. After
working as a farm hand there for three years he removed to Cass county, North Dakota, in
1873 and located upon his present home farm on section 26, Normanna township. From time
to time he has invested in more land and now holds title to nine hundred acres, all of wliich
is well improved and productive. Although he is now one of the wealthy men of his section
of the state he was without capital when he came to this country and for several years had
to practice close economy. His first home in North Dakota was a log cabin, and he resided
therein until 1906, when he erected a fine modern residence. He gives careful attention to
the management of his extensive farming interes-ts and receives a handsome financial return
from his land. He also owns stock in the Farmers elevator at Kindred, of which he is a
director.
In 1809 Mr. Brakke was married in jMinnesota to Miss Liv Olson, who was also born in
Norway and who crossed to the I'nitcd States on the same ship as her future husband. They
have eight children, Bergert, Olaf, Olena, Oscar. Carrie, Engebert, Nels and Selma.
Mr. Brakke is a stanch adherent of the rei)ublican party, in whose principles he lirinly
believes, and he was elected as a state representative in 190S on that ticket. He is especially
interested in the welfare of the public schools and for thirty years has been a member of
the school board, doing much in that time to promote educational jirogress in the county.
Both he and his wife are communicants of the Ijutheran church, the teachings of which govern
their conduct in all relations of life. He has a wide acquaintanceship throughout his section
of the state and is recognized as a leading citizen of his countv.
GEORGE D. WOOD.
George D. Wood is agent for the Minnesota. St. Paul & Sault Ste. JIarie Railroad at
Burlington and is making a creditable record in that connection, gaining the commendation
of his superiors because of his edicient discharge of his duties. He was born in Egg Harbor,
Wisconsin, April 2.5, 1886, a son of Joseph and Anna (Phillips) Wood, the former born in
Buckinghamshire, England, and the latter in New York state. The father emigrated to the
United States in young manhood and eventually removed to Rapid River, Jliehigan. where
the mother died in 1908. He passed away in Biirlington in 1912 and both are buried at
Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
George D. Wood, who is an only child, attended school at Rapid River, Michigan, com-
pleting the high school course. He remaineil at home until 1004. when he entered the employ
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 165
of the Soo Line at Rapid River as assistant agent, in which capacity he continued for a year.
He then learned telegraphy and in 1905 accepted a position as operator at Courtenay, North
Dakota, where he remained until 1906, when he was made agent at Ambrose, this state. At
the end of eight months he was transferred to Lintonville, Minnesota, as relief agent and
two months later was stationed at Watkins, that state, where he remained for a year. At
the end of that time in 1908 he was made agent at Burlington and has since held that posi-
tion. He is always courteous in his dealings with the patrons of the road and manages wisely
the interests intrusted to him.
• On the 7th of January, 1908, Mr. Wood was married to Miss Louise Greenwood, who
was born in Minnesota, of the marriage of Frank and Roselina (Carroll) Greenwood, both
natives of Missouri. The father removed with his family to Watkins, Minnesota, where he
engaged in farming for a number of years. He was also city marshal and was well known
and highly esteemed in tlie community. He is now residing in Harvey, North Dakota, and
is in the employ of the Soo Line. Mr. and Mrs. Wood have three children: Joseph Harland,
four years of age; George Frank; and JIarian.'
Mr. Wood gives his political allegiance to the republican party, but has never sought
office, his railroad duties having required his undivided time and attention. The principles
which guide his life are found in the teachings of the Congregational church, to which he
belongs, and his fraternal connection is with the Order of Railroad Telegraphers. His life
has been one of continued and useful activity and his enterprise and good judgment insure
still greater success in the future.
HARRY STEPHEN OLIVER.
On the list of Lisbon's honored dead appears the name of Harry Stephen Oliver, who
was born at Mayville. New York, July 37, 1855, and died May 20, 1909. In the early 'SOs
he had removed to Ransom county, becoming a resident of Lisbon and a farmer on the
fertile prairies of that district. His intense activity and his inborn love of labor soon made
him a foremost promoter of the development and improvement of the county and his fellow
townsmen, appreciating his worth and ability, conferred upon him various honors which he
well merited and which he wore with becoming modesty. He was elected a member of the
territorial legislature of Dakota as well as of the state legislature following the division and
he wielded a powerful influence in the politics of the fourth judicial district. In 1897 he was
appointed postmaster of Lisbon and made a creditable record in that position. He was an
active leader in civic afl'airs and at all times stood for those things which are a matter of
civic virtue and civic pride. For a considerable period he served on the board of education
and instituted various progressive movements and reforms along educational and other lines.
He was also a member and president of the Oakwood Cemetery Association and did much to
beautify and adorn the city of the dead. Every phase of his character served to establish
him in high regard and endear him to those with whom he was closely associated.
On the 25th of .June, 1879, Mr. Oliver was married to Miss Florence Waterhouse, who
was born at Exeter, Maine, January 24, 1856, a daughter of Dr. A. and Sarah (Alden) Water-
house, both of whom were born and reared in Maine. In 1859 they removed with their
family to Portland, Maine, where the father engaged in the active practice of his profession
until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he became chief surgeon with the division under
General George H. Thomas and remained in that connection until the close of hostilities.
When the war ended he went to Jamestown, New York, where he continued in the active
practice of medicine until his death, which occurred January 3, 1893. His wife. Mrs. Sarah
(Alden) Waterhouse, was a descendant of the famous John Alden who figured so prominently
in the early history of Massachusetts. She died .June 17, 1889. In their family of three
children Sirs. Oliver was the second and by her marriage she became the mother of three
children: Katherine, who was born April 7, 1881, and died in 1883; Frederick A., who was
born November 13, 1884, and is a graduate of the Dakota State College, now practicing law
at Lisbon and living with his mother; and Harry W., who was born May 24, 1886. He was
166 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
graduated June 7, 1915, from the George Washington University of Washington, D. C, with
the M. D. degree and died in January, 1916.
It was on the 20th of May, 1909, in Lisbon, that the husband and father, ILarry S.
Oliver, passed away and in his death Lisbon lost one of its most vaUied citizens, liis associ-
ates a faithful friend and his family a devoted husband and father. He was of a genial and
joyous nature, being loved by all who came in contact with him. and his memory is enshrined
in the hearts of all who knew him. He enjoyed in fullest measure the confidence and love
of his JIasonic brethren. He was made a Jlason in Mount Moriah Lodge of Jamestown,
New York, September 15, 1876, and became a charter member of Sheyenne Valley lodge of
Lisbon. He was exalted in Valley Point Chapter, R. A. M., at Cuba, New York, becoming a
charter member of the Lisbon chapter and its high priest in 1894. He was knighted in St.
Elmo Commandery at Valley City, North Dakota, and became a charter member of Ivanhoe
Commandery, K. T., of Lisbon, of which he was eminent commander for five years. He was
also eminent grand commander of North Dakota during 1906. He was an early member of
the Lisbon Lodge of Perfection, A. & A. S. R.. which found in him an active worker, and in
1898 he became a member of the Mystic Shrine at Fargo. He also belonged to the Ancient
Order of United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen of America and in the latter was one
of the most prominent of the state oflicers and also a member of the sovereign body, while
of the insurance commission of that order he was a member. His nature was largely
expressed in his love of dumb animals and of flowers. Strong and forceful, he was at the
same time gentle, courteous and kindly, and the beauty and simplicity of his daily life won
for him the high honor and lasting regard of all.
Mrs. Oliver still makes her home in Lisbon and, like her husband, has exerted a widely
felt influence over public thought and action. She was state president of the Woman's Fed-
eration of Clubs from 1902 until 190C and fed<'ration secretary from 1906 until 1910. She
is likewise a member of Minerva Chapter, No. 63, 0. E. S., in which she has held several
offices. She is now the secretary of the Lisbon public library, is a member of the Civic
League of the city and of the First Presbyterian church of Lisbon, in which she is secretary
of the board of trustees. She takes an active and helpful interest in all branches of church
work and in all those forces which work for the uplift and betterment of the individual.
SANDER E. LEE.
Sander E. Lee, cashier and one of the directors of the Owinner State Bank at Gwinner,
Sargent county, was born at Gol Hallingdal, Norway, on the 8th of November, 1875. His
education was partly acquired in his native country where he remained until he reached the
age of seventeen years and then sailed from Cliristiania for the United States, landing at
New York. He did not tarry on the Atlantic coast, but at once made his way across the
country to Iowa and established his home near Sioux Rapids owing to the fact that he had
relatives living in that locality. He there obtained his English education and remained in
that locality for about eleven years. During that period he had engaged to some extent in
farming, part of the time on his own account, and he there also learned the creamery business
and conducted a creamery in that district. For one year he was connected with a general
merchandising store at Wyndmere, North Dakota, to which place he removed in 190-4.
After living there for a year he organized the Wyndmere Creamery Company of which he
was made manager for two years, but at the end of that time he turned his attention to the
banking business, becoming assistant cashier of the Bank of Wyndmere, in which connection
he continued for nine months.
At the end of that period Jfr. Lee removed to Gwinner in November, 1907, and took
charge of the Gwinner State Bank as cashier. This bank was organized in 1904 with a
capital stock of $10,000.00, its first officers beiny T. F. IMarshall. president; A. N. Carlblom,
vice president: .1. E. Boundy, cashier, with F. W. Vail and H. C. McCarthy also on the board
of directors. The present officers are A. N. Carlblom, president; H. H. Berg, of Jlilnor, vice
president; S. E. Lee, cashier, and E. O. Johnson, assistant cashier. The capital stock of the
company was increased to $20,000,00 in 1912 and the surplus and undivided profits now
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 167
aggregate $4,000.00. Moreover, in 1911 they built a new bank building at a cost of
$8,500.00 which is very complete in its equipment. In addition to his bank interests Mr. Lee
is connected vvitli farming and now cultivates a half section of land of which one hundred
and sixty acres are in White Stone Hill township, Sargent county, and the other tract of one
hundred and sixty acres is in Roseau county, Minnesota. He wisely and carefully directs
his business interests and is winning therefrom a substantial measure of success.
On the 7th of May, 1908, Mr. Lee was married in Sioux Rapids, Iowa, to Miss Lyda
Anderson, who was born near that city March 16, 1884. They have become the parents of
three children, Emmet, Sylvan and Margaret. The parents are members of the Lutheran
church and are mucli esteemed by reason of their sterling worth throughout the community
in which they live. In his political views Mr. Lee is an earnest republican and active in
township and county affairs, having filled a number of offices the duties of which he has dis-
charged with promptness and fidelity. He is regarded as a valuable addition to the business
circles of Sargent county for he is active with those men whose efforts are constituting a
strengthening force in the development and upbuilding of the district.
SAM HANSON.
Sam Hanson, manager of the Great Western elevator at Horace, North Dakota, is a repre-
sentative business man of the town and under his management the interests of the elevator
company have been carefully safeguarded. He was born in Norway on the 6th of January,
1869, a son of Hans Jacobson, who passed his entire life in that country.
Sam Hanson was reared under the parental roof and attended the public schools of Nor-
way in the pursuit of an education. In 1886, however, when seventeen years of age, he left
his native land and crossed the Atlantic to the United States, subsequently continuing his
journey westward to North Dakota. He located at Horace and for a number of years worked
as a farm hand but at length purchased a threshing outfit, which he operated for five or six
years. In 1897 he began his career as a grain buyer and for five years represented the
Monarch Elevator Company at Horace, but in 1902 assumed charge of the business of the
Great Western Elevator Company at Warren. The following year, however, he was trans-
ferred to Horace and for the past twelve years has had charge of the Great Western elevator
there. As he understands every phase of the grain business and as he gives the closest
attention to the management of the elevator, the volume of its trade has grown and it has
returned good dividends to its owners.
In 1896 occurred the marriage of Mr. Hanson and Miss Albertina Jenson, also a native
of Norway, and they have had six children, but two are deceased, those surviving being: K.
Cecelia, Adelia H., Reynold S., and Hedwig.
Mr. Hanson is a republican in politics and for four years has served as justice of the
peace. He is also president of the school board, proving capable and conscientious in the
discharge of his duties in those capacities. Fraternally he is identified with the Modern
Woodmen of America, in which he holds the office of clerk. He and his family hold member-
ship in the Norwegian Lutheran church and the sincerity of their religious faith is indicated
in the uprightness of their daily lives. Mr. Hanson takes a commendable interest in matters
pertaining to the advancement of liis community, and his public spirit is one of his strongest
characteristics.
JOHN D. GRAY.
John D. Gray, who has contributed to the development of commercial interests at Valley
City as secretary and general manager of the .John D. Gray Company, retail merchants, is
actuated in all that he does by a spirit of enterprise that never recognizes the possibility of
failure or defeat. Persistency of purpose has enabled him to overcome all obstacles and diflS-
culties and through orderly progression he has advanced steadily to success. He was born
168 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
iit ISoscobel, Wisconsin, on tlie I'Jth of Augvist, 1874, a son of Jonatlian and Susan (Bowles)
Uiay, the former a native of Oliio and the latter of England. When a young man Jonatlian
Ciray removed to Wisconsin, where he followed farming in the vicinity of Boscobel, meeting
with substantial success in his undertakings. To him and liis wife were born eight thildren,
of whom John D. was the youngest. The father was called to his final rest in I'Jll when
seventy-eight years of age.
John D. (Jray accompanied the family on their removal from Wisconsin to Iowa in 1SS2,
at which time the father purchased a farm which he cultivated and developed until ISUO and
then sold that property, removing to St. I'aul, Minnesota, in 1S93. John U. Gray was at that
time eighteen jears of age. After mastering the branches of learning taught in the public
schools he started out in the business world as a clerk in a grocery store. He entered the
employ of Ycrxa Brothers, with whom he continued for two years, after which he was for
thirteen years witli the wholesale grocery house conducted under the name of the P. H. Kelly
Company, which he represented as a clerk and afterward upon the road as a traveling sales-
man. Ambitious to engage in business for himself, he carefully saved his earnings until his
capital was sullicient to enable him in 1905 to embark in the grocery trade on his own account
at Valley Citj-. He entered into partnership with H. M. X'elzey, with whom he continued for
about two years, and when Jlr. Velzey witlidrew Jlr. Gray organized the John D. Gray Com-
pany, the first president being G. L. Famliam, who later was succeeded by General A. P.
Peakc. Mr. Gray became secretary and general manager of the organization and has so con-
tinued. The building which the company occupies was erected for it by George M. Young
and is leased by the John D. Gray Company. It has a frontage of seventy-five feet on Fifth
avenue and a depth of one hundred feet, with a basement under the entire building. The
upper story is now leased for ofHces. Originally the company handled only groceries, but has
added a stock of dry goods and theirs is one of the important retail houses in the south-
eastern part of the state.
On the 7th of January, 1903, Mr. Gray was married to Miss Cora Dwight, daughter of
Charles A. and Sybil Dwight, of Benson, Minnesota They had two children, but both died in
infancy. Jlr. and Jlrs. Gra3' are members of the Congregational church and he is a Koyal
Arch Mason and also a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He is a clean-
cut, enterprising business man, genial and courteous in manner, obliging in disposition, at
all times reliable and at all times alert to the opportunities for the attainment of success.
He carries a full line of high class groceries and dry goods, his store is characterized by
scrupulous cleanliness and the goods are systematically and tastefully arranged. Laudable
ambition has carried Mr. Gray into imjjortant relations and one of the strong elements of his
success is the fact that he has always continued in the business in which he embarked as a
j-oung salesman.
EDWARD HUNGER.
Ivlward Hunger, who was president of tlie Citizens National Bank of llaiikinson, was
also a largo landowner in Richland county and was recognized as one of its leading business
men. He was born in Rosenau, Germany, on the l.ltli of March, 181,'5, a son of Carl and
Carolina Hunger, both of whom died when he was but a child. He received his education
in the common schools and in his young manhood emigrated to the I'nited States and made
his way to Richland county. North Dakota, where he took up a homestead. At that time
settlers were few and far between and the work of development had scarcely been begun.
He brought his land under cultivation and made a number of improvements upon his home-
stead and subsequently took \ip a tree claim, which he held for nine years. In 1S8S he
removed to Hankinson and after spending a year in travel he engaged in merchandising,
which occupied his time and attention for eighteen years. In 1900 he established the Citizens
National Bank, of which he remained the head until his death. The institution is capitalized
for thirty thousand dollars, has a surphis of ten thousand dollars and average deposits of
one hundred and eighty thousand dollars. Its rapid and substantial growth was due in
large measure to the sagacity and b\isiness acumen of its president. He was also one of the
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA . 169
largest landowners in Richland county, owning many farms, comprising over fifteen liundred
acres of excellent land.
Mr. Hunger was married in 1868 to Miss Anna Hochheusler, a native of Germany, who
died in 1893, leaving a son, F. 0., who is now postmaster at Hankinson. In 1895 Mr. Hunger
waS married a second time. Miss Anna Johnson becoming his wife. She was born in Nor-
way, but came to this state from Fergus Falls, Minnesota.
Mr. Hunger was an adherent of the republican party and for fourteen years served on
the city council, while for some time he was a member of the school board, proving in both
capacities able and conscientious. His widow belongs to the Congregational church and takes
an active interest in its work. The principles which governed his conduct may be gathered
from the fact that he was a member of the Masonic order. He began to provide for his own
support when still a boy and thereafter depended upon his own resources and the financial
independence which he gained was proof of his energy and wise management. His honor and
reputation were beyond reproach, and his word was as good as his bond. He was honored
and respected by all who knew him and in his death, which occurred July 20, 1916, the com-
munity lost one of its most prominent and best known citizens.
EMIL EMANL'EL.
Emil Emanuel, one of the leading business men of Berthold, is conducting a hardware and
furniture store and is also engaged in the undertaking business. He was born in Germany
on the 2d of July, 1867, a son of Charles and Elenore (Aker) Emanuel, the former born in
1833 and the latter ten years later. The father served the required time in the German
army and was for a number of years overseer of a large estate in the fatherland. In 1867 he
emigrated with his family to the United States and settled in Princeton, Wisconsin, whence
he removed to Augusta, that state, where he passed away in 1906. His wife survives and
still resides there.
Emil Emanuel, who was the fourth in order of birth in a family of eight children,
attended tlie grammar and high schools in Augusta, Wisconsin, and when sixteen years of
ao-e began working for his brother, who was engaged in the furniture and undertaking busi-
ness in Milbank, South Dakota. After remaining there for seven years he returned to Wis-
consin and for eight years conducted a wholesale liquor business. Later for three years he
and his brother operated a meat market in Augusta, but in 1906 he came to Berthold, North
Dakota, where he has since resided. For two years he followed agricultural pursuits and
then purchased the hardware, furniture and undertaking business which he has since con-
ducted. He understands the problems that confront the retail merchant, follows up-to-date
methods and carries a large stock and as a result his patronage is large and profitable. He
has disposed of his farm and concentrates his energies upon the development of his mercan-
tile interests.
Mr. Emanuel was married on the 25th of September, 1885, to Miss Rose Berger, of
Augusta. Wisconsin, a daughter of August and Eve Berger, natives of Germany, where the
father passed away. He followed the occupation of farming and in young manhood served
the required time in the German army. The mother removed to Augusta, Wisconsin, in 1888
and died there in 1914. To Mr. and Mrs. Emanuel have been born six children. Herman A.,
who owns a meat market in Berthold, was married in December, 1915, to Miss Freda Hogan-
son, of Hingham, Montana. Emil A., who is assisting his father, was married in 1913 to
Miss Kate Whitman, of Berthold. Delia M. is the wife of Arthur Washburn, a telegraph
operator on tha Great Northern Railway. Harvey W. follows the tinner's trade and- also
assists in his father's store. He married Mildred Fredrickson and has two children, Verna
and Bruce. Arthur F. is likewise associated with his father in business. Eva is a graduate
of the Berthold grammar and high schools and is at home.
Mr. Emanuel supjiorts the candidates and measures of the democratic party at the
polls, and in religious faith is a German Lutheran. He is well known fraternally belonging
to Lodge No. 1089, B. P. 0. E.,.of Minot, Lodge No. 6, K. P., of Minot, the Modern Brother-
hood of America, of Berthold and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Berthold, in
170 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
wliich lie 1ms passed throiisli all the chairs. He is energetic, progressive and sound of judg-
ment, wliicli qualities have enabled him to gain a gratifying measure of prosperity, and his
genuine worth is acknowledged by all who know him. ,
THOMAS riTZMAURICE.
Thomas Fitziiuuiriec, an agricultural implement dealer of Mohall, and a representative
farmer and pioneer citizen of Renville county, was born in Braccbridge, Ontario, Canada, on
the 5th of January, 1870, and is a son of Edward and Frances (Stokes) Fitzmaurice, who are
mentioned elsewhere in this work in eoiuicction with tlie sketch of their son, Ur. F. S. Fitz-
maurice.
When a lad of ten years Thomas Fitzmaurice accompanied his parents on their removal
from Canada to the United States, at which time a location was made in Pembina. On
reaching manhood he bought a farm of one hundred and sixty acres adjoining the old home-
stead but for Some years thereafter continued to cooperate with his father in the development
of his farming enterprises. In 1901 Thomas F'itzniaurice homesteaded in what is now Renville
county, four miles north of Jlohall. and upon the property which he thus secured he con-
tinued to reside until 190.S. During the intervening period he bouglit more land, adding other
tracts adjoining his original holdings until 1908, at which time he was the owner of six
quarter sections in one body, or nine hundred and sixty; acres. Since then he has added
another quarter section to his holdings and is today one of the extensive landowners of his
part of the state. In the fall of 1908 he took up his abode in Mohall and established an
agricultural implement business. In the intervening period of eight years he has built up
an extensive trade and his patronage is now very large and gratifying, so that his annual
sales reach a profitable figure. During a portion of this time he continued to operate his
farm lands but has rccentlj' placed a tenant on his holdings.
In 1905 Mr. Fitzmaurice was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary Clifford, of Mohall, who
was born in Iowa, and they have one son, Thomas C. Mr. Fitzmaurice votes with the
democratic party but has never been an aspirant for public office. He has membership with
the Knights of Columbus and he and his wife are communicants of the Catholic faith. They
are greatly esteemed by reason of their genuine worth and Mr. Fitzmaurice has won a most
creditable position in business circles, steadily working his way upward through ability and
energy and winning that prosperity which is the merited reward of persistent and honorable
labor.
HAAKEN HAAKKNSON.
Among the many self-made men who have found in North Dakota opportunity for gain-
ing success is Haaken Haakenson, who owns an excellent farm on section 2. Normanna town-
ship, Cass county. A native of Norway, his birth occurred in Endresong on the 23d of
November, 1842. His father, Haaken Johnson, died in the land of the midnight sun.
Haaken Haakenson was educated in the common schools of his native country and con-
tinued to reside there until 18G9, in which year he crossed the Atlantic to the United States.
For three months he remained in Rock Prairie, Wisconsin, and then went to Mitchell county,
Iowa, where he lived for six years, working during that time as a farm hand. He practiced
the strictest economy and was able to save enough money to buy a yoke of oxen, with which
he dcove through to North Dakota in 1875. He was seven weeks in making tlfe trip and went
as far as Goose river, but not finding any desirable land in that part of the state, he retiirned
to Cass county, arriving in Fargo in July. At that time his sole capital was five dollars and
he not only had to support himself, but to provide for a wife and three children. He located
on eighty acres of his present farm, which he filed on as a preemption claim, but as he w^as
unable to make the payments thereon he later changed it to a homestead. In the meantime
a law had been passed permitting a person to file on one hundred and sixty acres as a home-
stead and he accordingly took up another eighty acres, making his farm a quarter section.
THOMAS FITZilAURICE
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 173
The first residence of the family in this state was a log cabin fourteen by sixteen feet, with
a sod roof, and later when his mother came from Norway to make her home with him he
built an addition eight by twelve feet. After living in that cabin for fifteen years Mr.
Haakenson erected his present substantial and commodious residence. He added two hundred
acres to his holdings, but has since sold forty acres, his present farm comprising three hun-
dred and twenty acres. The land is all in a high state of cultivation and yields good crops
annually, which find a ready sale on the market.
Mr. Haakenson was married in Norway, the spring before emigrating to this country,
to Miss Carrie Knudson. Ten children have been born to this union, but two are now
deceased, those surviving being: Caroline, the wife of Henry Huseby, of Normanna town-
ship, this county ; Osta, the wife of Martin Stenberg, also a resident of Normanna township ;
Anna, who married Andrew J. B.jerke, a lumber dealer of Sharon, this state; Knute, at home;
Christine, the wife of John Stenberg, who is engaged in the butcher business in Fargo; Hilda
J., the wife of Oscar Tostrud, of Fargo; Carl, also residing in Fargo; and Henry, who with
his brother Knute is operating tlie home fann. The two brothers are also stockholders in
the Farmers Elevator Company of Horace and in St. Luke's Hospital of Fargo.
The family belong to the Norwegian Lutheran church, the work of which they further
in every way possible, and their lives are guided by its teachings. In developing and improv-
ing his farm Mr. Haakenson has contributed to the agricultural development of his county
as well as to his individual success and he is justly considered one of its valued citizens.
DAVID ARTHUR DINNIF.
David Arthur Dinnie is a prominent contractor who has erected most of the larger
buildings at Minot. In this connection he has gained a prominent place in business circles,
but his name has become perhaps even more widely known throughout tlie country as the
owner of pacing horses with world records. He was born in Ontario, Canada, August 1, 1865,
a son of John and Mary (Gow) Dinnie, who were natives of Edinburg, Scotland, in which
country they were reared and married. Crossing the Atlantic about 1840, they settled in
Canada, where the father, who made farming his life occupation, died in 1900. He had long
survived his wife, who passed away in 1868. They were the parents of fourteen children,
twelve of whom reached adult age.
David Arthur Dinnie, the youngest of the family, practically had no educational oppor-
tunities and he has learned his life's lessons in the school of experience. He left his father's
home in April before attaining his tenth year and was employed on farms until fourteen
years of age. On the 3d of April, 1893, he made his way to Grand Forks, North Dakota, and
in that locality was employed at farm labor for two years. He afterward began learning
the brick maker's trade with his brothers and in 1899 he took up the work of general con-
tracting at Grand Forks, continuing in the business there until January 24, 1901, when he
removed to Minot and disposed of his interests at Grand Forks, where he had owned the land
that now constitutes the fair grounds at that place and which he sold to the fair association.
He removed to Minot because of the promising outlook of the town and at once established
business as a contractor. He has erected practically all of the larger buildings that have
been put up in the city since that time and he has acquired a large amount of IMinot real
estate, including both residence and business property. The important nature of his work
is indicated in the fact that he was awarded the contract for the erection of the State Normal
School, the International Harvester Company building, the high school and other prominent
structures and is now engaged in the building of the Parker Hotel. In 1906 he became inter-
ested in fine driving stock and at this time owns the champion father and daughter of the
world, Don Densmore, with a record of 3:02 1-4, and Sayde Densraore, with a record of 2:02.
He has altogether about thirty head of fine draft horses and other splendid stock, including
fourteen liead of standard bred horses. He came to North Dakota with less than a dollar
and he is now one of the prosperous and substantial citizens of the western part of the state.
His property interests in Minot include the Dinnie flats and also ground one hundred by one
hundred and forty feet on which his stables have been built. He trains and develops his
Vol. n— 10
174 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
horses in Minot and he may be justly proud of tlic fact that two of his animals have made
world records in pacing. His racing interests, however, are merely a diversion with him,
although he is a tliorough horseman and splendid judge of horse flesh. He keeps his stock
merely for pastime and pleasure.
On the 1st of February, 1893, Mr. Dinnie was married to Miss Elizabeth Delaney, who
was born at Henderson, Minnesota, a daughter of Timothy and Margaret Uelaney, who in
1883 took up their abode upon a farm south of Arvilla, North Dakota, where the fatlier still
resides, but the mother jiassed away in 1912.
In politics Mr. Dinnie is a republican, but is without aspiration for office. He belongs
to the Elks lodge and also to the Knights of Pythias lodge at Minot. He has a wide and
favorable acquaintance in this part of the state and he is most highly esteemed where best
known. He certainly deserves much credit for what he has accomplished and his life record
proves what maj- be done by an individual of resolute will and purpose who is not afraid of
hard work.
HARRY C. EDBLOM.
Harry C. Edblom, publisher of the Prairie Press at Gwjnner, was born in Litchfield,
Minnesota, May 27, 1890, a son of Charles and Hanna (Johnson) Edblom, who reside in the
vicinity of Litchfield. For a long period the father was engaged in the real estate business
but is now living retired, enjoying a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves.
Harry C. Edblom obtained his education in the schools of Litchfield and there resided
until 1908, when he left home and went to Frazee, Minnesota. He had previously learned
the printer's trade and when eighteen years of age he accepted the position of foreman on
the Free Press of Frazee. remaining in that connection for a year and a half. He was next
employed in the office of the Headliglit at Staples, where he remained for a year and a half,
and on the expiration of that period came to Gwinner, North Dakota, where lie worked on
the Prairie Press for a time. He afterward purchased the paper, put in new equipment and
now has the best equipped printing office in Sargent county and the only full page press in
the county. He is making good here, giving to the public an attractive news sheet, and his
circulation and advertising patronage are constantly increasing. In addition to his journa-
listic connections Mr. Edblom is interested in insurance and ether lines of business. He makes
his n('wspa])er publication, however, his foremost interest and has the record of having issued
the largest paper in the state of North Dakota, The Prairie Press was organized June 20,
1908, at Ciete. and was printed at Wahpcton, North Dakota, its owner being Edward W.
Spencer, who conducted it for a year and a half. He then removed to Gwinner, where he
established a small newspaper plant, conducting the business until he sold out to Mr. Edblom
on the Ist of March, 1913. The new equipm?nt that has been added by Mr. Edblom cost
about thirty-five hundred dollars and there is no phase of the business that does not indicate
his progressive spirit and enterprise.
In his political views Mr. Edblom is a republican and his religious faith is that of the
Episcopal church. He is a very progressive business man, alert, wide-awake and enterpris-
ing, and his interests are of a character tliat contribute to public progress as well as to
individual success.
^VILLIAM J. CARROLL.
William J. Carroll is the owner of Minot property and farm lands and his life record is
indicative of the opportunities offered in this state, for his success has all practically been
attained since he took up his abode within its borders. He was born at Inverness, Canada,
February 10, 1862, a son of James and Mary (Rady) Carroll. The mother's birth occurred
at New Ireland, Canada, while the father's birth occurred in the country of Ireland, whence
he came to the new world when seven years of age. He made farming his life work and died
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 175
in Canada about 1900. His widow still resides in that country. They had a family of fifteen
children, of whom William J. is the eldest.
After attending the public schools of Canada, William J. Carroll left home when a youth
of seventeen and began workfng for others in the woods and in sawmills in Vermont and New
Hampshire. He arrived in North Dakota in 18S3 and was employed on a farm near Mayville
until he became engaged in business at that place. In February, 1887, he removed to Minot,
where he purchased property and established a bakery, but on the same day his establishment
was destroyed by fire, causing him a loss of two thousand dollars. He then went overland to
Williston, where he took a steamboat and returned to Fort Benton, driving from there to
Great F'alls. In the fall of 1887 he again arrived at Minot, where in connection with E. K.
Sykes he engaged in business, which claimed his time and energies for ten years. On the expi-
ration of that period he turned his attention to the business of shipping cattle and horses to
eastern markets and is still active in that field of labor. In 1899 he purchased a ranch on the
Knife river, where he engaged in the stock business for a number of years, having at times as
many as two thousand head of stock on his place. He discontinued the conduct of his ranch,
however, about 1905, although he continued to deal in range horses until 1915, when the range
was opened to settlement. He is the owner of business and residence property in Minot
and in 1909 he built the Carroll flats, which are unfurnished apartments. He also has other
property and is still the owner of farm lands in this state. His business afl'airs have
steadily grown in volume and importance and he is accounted one of the leading and repre-
sentative business men of his city.
On the 13th of January, 1893, Mr. Carroll was united in marriage to Miss Stella Hopper,
a native of Green Island, Iowa, and a daughter of James J. and Julia (Elder) Hopper, who
were born in Indiana and Iowa respectively. Mr. Hopper engaged in merchandising and also
in the live stock business. His wife died during the infancy of their daughter and by the
father's death she was left an orphan when twelve years of age. She attended the high
school at Maquoketa, Iowa, and was one of the first school teachers of Ward county, teach-
ing in a little log schoolhouse into whicli the gophers would frequently creep, sitting up on
the floors and benches as though listening to the proceedings of the pupils. When the school
grew large enough to require the services of two teachers, Mrs. Carroll and Mr. C. A.
.Johnson, now editor of the Optic-Eeporter, were in charge. Mrs. Carroll is a lady of broad
mind, liberal views and marked culture and has done much to mold the high intellectual and
social standards of the community. By her marriage she has become the mother of two
children, namely: Ruth, who is a graduate of the Minot high school, attended the State
University of North Dakota at Grand Forks for two years and is now a student in the
University of Minnesota; and William Glenn, who has attended the College of St. Thomas
at St. Paul and Shattuck Military School at Faribault, Minnesota. He is now at the Mexi-
can border with the First North Dakota regiment.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Carroll hold membershiii in the Episcopal church. The former is a
life member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles at Minot and also belongs to the Knights of
Pythias and to Lodge No. 1089 of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks at Minot, being
the third to join the organization at Grand Forks and becoming one of the first Elks in the
state. Mrs. Carroll belongs to the Ladies Relief Corps, the Pythian Sisters and the Musical
Club, the last named being a woman's organization at Minot. In politics Mr. Carroll is a
stalwart republican and for four years, from 1898 until 1902, served as sherift' of the county.
He and his family are most widely and favorably known in Minot and that part of the state
and are accounted among its most valued residents.
OLE A. KALDOR.
Ole A. Kaldor, the present efficient and popular county treasurer of Traill county, is one
of the best known residents of Hillsboro. His birth occurred in Norway on the 8th of May,
1873, and he is a son of Anders and Anna KalJor, also natives of that country. The family
removed to America in 1873 and coming at once to the northwest, located on a homestead
in Traill county. North Dakota. The father devoted his time to the improvement and oper-
176 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
ation of that place until I'JIO, whun he removed to lliUsburo, where both he and liis wife
are now living, enjoying a period of leisure made possible by their former efficient labor.
Four of their seven children survive and all are residents of Traill county.
()le A. Kaldor attended the common schools in the acquircniMit of his early education
and was later a student in a business college at Minneapolis, lie remained on the home farm
until ho became of age and then went to Ward county, this state, where he liled on a
homestead. Through assisting his father witli the work of the home farm he became thor-
oughly familiar with agricultural pursuits and was very successful in the cultivation of
his land. At the end of eight years he sold that place and, returning to Traill county, pur-
chased the Kaldor homestead on section 20, Norw'ay township, which comprises two hundred
and forty acres of splendidly improved land. After living there for three years he removed
to Hillsboro, where he has since resided. He is now filling the office of countj' treasurer and
is making an excellent record in that capacity, being systematic, prompt and accvirate in the
discharge of his duties. His integrity has always been above question, and the confidence
which his constituents have placed in him is w'cU deserved.
In 1901 occurred the marriage of Jlr. Kaldor and Miss Lena Veikley, who was also born
in Norway. They are the parents of three children. May Adelia. Archie J. and Floyd O.
Mr. Kaldor is a stanch adherent of llie republican party and has served on the school board
and has held other township olfices. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Lutheran
Free church, and their influence is invariably given on the side of right and progress. Both
have a wide acquaintance and their genuine worth is attested by the fact that those who
have been the most intimately associated with them are their warmest friends.
PETER VANDENOEVER.
Peter Vandenoever is engaged in tlie real estate business ami in speculative building
at Minot and his efforts along business lines have been an important element in the develop-
ment and improvement of the city. He was born in Alto township, Wisconsin, May 4, 1836,
his parents being Richard and Harriet (Van Mauerick) Vandenoever, both of whom were
natives of Holland, in which country they were reared and married. They had a family of
eight children, of whom Peter was the seventh in order of birth. In the year 1852 they
crossed the Atlantic to the new world and took up their abode at Grand Island, New York,
near Niagara Falls, remaining tliere for about two years. At the expiration of that period
they removed to Alto townshi]), Wisconsin, where the father engaged in farming \intil 1860,
when he removed with his familj' to Mower county, Minnesota. He died in 1893, when on
his way back to his home from a visit in the old country. His death occurred in Boston
and he had there been buried when his son Peter learned of it and removed the body to
Dexter, Minnesota. His military record covered six years' service in the regular army in
Holland. His widow survived him and passed away in Dexter. ]\Iinncsota, in 1904.
Peter Vandenoever attended school in Minnesota and made his home with his parents
until twenty-four years of age. after which he began working for others as a farm hand,
Ijeing thus employed until a year after his marriage. On the 1st of June, 1882, he wedded
Miss Charlotte Funderhido, who was born on Greenwood Prairie, thirteen miles northeast of
Rochester, Minnesota, her parents being John and Amelia (Delozier) Funderhide, natives of
Maryland and Pennsylvania .respectively. They became early settlers of Minnesota, in
which state the father followed farming until his demise in 1883. The mother still survives
at the age of eighty-seven years and makes her home at Elkton, South Dakota. They
became the parents of eight children, Mrs. Vandenoever being the fifth in order of birth.
She acquired her education in the district schools of Minnesota.
A year after his marriage Mr. Vandenoever became ])roprietor of a hotel in Dexter,
Minnesota, which he conducted for about two years. He afterward dealt in grain and was
manager of a lumber yard for one and one-half years and was also active in the real estate
field, handled machinery and twine and had still other business interests at that place for
fifteen years. During that period he purchased fifty acres of land adjoining the town and
laid out two additions, known as Vandenocvor's first and second additions to Dexter. He
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 177
also engaged in buying stock and continued Ids residence at tliat place until the fall of
1901, when he filed on a claim near Surrey, Ward county. On the 17th of April, 1903, he
removed his family to Minot and relinquished the claim. In this part of the state, however,
he purchased a large amount of land and engaged in buying and selling land and city prop-
erty. He has since been engaged in the real estate business and he now has ten houses and
lots in Minot and is building more, being successfully engaged in speculative building as
well as in the real estate business at the present time. He now owns about eight hundred
■ acres of farm land in this county which he rents, while he concentrates his energies upon the
management of his real estate interests and his cily properties. At one time he was a stock-
holder in the Union National Bank but has withdrawn from that organization.
Mr. and Mrs. Vandenoever have nine children, as follows: Maud Agnes, the wife of
George Vermilya, who is engaged in the abstract business at Towner, North Dakota;
Clarence Peter, residing at home, who acts as deputy sheriff of Ward county; Chester Ter-
renes, who resides at Great Falls, Montana, is engaged in the milling business, is a stock-
holder in the Royal Milling Company and wedded Miss Lillian Stewart, of Everett, Wash-
ington; Josephine Mary, at home; Justin Francis, e.xpert driver of an auto truck in the
Minot fire department; Florence Amelia, at home; and Genevieve Charlotte, Enid Cecelia and
Cornelia Meredith, who are also yet under the parental roof.
Mr. Vandenoever holds membership with the Yeomen, as does his wife, and he belongs
also to the Modern Woodmen of America, while Mrs. Vandenoever is connected with the
Daughters of Isabella. Their religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church and in
politics Mr. Vandenoever is a stalwart republican. He is the present commissioner from the
first district of Ward county, serving for the third year, and he was on the city board for
six years as alderman and commissioner. As a member of the board of aldermen he served
on the finance committee and on the committee on streets and bridges. He was clerk of
the school board af Dexter, Minnesota, and was constable of his township at the same time.
He was administrator of his father's estate, has also been chosen to administer other estates
and is now acting as guardian of the children of five families. He is also serving as humane
oflftcer in Minot and he has made a most excellent record in every relation of life, holding to
high standards of manhood and of citizenship.
HON. ELLING SEVERSON.
Hon. Elling Severson has served as a member of the state legislature for three terms
and has gained a prominent place in agricultural and business circles of Cass county. He is
now president of the Farmers elevator at Kindred and owns seven hundred and twenty acres
of excellent land in Normanna township. His birth occurred in Dane county, Wisconsin, on
the 29th of October, 1853, and he is a son of Andrew and Martha (Flatland) Severson, natives
of Norway, who emigrated to the United States in 1844 and located in Wisconsin. Subse-
quently they removed to Goodhue county, Minnesota, wliere they lived until called by death.
Eight of the ten children born to them are still living.
Elling Severson received a common school education and remained at home until 1880,
when he removed to North Dakota and located upon his present home farm on section 3,
Normanna township, Cass county. As soon as possible he brought his land under cultivation
and as the years have passed he has made many excellent improvements thereon, as that place
is now one of the valuable and attractive farm properties of the locality. He has bought land
from time to time and now owns seven hundred and twenty acres, from which he receives
a good income. He is also president of the Farmers Elevator Company at Kindred, and
the success of that enterprise is due in no small measure to his energy and good judgment.
On the 3d of February, 1880, occurred the marriage of Mr. Severson and Miss Gertrude
Lee. She is a native of Norway and a daughter of Nels and Ambier Lee, both of whom are
deceased. By her marriage she has become the mother of the following children: Emma;
Nellie; Martina, who is now teaching school; Cora, also a teacher by profession; Geneva,
who is attending high school; Martius; Elmer; and four deceased.
Mr. Severson has supported the republican party since age conferred upon him the
178 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
right of franchise. He has long been recognized as a leader in politics and for three terms
he served ably as a member of the state legislature. He has also been on the school board
and for several years was chairman of the board of supervisors. His success is proof of his
foresight and enterprise, as when lie came to this state he was without capital and witliout
inlluential friends and as through all tlie intervening years he has relied ujiou his own
resources. He is widely and favorably known througliout the county, and his personal
friends are many.
JOHN GREEN.
Much of the progress of a communit\' is due to its business men and John Green, wlio
is engaged in the hardware business in Hankinson, has contributed to tlie development of
that town as well as gained individual success. He was born in Carver county, Minnesota,
on the 9th of November, 1865, a son of John and Maggie Green, natives of Wurtemberg,
German^'. He came to the United States when a young man of twenty-eight years and slie
emigrated to this country in her girlhood. They were married in Baltimore and for a time
lived in the east, where the father worked as a laborer. Subsequently they removed to Jlin-
nesota and at the outbreak of the Oil war Mr. Green entered the Union army, with which
he served for three years. At the close of hostilities he returned to Minnesota and from
that time until his death in 1895 concentrated his energies upon farming, in which he met
with gratifying success. Politically he was an adherent of the democratic party and his
religious faith was that of the Catholic church. He was a quiet, unassuming man and his
genuine worth gained liim the friendship of those who knew him intimately. To him and
liis wife were born eight children, of whom our subject is the third in order of birth.
John Green was educated in the common schools of his native county and subsequently
learned the harness maker's trade, which he followed from his seventeenth year until 1898,
•when he removed to Hankinson, this state. He engaged in the furniture business there on
a small scale and also continued to work at his trade and as the years passed he gained
prosperity. He now owns a large hardware store and as he keeps a well selected line of
goods of high quality and follows a liberal business policy his patronage has grown steadily
and is now of gratifying proportions. He also owns a store at New Eftington, South Dakota.
His business interests are conducted under the style of Green & Son and the lirm is recog-
nized as a factor in the commercial expansion of tlie town.
In 1887 occurred the marriage of Mr. Green and Miss Sarah A. Poppler, also a native
of Carver county, Minnesota, and tliey have ten children, seven sons and three daughters:
E. L., a druggist of Hankinson; R. C, who is in business with his father; F. W., a druggist
of New Elfington, i^jouth Dakota; Evangeline, who is studying music and art; Edwin \V.,
who is associated with his fatlier in business; Katlierine, a high school graduate; and
Walden, Lowell, Evcretta and Koswyn. all iif whom are at home.
Mr. Green votes the democratic ticket and takes a commendable interest in public
affairs. For nine years he served on the school board and for twelve years has been a mem-
ber of the city council. Fraternally he belongs to the Foresters, in which he has passed
through all of the chairs and to the Knights of Columbus, while his religious faith is that
of the Roman Catholic church. He has gained the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens
and there are many who hold him in warm personal regard.
JAY H. MAT.TBY.
Jay H. Maltby. owner and publisher of the Forman Independent News, has been identi-
fied with that paper for about thirteen years and his work in that connection has resulted
iu giving to tlie community a newspaper of interest and value to its readers. He was born
in the state of New York and there resided during his early boyhood, after which he
:accorapanied his parents on their removal westward to Detroit, Minnesota, where he became
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 179
foreman of a newspaper known as the Detroit Record, continuing in that position for several
years. When quite young he spent two years with the Bottineau Pioneer of North Dakota.
In 1892 he became connected with the Milnor Teller, which he continued to publish for nine
years, at the end of which time he sold the paper and removed to Bufl'alo, North Dakota,
where he published the Buffalo Express. There he continued for six months, when he went
to Davenport and published the Davenport News for two j'ears. In July, 1903, he moved
liis plant to Forman and began the publication of the Forman News, the first issue being
brought from the press on the 31st of July, 1903. He continued the publication of that
paper until 1911 and on the '30th of October of that 3'ear he purchased the Sargent County
Independent, which had been established in May, 1888. He then consolidated the two papers,
bringing out the first issue of the Forman Independent News on the 20th of October, 1911.
This he still publishes and has made it an attractive journal for the people of the district,
being given to the dissemination of local as well as general news. Through the columns of
the paper he enters upon a frank and free discussion of many important public problems
and his articles are most interestmg and readable and the political complexion of the paper
reflects his belief in the efficacy and value of republican principles.
Mr. JMaltby was married in Minneapolis, ilinnesota, to Miss Alice Hostettor, who was
born in southern Minnesota and there continued to make her home up to the time of her
marriage. They ha've a family of seven children : Allan J., who is now assistant editor of
the paper; and Violet, Belva, George D., Floy, Francis V. and Anna, all at home.
Mr. Maltby belongs to the Masonic lodge at Milnor, of which he is a past master, and
he also has membership with the Yeomen at • Mapleton and with the Ancient Order of
United Workmen at Forman. His political allegiance has always been given to the repub-
lican party and foj- four years he filled the office of justice of the peace at Forman, making
a creditable record by the fair and impartial manner in which he discharged his duties and
rendered his decisions. He now concentrates his entire interest in the paper and has a sub-
stantial plant, well equipped with modern machinery and presses. He is a well known
newspaper man of his section of the state, his record being at all times an expression of the
highest standards in newspaper publication.
JOHN W. SAMUELSON.
.John W. Samuelson, who established the first exclusive shoe store in Minot, in which
business he is still engaged, is also identified with other commercial enterprises of the city,
being the majority stockholder in the Ledstrom Furniture Company. He was likewise the
builder of the Samuelson block and in many ways has contributed to the substantial improve-
ment of the city in which he makes his home. A native of Sweden, Mr. Samuelson was born
in Halmstad, July 21, 1879, a son of Samuel and Mary Anderson, who are also natives of
Sweden, in which country they are still living, the father there devoting his attention to
farming.
John W. Samuelson is the youngest of their four children. He attended school in
Sweden but before reaching the age of seventeen years left home and crossed the Atlantic to
America. He located at Merrill, Lincoln county, Wisconsin, and was employed in a shoe
store for about a year. In 1897 he arrived in Minot and for two years spent his time in the
employ of the Great Northern Railroad Company or on a farm. In the spring of 1899 he
established the first exclusive shoe store in the city and has carried on the business since
that time, enjoying a constantly increasing trade proportionate to the growth of the city's
population. In 1903 he erected the Samuelson block, his store occupying the lower floor,
with the Independent office in the basement, while the upper floors are rented for office
purposes. Broadening the scope of his business connections in 1915, he organized the Led-
strom Furniture Company, which is also one of the profitable commercial undertakings of
the city.
On August 2, 1902, Mr. Samuelson was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary .Johnson, a native
of Lyle, Minnesota, and a daughter of Hans and Andria .Johnson, both of whom were born
in Norway. Thej' came to Minot in 1887 and the father has since been identified with agri-
180 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
cultural pursuits in tliis state, rosiding on his farm in the summer months and in the town
of Jlinot tIuuuj;liout the winter season. Jlr. and Mrs. 8amuelson liave four eliihlren, namely:
Harlow \\'alfrid, Knsel Samuel, Alice Jlarie and Carl Arnold.
Fraternally Mr. Samuelson is a prominent Mason, holding membcrshii) in the lodge,
chapter and commandcry at Minot and in the Mystic Shrine at Grand Forks. He is also
identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and his religious faith is indicated
by his membership in the Lutheran church. In politics he is a republican, somewhat inde-
pendent, for while he believes in the principles of the party, he often votes regardless of party
ties at local elections where no national issue is involved. He has never desired office, having
always concentrated his attention upon his business interests, and along the line of earnest
effort intelligently directed he has won the success which is now his, making him one of tlio
most substantial citizens of ilinot. He has never allowed obstacles or dilliculties to deter
him and when one avenue of oiiportunity has seemed closed he has sought out otlier paths
leading to the desired goal.
willia:m abial scott.
William Abial Scott, the president of the Pioneer Life Insurance Company of North
Dakota, and a well-known resident of Fargo, is a man who at all times is notably prompt,
energetic and reliable in business connections. His plans are ever well defined and carefully
executed, and while not all dajs in his career have been equally bright, the trend of his busi-
ness life has been along the line of progress and advancement and he has won for himself
a place among the substantial residents of his adopted city and state.
Mr. Scott, seventh generation in New England, is a native of Peterboro, New Hamp-
shire. He was born December 8. 1856, of the marriage of Albert S. and Anna (Sawyer)
(daughter of Abial and Sybil Buss Sawyer) Scott. Albert S., the son of William and
Phylinda Crossfield Scott, was a lawyer by profession and spent bis entire life in Peter-
boro, distinguished in his day and generation. Anna Sawyer was of the fourth generation
of tlie Sawyer family in the adjacent village of .Sharon, New Hampshire.
Three generations of the Scott family, father, son and grandson, saw service in the
Revolutionary war. The founder of the family in America was Alexander Scott, who was
born in Derry county, Ireland, and came to the new world with his wife Margaret and family
in the year 1734. He settled in Lancaster, Massachusetts. Later his son, Alexander, and
a brother (another son), William Scott, and Alexander's father-in-law, William Robb, were
three of the five men who founded, from 1735 to 1750, the town of Peterboro, New Hamp-
shire, Alexander Scott conducting the first hotel in that place. Major William Scott, son of
the before named Alexander Scott, and Margaret Robb, was a native of Townsend, Massa-
chusetts, and he, having seen service in the French war, and two of his sons, saw twenty-
eight years' service with the Colonial army in the war which brought independence to the
nation, one son being John Scott, the great-grandfather of William A. Scott, through his
son William by his first wife Bethiah Ames. Major William Scott married Phebe Woods,
daughter of Jonathan and Mary (Page) Woods, and through these marriages Mr. Scott traces
his ancestry to the Stevens, Show, Dempster, Minot, Adams and other families interwoven
in New England affairs from the beginning.
No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of life for William A. Scott
in his boyhood days, spent in Peterboro, his time being largely passed in the attainment
of a public school education until he graduated from the Peterboro high school with the class
of 1874. He, just as his father before him and his son since, entered the Phillips Exeter
Academy. He was a member of the class of 1877 and there continued his studies for one
year, at the end of which time he became a student in the law office and under the direction
of his father. He next entered Dartmouth College, as his father had done, becoming a
member of the class of 1880, and there completed the work of the freshman year. Upon
his father's death, in August, 1877, however, he left college and removed west, settling in
Manhattan, Kansas.
It was his intention to engage in the cattle business, hut not receiving the financial
WILLIAM A. SCOTT
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 183
assistance he expected, in tlie spring of 1878 he went to Topelia, Kansas, and continued
reading law in the offices of G. C. Clemens and John G. Searles, being admitted to the bar
on tlie 8th of February, 1879. At that time he located for practice in Russell, Kansas,
but the following year returned to Manhattan, where he became a member of the firm
of Sawyer & Scott in the conduct of a law, loan and insurance business. During his resi-
dence there Mr. Scott was elected to the ofBce of city attorney and was chairman of the
republican county central committee of Riley county.
In January, 1881, Mr. Scott visited his home folks and wedded Miss Mary Ellen Wright,
of Walthara, Massachusetts, to whom he was engaged before coming west. She was born
in Clinton, that state, a daughter of William and Agnes (Lyon) Wright, natives of Paisley,
Scotland, where they were reared and married. They came to America about 1850 and
settled in Clinton, JIassachusetts. Mr. Wright was a weaver and assisted in setting up
some of the first looms in the United States. His grandfather, .James Tytler, a contem-
porary of Robert Burns, was a writer and pamphleteer and on account of his writings was
forced to leave Scotland. Coming to America he settled at Salem, Massachusetts, and was
engaged at Salem in newspaper work, prior to the Revolutionary war. He left the family
of his first marriage, including Mr. Wright's mother, in Scotland and afterward married a
second time in Salem, Massachusetts. It will be seen that Mrs. Scott is also descended from
an old and prominent Kew England family. She has ever been a most exemplary wife and
mother and a true helpmate to her husband in every way, in fact, Mr. Scott attributes much
of his success in life to her.
Following his marriage Jlr. Scott returned with his bride to Manhattan, Kansas. In
1882 he accepted a position in the local paying pension office in Topeka, where he was employed
for two and a half years and then formed a paitnership with H. E. Ball in organizing the
Kansas Investment Company, with which he was identified from 1884 imtil 1886. At that
date he went to work for the New Hampshire Trust Company of Manchester, New Hamp-
shire, making loans for that corporation, with office in Topeka. In 1888 he returned to the
east and arranged with the trust company to lemove his office to Fort Scott, Kansas, but
after remaining at that place for only three months he was sent to Fargo to take charge of
the company's office at that place. He continued to serve until the failure of the trust
company, which occurred during the widespread financial panic of 1893. Mr. Scott was
then employed to look after the business of the defunct company in this section of the
country, a work which occupied his attention until about 1905, when the business was closed up.
He afterward became associated with Governor L. B. Hanna and J. W. Smith in the comple-
tion of the Fargo Street Railway, the promoters of the road having failed. When this task
was accomplished Mr. Scott was made vice president of the road, with which he was associated
until 1907, when he sold his interests. Two years before, or in 1905, the state legislature
had established the state fair at Fargo and Jlr. Scott was made its first president, continu-
ing in that connection from 1905 until 1909 inclusive.' He was again president in 1911 and
once more in 1913 and 1914 and was recognized as one of the leading figures in the building
and improvement of the fair ground. He was the architect and builder of the only hog
building on a fair ground in the United States in which fair visitors eat their lunches, this
being in a sort of open gallery of the building. He still remains one of the directors of the fair
board.
Mr. Scott's public work has often been of a most important and valuable character and
has been of far-reaching effect and benefit. He was one of the dominant factors in the
building of the Masonic Temple at Fargo and devised the plan whereby bonds of one
hundred dollars were sold bearing three per cent interest, the bonds to be paid to the estate
after the death of the member or holder. In 1908 jMr. Scott was elected secretary of the
Pioneer Life Insurance Company of North Dakota, organized In 1907, and in 1909, when
Governor L. B. Hanna resigned as president, Mr. Scott was elected his successor and has
since served in that capacity, directing the interests and activities of the business, the
company being now recognized as one of the strong and reliable corporations of this char-
acter in the United States. Its ninth semi-annual statement, issued December 3, 1915,
indicates the company to be in an excellent condition and that its business is steadily grow-
ing. Its total resources in 1907 were one hundred and forty-four thousand, four hundred
and twenty-five dollars and in 1916 were eight hundred and sixty-five thousand, seven hun-
184 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
«liod and eighty-five dollars and eighty-four ci'iits. Its insurance in 1907 was one liuiidrcd
and six thousand dollars and in I'JIS, fourteen million, four hundred and thirteen thousand,
four hundred and thirty -six dollars and forty cents. His name is also a familiar one in
financial circles aside from his insurance interests, for he was for fifteen years a director
of the First National Bank of Fargo, the oldest banking institution of the state, and is now
director of the Northern Savings Bank of Fargo and of tlie First National Bank at Moore,
Montana. In 1890 Mr. Scott began buying farm lands and owns several farms in both
North Dakota and Minnesota, while since 1892 he lias been engaged in the breeding of
shorthorn cattle.
To Mr. and Mrs. Scott have been born four children, as follows: Agnes Anna, who
became the wife of Dr. P. H. Burton and died, leaving two children, Dorothy and William
Burton; Albert Daniel, the president of the First National Bank of Moore, Montana; William
Wright, who is the assistant treasurer of the I'ioneer Life Insurance Company; and
Clement A., who died in infancy. Mr. Scott is a prominent Mason, being a grand cross thirty-
second degree Mason, of which there are only twelve in the United States. He is also presi-
dent of the board of trustees of the Scottish Rite bodies of the state. He is identified with
the Fargo Commercial Club and with the New England Society. He advances the new
interpretation or philosophy: "God creates all," "and man husbands and fashions God's
•creations." Man, He created with equal food capacity (not equal as usually given) or rather
food assimilation to produce human energy, and food has been and is the universal medium
of exchange, the real necessity, its scarcitj' or plenty having fixed the permanent locations of
peoples over the earth's surface. All other material things and the fashioning thereof
to human uses are the conveyances moving about the earth's food supply to all the peoples
of the world, and man with his brains to act, fashion and devise, is the supervisor, each in
his own generation, an energizing force while he lives, bringing to earth no material resource
when he comes and removing none when he folds his shroud about him and should lie down
to pleasant dreams.
Mr. Scott's interests are broad and varied and have brought him proniini'ntly to the
front in many connections. He is regarded as a thoroughly reliable and enterprising business
num, possessed of sound judgment, keen discrimination and indefatigable energy.
HANS E. BJERKE.
Hans E. Bjerke was living retired at Kindred, Cass county, North Dakota, when he
passed away March 24, 1916. He was a factor of no small importance in the agricultural
development of his section and owned eleven hundred acres of excellent liiiid. lie was born
in Norway on the 14th of November, 1840, a son of Even and Martha (Knaterud) Bjerke,
both natives of that country. The mother died there, but in 1870 the father emigrated to
the United States, where he passed away. To them were born nine children but only three
are now living.
Hans E. Bjerke attended school in Norway and continued to reside there until 1802,
when he crossed the Atlantic to the United States. After living in Wisconsin for a year he
was a resident of Chicago for a similar period and then went to Houston county, Minnesota,
where he remained until 1872. In that year he removed to Cass county. North Dakota, and
located upon land on section 14, Normanna township, which was then a tract of wild prairie.
As soon as possible he erected a log cabin covered with a sod roof and there he resided for a
number of years. At length, however, he replaced this primitive structure with a huge and
ripto-date residence and he also erected excellent barns and o\ithuildings. He numifested
his firm faith in the value of Dakota land as an investment by buying farms from time to
time until he owned eleven hundred acres, which is in a high state of cultivation and is well
improved. He gained financial independence because he was quick to recognize and prompt to
utilize opportunities and he managed his affairs in accordance with sound business principles.
He believed in the value of organization and cooperated efTort and was a stockholder in the
Farmers ele-i>tor at Kindred.
In 1869 Mr. Bjerke was united in marriage to Miss Martha Stenhjem, who was horn in
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 185
Wisconsin, and tliey became the parents of nine childien, namely: Maria, Andrew, Hannah,
Emma, Edward, Oscar, Selma, Hjalmar and Ella.
Jlr. Bjerke gave his political allegiance to the republican party. He held membership
in the Lutheran church, to which his wife belongs, and furthered its work along various
lines. He was recognized as a factor in the moral advancement of the community and his
many admirable qualities gained him high place in the regard of those who were associated
with him. The marked success which Mr. Bjerke won as a farmer is all the more notable in
that he was dependent upon his own resources and was what in this country we term, a
self-made man.
MICHAEL J. McMAHON.
Michael J. McMahon, a successful farmer of Barnes township, Cass county, is also
engaged in the dairy business and has won a gratifying measure of success in both lines of
activity. He was born in County Clare, Ireland, August 3, 1855, of the marriage of Jerry and
Bridget (O'Connor) McMahon, who in 1870 came to the United States. For three years they
resided in St. Paul, Minnesota, but at the end of that time came to North Dakota, where a
son Patrick was living. He had accompanied General Rosser on his exploring expedition
througli the state and subsequently located in Cass county. His father made his home with
him for a while, but later homesteaded eighty acres of land.
Michael J. McJIalion homesteaded an eighty acre tract adjoining his father's farm in
1877 and subsequently purchased railroad land, his holdings now totaling two hundred and
eighty acres. In early manhood he followed railroading for four or five years and ran into
Bismarck on the first train into that city. For many years, however, he has devoted his
Attention to farming and has brought his place to a high state of development. For some
time he lias engaged extensively in the dairy business and is now milking twenty-two cows.
He finds a ready sale for the milk and receives a gratifying profit from his dairy interests.
Mr. IiIcMahon was married in 1880 to Miss Hannah Paulson, a native of Minnesota,
whose parents came to this country from Norway. To Mr. and Mrs. Mcilahon have been born
*ight children, seven of whom are still living, namely: Frank H. and Daniel, at home; Edward,
who is in the employ of the Northern Pacific Railroad and is living at Livingston, Montana;
Theodore, who is also a railroad man and is on a run between Barnesville and Crookston;
Alice, who is teaching in the schools of Barnesville, Minnesota; and Walter and Richard,
both of whom are at home.
Mr. McMahon casts his ballot in support of the democratic party and for twenty-six or
twenty-seven years has served continuously as township assessor, his retention in the office
being evidence of the ability with which he discharges his duties. He is a communicant of
the Roman Catholic church, but his wife is a member of the German Lutheran church. Both
may be depended upon to further movements seeking the moral advance of their community
and during the years of their residence in Cass county they have gained the sincere respect
iind goodwill of their fellow citizens.
LEMUEL BEATON.
Lemuel Beaton, who is successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits on section 17,
Barnes township, Cass county, was born in Prince Edward Island, April 2, 1846, a son of Jolm
and Ann (McAdam) Beaton, also natives of that province, where their entire lives were
spent. The father was a farmer by occupation.
Lemuel Beaton was reared under the parental roof and attended the local schools, his edu-
cational opportunities being somewhat limited, however, as all of the schools at that day
were subscription schools. When fourteen years of age he went to work in a shipyard and
there learned the shi])builder's trade, at which he worked for about twenty years. On leaving
Prince Edward Island in the fall of 1867 he went to Calais, Maine, where he worked in the
186 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
shipyards. In 180U lie removed to Cliioago and continued to follow Iiia trade there until the
spring of 1871, when lie went to Duhitli, Minnesota. The following fall he joined the bridge
building gang of the Northern I'acific Kailway, which w^as then building in Fargo, and worked
on the bridge across the Red river between iloorhcad and Fargo. He was employed on the
construction of the Northern Pacific for about a year and a half, following which he engaged
in boat building on the Red river. In March, 1873, he filed on a preemption claim on section
10, Barnes township, Cass county, but did not locate on his land at that time, as he continued
to work at his trade until 1877. He then took up his residence upon his claim where he lived
for fifteen years, after which he sold that place and bought his present home farm of one
hundred and sixty acres on section 18, Barnes township. His sons now own a half section, and
they and our subject are farming in partnership. They follow improved methods and use up-
to-date machinery in their work, and the sale of their crops yields them a good profit.
Mr. Beaton was married in 1873 to Miss Mary Lyons, of Mirmisih. New Brunswick,
Canada, by whom he has eleven children, James, Frank, John, Charlie, Joseph, Daniel, Mary,
Theresa, Alice, Anna and Walter.
The republican party has a stanch adherent in Mr. Beaton and for a number of years
he has served as a member of the board of township trustees and. as a member of the school
board, proving capable and conscientious in the discharge of his duties. Both he and his
wife are communicants of the Roman Catholio church, being members of the cathedral at
Fargo, to the support of which they contribute. Mr. Beaton has resided in the northwest
for many years and is entitled to honor as one of the pioneers of North Dakota whose labors
have made possible the present prosperity of the state.
ALFRED JOSEPH HENRY.
Alfred Joseph Henry is now living retired at Valley City, although for more than a third
of a century he was connected with the First National Bank there and his loyalty to the
institution and his splendid business record well entitle him to the rest which he is now
enjoying. He is surrounded by many of the comforts of life and has leisure to enjoy those
things which are of most interest to him. He was born in New York city, July 20, 1843, a
son of aiarles and Frances (Selmea) Henry, the former a native of Portugal and the latter
of England. The property of the paternal grandfather was destroyed and when a young man
the father went to England. He was educated in Spanish, Portuguese and English, his liberal
education proving a substantial capital when necessity forced hira to enter business life
dependent \ipon his own resources and exertions. Crossing the Atlantic to New York city,
lie was there married and he became connected with the ollices of the Journal of Commerce,
having charge of their foreign business, his linguistic powers enabling him to meet the
demands in this connection. He died, however, at the comparatively early age of thirty-
eight years, while his widow spent her remaining years in Brooklyn, New York.
Alfred Joseph Henry was the eldest of their five children, of whom three are now living.
After acquiring a public school education in Brooklyn he made his way westward to Hanni-
bal, Missouri, in company with his uncle, Tilden R. Selmes, who is mentioned in the writings
of Mark Twain. Hannibal's most noted author. Mr. Selmes was several times mayor of that
city and a man of |)rominence in the state. He also became well known in connection with a
duel in which he was one of the participants.
On the 24th of May, 1861, Mr. Henry, responding to the country's call for military aid,
enlisted as a member of Company B, Sixteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, at Quincy, Illi-
nois, under Captain Wells and Colonel Smith, The command was shortly afterward sent to
Hannibal, Missouri, where it was equipped and the troops first met the enemy at IMonroe
Station on the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad, being stationed for some time between that
point and St. Joseph, Missouri, where more than once they encountered the Confederates.
They afterward went south and were on duty in Tennessee under General Pope. With his
command Mr. Henry participated in a number of hotly contested engagements, including the
battles of New Madrid and Corinth. At the latter place he was taken ill and sent to the
Benton Barracks Hospital in St. Louis. After about a month he rejoined his regiment, which
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 187
was sent from point to point and participated in a number of battles and skirmishes. On
the expiration of his first term he reenlisted and continued with the same regiment until the
close of his service on the 20th of March, 1865, on which date he was wounded in the battle
of Bentonville, where occurred a three days' fight. He was then sent to Newbern, North
Carolina, and was in the hospital at that place when he heard of Lincoln's assassination. He
was afterward transferred to Fort Schuyler, New York, and was honorably discharged in
June, 1865, as a private. His commission as second lieutenant was on the way to him when
he was wounded, but he did not receive it until the summer. He was at Atlanta from May
until September 1, 1864, being present at the fall of that city, and he also participated in
the march to the sea under Sherman and in the northward movement of the army through
North Carolina, leading up to the engagment at Bentonville, where he was wounded.
At the close of the war Mr. Henry went to Brooklyn, New York, where he pursued a
commercial course and then secured a position in a wholesale boot and shoe house of New
Y'ork, continuing in that line of business until 1880, when he came west, settling first at
Brainerd, Minnesota. In October of the same year he removed to Valley City, North Dakota,
where he was employed by C. F. Kindred for about a month. He then returned and passed
the winter at Brainerd, but in the following spring again made his way to Valley City, where
he entered the First National Bank, which was a private bank until July 15, 1881, he having
become an employe there in April of that year. He remained in active connection with the
bank until April, 1915, when after a service of thirty-four years he retired. That his work
was appreciated by the president and directors of the institution is indicated in the fact that
his name is still retained on the pay roll.
In 1873 Mr. Henry was man-ied to Miss Georgiana Vallad, of New Y'ork, and their children
are: Russell C, of Duluth, Minnesota; May L., at home; Frank S., land commissioner at Bis-
marck; Theresa; T. S.; Belle; Alfred; and Georgina.
Throughout all the years of his residence in Valley City Mr. Henry has been a stalwart
advocate and supporter of the plans and measures for the general good. He served as clerk of
the court for several years and as school treasurer of the first district for a number of years.
He holds to high civic ideals, is a member of the Grand Army of the Kepublic and is as true
and loyal to his country as when he followed the stars and stripes on southern battlefields.
No higher testimonial of his capability and fidelity in business could be given than the mere
statement of the fact that for thirty-four years he remained with the First National Bank,
but if one wanted further proof he need but ask tlie officers of the bank, all of whom speak of
him in terms of the highest friendship, respect and regard.
ALBERT EDWARD BOYXTON.
Albert Edward Boynton established and conducts the Jlinot Dental Laboratory, in which
connection he has developed a business of large and gratifying proportions. He is also engaged
in the tire business, being the distributor for Goodj-ear tires covering Northwest North Dakota
and eastern Montana and as success has crowned his efforts he has placed some of his capital
in the safest of all investments — real estate. A native of Geneva, Nebraska, he was born
December 3, 1882, a son of H. E. and Eliza (Reynolds) Boynton. The father was born at
Berlin, Wisconsin, March 19, 1857, and the mother's birth occurred in Mattoon, Illinois, on
the 31st of May, 1856. H. E. Boynton devoted his early life to farming, but afterward in
order to give his children good educational privileges, removed to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where
he conducted a transfer business. He still makes his home in Oshkosh, although at the
present time he is in North Dakota, where he has business interests.
Albert E. Bo.ynton began his education in the schools of Geneva, Nebraska, having the
advantages offered the other members of the family, which numbered seven children, of whom
he is the second in order of birth. Later he continued his education at Savannah, Missouri,
and afterward at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and prepared for the practice of dentistry as a student
in Haskell's School of Dentistry at Chicago, Illinois. His education, however, had not been
continuous, for in the meantime he had entered business circles and had provided for his own
support. When a lad of fifteen years he began learning the machinist's trade in Oshkosh,
188 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
serving a regular apprenticeship of three years. About that time tlie macliinists went upon
a strike and Mr. Boynton left home, going to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, wher^ he remained until
after he reached the age of twenty-two years, lie was for two years employed by the Bucyrus
Steam Shovel Works at South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and for about eight months he waa
emjiloved by the Nordberg Manufacturing Company, continuing with them until the follow-
ing fall, wlien he took up his course in tlie Haskell School of Dentistry. Later he was
em])loyed for six months in a dental laboratory in Chicago and on the 7th of September,
lUOO, he arrived in Minot, North Dakota. There he established the Minot Dental Laboratory
for the manufacture of teeth for the supply of dentists. His trade covers North Dakota and
eastern Montana and he also manufactures those things which are needed in crown and bridge
work, made from impressions taken by the dentist. His thorough training along this line
and his experience have enabled him to turn out most excellent work and his patronage is
growing steadily. In addition to his other interests he is a landowner in North Dakota and
Oregon, owning also residence property in Minot. He devotes most of his time to the labora-
tory business, however, and in that connection is gaining a patronage of gratifying propor-
tions.
On the 27th of June, 1909, Mr. Boynton was united in marriage to Miss Lydia M.
Fischer, who was born in or near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, her parents being W. M. and Anna,
Fischer. The father is a retired agriculturist and makes his home in South Milwaukee. Mr.
and Mrs. Boynton have two children. Esther June and Irene Ruth.
Mr. Boynton exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the
republican party, but is independent at local elections, supporting policies and men rather
tluin party. He holds membersliii) witli the Methodist Episcopal church and his aid and
inlluence are always given on the side of progress, reform and improvement. His life has
been one of untiring activity and his industry is the measure of his success, for he has had
no outside assistance, having from the age of fifteen years depended entirely upon his own
resources for his advancement and his prosperity.
ALBERT B. DILL.
Albert B. Dill is engaged in the insurance and real estate business at Minot and is also
filling the office of justice of the peace in Ward county. A young man, he has already
attained a position which many wlio are his seniors might well envy. He was born at Belvi-
dere, Nebraska, February 23, 1884, a son of John aiul Mary (Wilson) Dill. The father was
born at Logansport, Indiana, March 0, 1.S48, and the mother was born at Zanesville, Ohio,
January 11, 1864. In early life John Dill settled in Nebraska, becoming a resident of that
state in 1877, after which he engaged in farming and stock buying. He still retains his
residence in Nebraska, making his honu; at Belvidere, but is now practically living retired.
He has refused to become a candidate for the legislature, having no political aspirations, but
has always been accounted one of the representative and valued residents of the district in
whicli he makes hi.s home, standing at all times for those measures and movements wliich
are of greatest worth in the upbuilding of a community.
Albert B. Dill is the only son and the eldest of a family of six children. He attended
school in Belvidere until he was graduated from the high school with the class of 1902. He
afterward graduated from the Lincoln high school with the class of 1905 and completed a
course in a business college at Sioux City, Iowa, in 1906. He remained at home until he
reached the age of eighteen yeai's, after which he engaged in teaching for one term. It was
svibsequent to that time that he studied in Lincoln, attending high school there for two
years. He made his way through business college unaided, providing for the expenses of the
course, after which he entered the employ of tlie Great Nortliern Express Company in Sioux
City, remaining with that corporation for two years. Later he went to Williston, North
Dakota, in September, 1908. as agent for the Great Northern Express Company and a year
later was transferred to Anaconda, Montana, where he continued for a year. He was after-
ward in the superintendent's office at St. Paul for three months and in November, 1910, was
assigned to the position of agent at Minot, continuing in that position until 1912, when he
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 189
resigned and began dealing in coal and oilier fuel. He remained in that business for two
and one-lialf years, after which he sold out and on the 1st of April, 1915, he was appointed
justice of the peace for Ward county. He lias since served in that capacity and has been
nominated for election to that office in November, 1916. He is also engaged in the real estate,
rental, collection and insurance business and is secretary of the Merchants Association. He
concentrates his energies upon liis business affairs and his official duties and his is a busy,
active and useful life.
On the 6th of March, 1911, at Minot, North Dakota, Mr. Dill was married to Miss Julia
Daniel and they have one child, Helen Emily. In his fraternal relations Mr. Dill is a Mason,
belonging to the lodge at Sioux City, Iowa. He is also connected with the Knights of Pythias
at Minot and he attends the Presbyterian church. His acquaintance is wide and his sub-
stantial qualities have gained for him the warm regard of those with whom he has been
brought in contact.
MONS BERDAL.
Mons Berdal, deceased, was a well known farmer residing on section 34, Barnes town-
ship, Cass county. He was born in Norway on the 15th of April, 1848, a son of Engebrit
Berdal, who passed his entire life in that country. Our subject was reared at home,
received his education in the public schools and continued to reside in Norway for a number
of years after reaching maturity. In 1878 he came to the United States with his wife and
three children, making his way direct to Cass county, North Dakota, where his sister, Mrs.
Ole Headland, liad resided for three years. He purchased a quarter section of land, which
became his home farm and on which he lived continuously until his death January 27, 1916.
He at once began the work of its development and as the years passed made many improve-
ments thereon, at the same time carefully conserving the fertility of the soil. He added one
hundred and sixty acres to his holdings, becoming the owner of three hundred and twenty
acres, and his labor was rewarded with bountiful crops, the sale of which yielded him a good
income. He also owned stock in the Farmers elevator of Sanders and in the Sanders Tele-
phone Company.
In 1872, in Norway, occurred the marriage of Mr. Berdal and Miss Synneve Headland,
who died in 1900. To them were born seven cliildren, Andrew, Albert, Gertrude, Ella, Mary,
Clara, and John, deceased. The three elder children were born in Norway and the four
younger in this country. Andrew is now administrator of the estate left by his father,
while Albert acts as manager and Gertrude as housekeeper.
Sir. Berdal was a republican in politics but never took an active part in pul)lic affairs,
altliough he was never remiss in any of the duties of citizenship. He was a communicant of
the Norwegian Lutheran chinch, whose influence he sought to extend and whose teachings
guided his life.
DUGALD J. McKENZIE.
Dugald .1. McKenzie, member of the firm of McKenzie & Leslie, of Forman, was born
near Inverness, in the province of Quebec, Canada, November 12, 1853, a son of John and
Katherine (Brodie) McKenzie, who throughout their entire lives remained in eastern
Canada.
Their son, Dugald J. McKenzie, pursued his education in the public schools of his home
locality until he reached the age of sixteen years, when he crossed the border into the United
States and for two years was a resident of St. Johnsbury, Vermont. He then went to
Lowell. Massachusetts, where he learned and followed the carpenter's trade and was fore-
man of construction work at that point until about twenty-five years of age. He then
returned to his old home in Canada in order to supplement his early schooling by further
intellectual training, and for one year was a student in a normal school, after which he
190 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
wont tlirougli the Inverness high school, froui wliioh lie was graduated. He afterwards
went upon the lecture platform as a representative of the Independent Order of Good Temp-
lars and was largely instrumental in establishing the Scott act, a temperance or local option
measure. He did everything in his power to promote temperance sentiment and place limita-
tions upon the liquor traffic. Two years were devoted to that work, in which he covered
the country very thoroughly. He afterward traveled for a year as a representative of the
firm of Parker, Fry & Cory, of Littleton, New Hampshire, devoting a year to patent rights
work.
It was about that time, or on the 24th of December, 1884, that Mr. McKcnzie was
marriid to Miss Jarthat McKca, a native of Picton, Nova Scotia, the marriage being cele-
brated at Lowell, Massachusetts. Mrs. McKenzie passed away at Rutland, Sargent county.
North Dakota, July 10, 1890, and her death was the occasion of widespread regret, for she
had won many friends In the community.
On the 23th of September, 1887, Mr. JIcKenzie brought his family to North Dakota,
settling at Miluor, and was pastor of the Presbyterian church at that place, doing good
work for the moral development of the community. However, he abandoned the work of the
ministry and on the 17th of June, IS'JO, was elected superintendent of schools of Sargent
county and remained in that position for four years, his labors being effective in the exten-
sion and improvement of the school system. In October, 1894, he entered into partnership
with E. W. Thorp under the firm style of Thorp & McKenzie and opened a law office and loan,
collection and real estate agency. This relation was maintained until August 1, 1897, when
Mr. McKenzie entered into partnership with J. E. Bishop and A. M. Groner under the firm style
of Bishop, Groner & McKenzie. In 1908 Mr. Groner died, at which time the firm was reorgan-
ized under the style of Bishop &. McKenzie. That partnership was discontinued in July, 1911,
after which Mr. McKenzie was joined by A. Leslie in organizing the firm of ilcKenzie & Leslie
for the further conduct of a law, loan, collection and real estate business. In 1901 ho organ-
ized tlie Sargent County Abstract & Title Guarantee Company and is still conducting business
under tliat name, having the only undertaking of the kind in Sargent county.
In 1904 ilr. McKenzie was again married, his second union being with Eva Walker,
who died in 1911. There were two children by his first marriage: Marion, now the wife of
A. Leslie; and Helen, who married M. B. Lyken.
In his political views Mr. McKenzie is a reiniblican and for many years has served as
a member of the village board, doing everything in his ])ower to further public progress in
the community in which he lives. In 1908 he became a candidate for state treasurer, but
was defeated. His position on the ])arty ticket, however, indicates his prominonce in politi-
cal circles as ho received the strength of the ])arty vote. His activities have always had to
do with those things which touch tlio general interests of society and his inlluence and
labors have been along the lines of uplift and improvement.
JUDGE .L A. COFFEY.
Judge J. A. Coffey since his elevation to the bench in 1911 has gained a place among
the most able and most impartial judges of the state and holds the confidence of the bar
and the general public alike. His official duties make the first demand upon his time
and attention but he takes a great deal of interest in farming and in all movements that
tend toward making it more scientific and efiicient. He holds title to a large amount of
land and personally supervises the operation of two excellent farms.
Judge Coffey is a native of North Carolina and was born on the 4tli of July, 1872.
His parents were Patterson V. and Martitia (Estes) Coffey, the former of whom died in
Eugene, Oregon, in 1911 and the latter in 1910. The father was a successful farmer and
was highly esteemed in his community. In 1SS8 he removed with his family to the Pacific
coast. To him and his wife were born six children, two sons and four daughters, the
brother of our subject being Dr. R. C. Coffey, of Portland. Oregon, who served at one time
as vice president of the American Medical Association, and is one of the leading surgeons
of the United States.
JUDGE J. A. OOFFEY
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 193
Judge Coffey was educated in the public scliools, at Williamette University, of Salem,
Oregon, where he took his preparatory work, and at the University of Idaho, graduating
from the classical department thereof in 1897. Subsequently he went to St. Paul, Minne-
sota, where he took a course in stenography and typewriting, and still later took up the
study of law in the night school of the University of Minnesota, continuing his work
therein for three years. During the daytime he worked in law offices and in the loan
department of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee, thus
gaining practical experience that was of great value to him wheri he began the independent
practice of his profession. Following his gradiiation in law in 1900 he remained with the
insurance company for two years, after which he engaged in inspecting lands with the
view of determining their fitness as security for loans, and he also devoted considerable
time to the examination of titles. In July, 1903, he removed to Wahpeton, North Dakota,
where he engaged in the practice of law in partnership with F. B. Lambert, of Minot.
In November, 1902, he removed to Stutsman county and established an office in Courte-
nay, where he continued to practice law until appointed judge of the fifth judicial district
by Governor Burke. He removed to Jamestown in 1913, and was chosen by the people
for a term of four years in that year and in 1916 for another term of four years. His
thorough knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence, of statute law and of precedent,
combined with his natural fairness and openness of mind, fit him admirably for his
duties as judge and his record on the bench is a most creditable one.
Judge Cotl'ey is a firm believer in the possibilities of North Dakota as an agricultural
state and in connection with others owns five thousand acres of land and he oversees the
renting of this tract. He also supervises the operation of two farms which he owns
individually and which are among the best improved places in his section of the state. All
the buildings are of the most modern design and construction and he has a number of
silos as he believes in the value of ensilage of stock food. He grows alfalfa, sweet clover,
blue grass, wheat grass and timothy and raises stock extensively, specializing in short-
horns and Red Polled cattle and in Duroc-Jersey and Poland China hogs. He also has a
fine young orchard and makes the development of his farm his recreation, sparing no labor
nor expense in bringing it to the greatest degi-ee of perfection possible. He has demonstrated
that North Dakota is adapted to the successful raising of field crops and his example has
been a factor in the promoting of scientific farming in his district.
On the 30th of December, 1903, Judge Coffey was united in marriage to Miss Josephine
Andrews, of Faribault, Minnesota, and their children are two in number, Robert and
Eleanor.
The Judge is a democrat in politics but never allows partisan considerations to
influence his conduct on the bench. He is an elder in the Presbyterian church, to the sup-
port of which he contributes generously, and his influence can always be counted upon to
further the right. He is also a trustee of Jamestown College, located at Jamestown,
North Dakota. He is identified with the Young Men's Christian Association, believing that
it is one of the most efficient organizations in the building of strong, upright manhood.
He also cooperates with the projects of the Commercial Club, of which he is a member,
and has proved himself a broad-minded and public-spirited citizen.
OLE P. HOLMEN.
Many of the excellent citizens and successful farmers of North Dakota were born in
Norway and among the number is Ole P. Holmen. Avho owns and opreates a fine farm in
Stanley township, Cass county. His birth occurred on the Sth of April, 1843. and he is a
son of Peter and Mary (Lewis) Holmen, the former of wliom died in Norway, while the latter
joined her children in the United States in 1870 and made her home with them until her
demise.
Ole P. Holmen was reared in his native land and continued to reside there for a number
of years after attaining his majority. In 1868, however, he came to America and located in
Rice county, Minnesota, where he worked as a farm hand for some time, and also for a
Vol. n— 11
194 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
period of time worked on a railroad. In 1871 lie removed to Fargo, North Dakota, and pur-
chased eighty acres of land on section 19, Stanley townsliip, Cass county, lie later pur-
chased one hundred and sixty acres of his present farm on the same section and not long
afterward preempted a similar tract on section 20, Stanley township. He also owns other
land, his holdings comprising five hundred and thirty-three acres, and he is one of the well-
to-do men of his locality. His success is the direct result of his industry and the wise
management of his affairs, as dining his entire career he has depended soUly upon hi"; own
efforts.
In 1872 Mr. Holmcn was married to Miss Marj' ."inder-son, a native of Norway, wlio came
to the United States in 1868 in early womanhood. To them have been born three children,
one of whom is deceased, the others being: Helmer, who is farming land belonging to his
father; and Samuel, at home.
Mr. Holmen votes the republican ticket and for four year has been a member of the
board of trustees, his record in tliat capacity being a very creditable one, as he has sought
in every way possible to advance the general welfare. He and his family hold membership
in the Norwegian Lutheran church, and the genuineness of their faith is evidenced by the
uprightness of their lives.
CLARENCE C. WYSONG.
Clarence C. Wysong, attorney at law practicing at the bar of !Minot, was born near
Greencastle, Indiana, on the 24th of November, 1SS6, a son of John and Marj- (Nugent)
Wysong. Both parents are natives of Putnam county, Indiana. The father is a farmer and
stock raiser and is still actively engaged in general agricultural pursuits at Greencastle,
Putnam county.
Clarence C. Wysong is the eldest of three children. He attended the high school at Green-
castle, Indiana, and was graduated with the class of 1904. He afterward spent two years
as a student in De Pauw University at Greencastle and then entered the University of
Indiana, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1910. while in
1911 he won the LL. B. degree from the same institution. He has since devoted his atten-
tion to the practice of law, but in the meantime he had started out in the business world
in connection with other activities. He finished his course in high school when a youth of
sixteen, after which he was employed as fireman on the railroad and as timekeeper by a
construction company. He utilized every available opportunity to gain a living through
employment in the summer months until he had completed his university course. In July,
1911, he left Indiana and made his way direct to Minot, where he secured a situation in the
law office of Palda, Aaker & Green. He continued with that firm for about two years and
then formed a partnership with Halvor L. Halvorson in the practice of law. That connec-
tion Avas maintained for a year, since which time Jfr. Wysong has practiced alone, devoting
liis entire time to his professional duties. He recognizes the force of industry and thorough
preparation and enters the courtroom well prepared to present his cause in the strong,
clear light of reason. His arguments are sound, his deductions logical and he has won many
verdicts favorable to his clients.
On the 29th of January, 1914, Mr. Wysong was united in marriage to Miss Harriett E.
Lane, a native of Indiana and a niece of Henry S. Lane, the first republican governor of
Indiana. Her parents are Oscar F. and Mary (Wendling) Lane, natives of Putnam county,
Indiana, and Shelby county, Illinois, respectively. Rev. Oscar F. Lane, a minister of the
Christian clinrcli, is now living retired in Putnam county, Indiana. His wife was a sister
of the noted lecturer, George F. Wendling, who has recently passed away. Mr. and Mrs.
Wysong have one child, Elizabeth, who was born August 8, 191.5.
Mr. Wysong behmgs to Morton Lodge, No. 409. F. & A. M., which is the strongest inland
lodge in this state. He is also identified with the Elks and for three years was secretary of
the local organization with which he is connected. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias,
the Modern Woodmen of America, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Sons of
Veterans, of which he is secretary and treasurer. He is a member of the Alinot Association
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 195
of Commerce and he is deputy state oil inspector. In politics he is an unswerving republican,
believing firmly in tlie principles of the party and never faltering in his allegiance thereto.
While he is undoubtedly not without that laudable ambition which is so great an incentive to
loyalty in public office, he yet regards the pursuits of private life as in themselves abundantly
worthy of his best eiTorts and in the practice of law is gaining a place among the representative
members of the profession.
C. C. FURNBEEG.
C. C. Furnberg. who is farming on section 32, Barnes township, Cass county, is also
engaged in merchandising at Osgood, that township, and has met with success in botii under-
takings. He was born in Dakota county, Minnesota, on the 11th of July, 1869, a son of
Cliristian and Anna (Olson) Furnberg, both natives of Norway, whence they emigrated to
the United States in 1868 in young manhood and womanhood. In that year they were
married in Dakota county, Minnesota, where both had located, and there the father passed
away the year following when our subject was but two weeks old. In 1871 the mother came
to North Dakota with her son and after making her home in Reed township for three years
homesteaded the farm on which our subject now lives. In 1886 she was again married,
becoming the wife of L. P. Jensen, who passed away in 1909, while she survived until 1911.
C. C. Furnberg was educated in the district schools and on reaching manhood cooperated
with his stepfather in the operation of the home farm. In 1895 he entered the mercantile
field in Osgood, where he has since conducted a store. He carries a well selected line of
goods of high quality and is accorded a gratifying patronage. Following his mother's death
he inherited the home farm of four hundred acres, three hundred and twenty acres of which
he rents, operating only eighty acres. He has managed his affairs well and as the years
have passed his financial resources have increased.
In 1895 Mr. Furnbcig was married to Mis Hannah Korum, of Brandon, Minnesota, and
they have become the parents of six children: Agnes, the wife of A. 0. Grimstvedt, of Fargo;
Alice, who is attending the Dakota Business College at Fargo; and Roy. Carl, Oscar and
Myrtle, all at home.
The political allegiance of Mr. Furnberg is given to the republican party and both he
and his wife arc members of the Horace Congregational church, the teachings of which are
exemplified in their lives. Mr. Furnberg has resided in this state during practically his
entire life and has thoroughly identified his interests with those of the commonwealth,
cooperating heartily in all movements seeking the general welfare.
W. I. IRVINE.
W. I. Irvine is successfully engaged in the practice of law in Lidgerwood, Richland
county, and is also the owner and editor of the Monitor, an excellent and well patronized
weekly newspaper. He was born in Danville, Illinois, on the 21st of April, 1862, and his
parents, James and Mary (Paddock) Irvine, were born respectively in Pennsylvania in 1833
and in Massachusetts in 1841. The paternal grandfather, Thomas Irvine, was a native of
County Antrim, Ireland. He emigrated to the United States and settled in Pennsylvania, where
he engaged in merchandising, selling goods to the laborers and railroad men that built the Erie
canal. He passed away in the Keystone state. The parents of our subject were married in
western Pennsylvania in October, 1860, and not long afterward removed to Danville, Illinois,
where the father farmed, although he had been a contractor and builder in the east. At length
he returned to Pennsylvania and after remaining there for a number of years became a resident
of Lincoln, Nebraska, where he passed away in 1893. He was a democrat in politics and
took an active interest in all public affairs. He was a man of good education and was well
informed on all questions and issues of the day. He and his wife belonged to the Presby-
terian church. She is still living and makes her home in Lincoln, Nebraska.
196 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
W. I. Irvine, who is the eldest in a family of seven children, received his education in
the common schools of Pennsylvania and in an academy at White Bluff, Tennessee. On
beginning his business career he became connected witli the Daily News of Youngstown,
Ohio, in 1881, but subsequently removed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he took up the
study of law. In 1887 he was admitted to the bar at St. Paul and continued to reside in
Minneapolis for a year but in 1888 became a resident of Lidgerwood, North Dakota. He
has since engaged in the practice of law; trying cases not only in this state but also in
South Dakota, and on a number of occasions appearing before the federal court. He under-
stands the underlying principles of jurisprudence, is well versed in statute law and prece-
dent and this knowledge, combined with his analytical mind and habit of careful prepara-
tion of his cases, enables him to win a favorable verdict in most instances. In lUOO he pur-
chased the Monitor and has since conducted that paper in addition to practicing law. The
Jlonitor has a circulation of seven hundred and is well patronized by the local business men
as an advertising medium. He also does a good job printing business, for which his plant
is well equipped.
In 1887 Mr. Irvine was united in marriage, in Brown county, Wisconsin, to Miss Ida
Dolbear, who was born in Vermont. They have four children: Perry, who assists his father
with the publication of the Monitor; Jessie and Inez, who are teaching; and Helen, who
graduated from the high school with the class of 1915 and is now attending the Valley City
^Normal School.
Mr. Irvine is a stalwart democrat and both in his capacity as editor and as a private
citizen does all in his power to secure the victory of that party at the polls. Fraternally
he belongs to Harmony Lodge, No. 53, A. F. & A. M., in which he has served as master for
years; to the Royal Arch Cliapter, in which he was high priest for six years and in which
he is again filling that office; and to the Mystic Shrine. His wife is a communicant of the
Protestant Episcopal church and both support heartily all efforts to further the moral
advancement of their community. Mr. Irvine is entitled to the honor that Americans pay
to self-made men as he began without capital or the aid of influential friends and through
his own efforts has gained a position of honor in his community and a gratifying measure of
financial success.
WILLIAM CULLEN.
William CuUen, who owns six hundred and forty acres of fine land in Normana town-
ship, Cass county, is now devoting his attention exclusively to farm work, but for a num-
ber of years also engaged in blacksmithing. He was born in Canada on the 12th of Novem-
ber, 1860, a son of Robert and Margaret (Linton) CuUen, both of whom were natives of
Scotland and in the '40s emigrated to America, settling in Canada, where they passed the
remainder of their lives. They were the parents of fourteen children, six of whom have now
passed away.
William Cullen was reared and educated in the Dominion, but in the fall of 1880, when
about twenty years of age, came to North Dakota. He worked at the blacksmith's trade
in Fargo until 1889, when he removed to his present home farm on section 5. Normana
township, Cass county. He has erected fine buildings upon his place and otherwise made
many improvements so that his farm is today attractive and well developed. Since taking
up his residence there in 1889 he has lived upon his farm continuously save for three years
which he spent in Fargo. He has invested in more land from time to time and now owns
six hundred and forty acres, all of which is improved and from which he receives a hand-
some income. For fourteen years he engaged in blacksmithing more or less, but is not
now active in that line. He owns stock in the Farmers elevator at Warren and is recognized as
an excellent business man.
On the 1st of April, 1885, Mr. CuUen was united in marriage to Miss Mary Augedahl,
who was born in Norway and is a daughter of John and Carrie (Oleson) Augedahl, Her
mother is deceased, but her father is now living in Davenport, North Dakota. Mr. and Mis.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 197
Cullen are the parents of a daughter, Minnie, who is a graduate of the local schools, and
they have also reared as their son a boy by the name of Ernest Brown.
Mr. Cullen votes for the candidates of the republican party, but has never desired office
as a reward for his loyalty. He and his family attend the Presbyterian church and can be
counted upon to support all woi'thy causes.
J. VAN HOUTEN^, M. D.
Dr. J. Van Houten, who for thirteen years has been actively engaged in medical practice
in Valley City, was born in Waupon, Wisconsin, on the ISth of December, 1876. His father,
Jacob Van Houten, a native of Amsterdam, Holland, came to America when a young man,
settling at Albany, New York, where he married. Subsequently he removed to Wisconsin,
where he engaged in the contracting business, and in that state he spent his remaining
days, passing away in 1911 at the age of seventy-four.
Dr. Van Houten was the youngest in a family of two sons and two daughters and after
mastering the branches of learning taught in, the public schools of his native city he became
a student in the Northwestern University at Chicago. Hlinois, and after four years devoted
to the study of medicine was graduated with the class of 1903, receiving his professional
degree at that time. He then came to Valley City and for three years was associated in
practice with Dr. L. S. Platou. but since then has been alone. His ability has brought him
prominently to the front and his studious habits have kept him in touch with the onward
march of the profession as scientific investigation has 'brought to light many new tinrths.
In August, 1905, Dr. Van Houten was united in marriage to Miss Florence Whitfield
Hallock, of Faribault, Minnesota, a daughter of Cliarles A. Hallock. They have three
children, Delphine, Charlotte and Hallock.
Dr. Van Houten belongs to the Masonic lodge and to the Benevolent Protective Order
of Elks. In hi^ college days he took an active part in athletics and college games and today
outdoor sports is his chief diversion from the onerous cares of his profession. His time
and attention, however, are mostly given to his home and to his practice although he recog-
nizes and fully meets the obligations and duties of citizenship. Along professional lines he
is connected with the Sheyenne Valley Medical Society, the North Dakota State Medical
Society and the American Medical Association.
ISAAC P. CLAPP.
Isaac P. Clapp is one of the best known and most esteemed citizens of Fargo, where
he has lived since pioneer times. His attention is now largely given to his extensive real
estate holdings, for with the passing years he has made judicious investments in farm lands
and other property and at all times has displayed keen discrimination and sound judgment.
He was born in Dutchess county. New York, on the 4th of March, 1839, a son of Peter B.
and Sarah E. (Pells) Clapp, who were also natives of Dutchess county, where they spent
their entire lives, remaining always in one township, where the father followed the occupa-
tion of farming.
Isaac P. Clapp acquired a district school education and made his way to the west in
early manhood, attracted by the fact that he had an uncle living in Kenosha, Wisconsin,
with whom he made his home for a time. Subsequently he became owner of two planta-
tions in central Texas and operated one of them for thirty-five years, raising cotton. On
the 14th of October, 1880, he arrived in North Dakota, settling in Fargo, where in company
with Miller W. McCraw he opened the Cass County Bank, the third bank of the city. For
four years he was identified with that institution and then, owing to the fact that his part-
ner was an invalid, they closed out the bank and Mr. Clapp turned his attention to the real
estate business and to farming, becoming an extensive owner of farm lands in North Dakota.
At one time he owned between three and four thousand acres, but has sold much of this in
19S HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
ri'oont years. He still gives his attention, however, to the management of his agricultural
interests, whieli are yet extensive and return to him a gratifying annual income.
On the 7th of June, 1882, Mr. Clapp was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Sleight, of
Kenosha, Wisconsin. They have one son, Edwin G., who was educated in the University of
Minnesota and is now assistant cashier of the l-'irst National Bank of Fargo. Mr. Clapp is a
republican in politics, but has never been an aspirant for public preferment. Fraternally he is
i<li'iitiliiHl with the Masonic order, belonging to Sliiloli Lodge, No. 1, A. F. & A. ^I.; Key-
stone Chapter, No. 5, R. A. M.; Fargo Council, No. 1, R. & S. M.; Auburn Commandery. No.
2, K. T.; Dakota Consistory, No. 1, A. & A. S. R.; and El Zagal Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S.
About 1900 the thirty-third degree was conferred upon him — an honor given only in recog-
nition of splendid service rendered to the organization. For twelve years he was the treas-
urer of tlie blue lodge, the chapter, the consistory, the Shrine and the Club and has been a
member of the board of trustees of the Temple since its building. He and his wife arc
members of the Episcopal church, to the support of which he has been a generous contribu-
tor. He belongs also to the Fargo Commercial Club and is interested in all of its well for-
mulated plans for the improvement of the city and the extension of its trade connections.
He has never had occasion to regret his determination to come to North Dakota, for in the
business conditions which met him here he found the oppoiiunities which he sought and in
their utilization has worked his way steadily upward, becoming in the course of years one
of the prosperous residents of Cass county. He deserves much credit for what he has accomp-
lished, as his success has been won entirely through persistent, earnest effort guided by the
spirit of enterprise and of business integrity.
JAMES C. SMALLWOOD.
.lames 0. Smallwood, a prominent man and manager of the Smallwood Sanitary Gro-
cery Company in connection with which he has built up an extensive busine^ in Minot, was
born in Newcastle, New Brunswick, January 21, 1867, a son of William F. and Caroline
(Barnes) Smallwood. The latter was a granddaughter of one of the governors of New-
foundland. The father was born at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. By trade William
F. Smallwood was a shipbuilder, but later in life filled the oflice of justice of the peace and
was known by the title of squire. Both he and his wife made their home in Newcastle
and the former passed away in 189.'! and the latter in 1000.
.James C. Smallwood was the youngest of thirteen children ;in(l in tlie scliools of New-
castle, New Brunswick, pursin^d his education. As a lad of thirteen years he was bound out
to a grocer for four years apprenticeship. He. received four dollars per month for the first
two years, after which he was employed two years in a wholesale grocery establishment at
Newcastle. He then left home, going to Marinette, Wisconsin, where he worked in a gro-
cery store for two years and then r<'turncd to Newcastle where he was again connected
with the wholesale lunise in which he had previously been employed and where he spent two
more years. In the meantinu! he liad married and at the end of that period he left Canada
for the United States, going to St. Paul where he remained for a short time. He then
removed to Brainerd, Minnesota, and for one year was in the Northern Pacific shops after
which he spent about four years as an employee in the grocery store of A. J. Brockway.
During that period he carefully saved his earnings and at the end of that time established
a grocery store in Brainerd which he conducted for two years. After closing out the busi-
ness he was employed by the firm of Abbott & Wilkins in Brainerd for about six years, at
the end of which time he opened and Viocauie manager of the grocery department in the
store of H. 1. Cohen, with whom he continued for two years. After Mr. Cohen sold out
Mr. Sniallwood continued to manage the grocery de|)artment for his successor for si.\ months
and thin went to Havre, IMontana. to take charge of the grocery department of the Havre
Commercial Comi)any with which he continued for eighteen months. In May. 1904, he
came to Minot and opened the Smallwood Grocery. Three years later he purchased another
store, which he also conducted for abo\it three years, and then consolidated the two estab-
lishments under the name of the Smallwood Sanitary Grocery. He has since conducted the
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 199
business in this way, carrying a complete line of staple and fancy groceries, having an
establishment which would be a credit to a city of much larger size. The store is most
tastefully and attractively arranged and the stock is extensive and of high quality. Mr.
Smallwood is also a stockholder in the Union National Bank and has extensive land interests
in Ward county, North Dakota, operating three quarter sections of land, or four hundred
and eighty acres. He likewise owns a fine residence in Minot and a number of city lots and
his business and real estate interests are evidences of his life of well directed energy and
thrift.
On June 7tli, 1890, Mr. Smallwood was married to Miss Rachel Elliott, who, like her
Imsband, was the youngest of thirteen children. Her parents were AValter and Mary
(Vaughn) Elliott, the former a native of Newfoundland and the latter of New Brunswick.
The father was a shoemaker which business he followed for many years. Neither he nor
his wife ever became residents of the United States and both have now passed away. Mr.
and Mrs. Smallwood have become the parents of six children: James F., who is associated
with his father in business; Pearl M., who is bookkeeper in the business; Lulu, who is a
stenographer with the firm of Stone, Ordean & Wells, wholesale merchants having a branch
house at Minot; Berton G., who is assistant manual training teacher in the Minot high
school and who married Miss Winifred Churchill; Walter, who has recently completed the
high school course; and Vaughn, who is attending school.
It was soon after his marriage that Mr. Smallwood left Marinette, Wisconsin, and went
to Hinckley, Minnesota, where he was employed by Foley Brothers & Guthrie, railroad
contractors, taking goods from freight cars to their camps on the Kittle river. He con-
tinued with them until the job was completed, after which he returned to his native city.
Mr. Smallwood is identified with several fraternal organizations, belonging to the Elks,
Knights of Pythias, Odd Fellows and Maccabees lodges in Minot and the Modern Woodmen
Camp at Brainerd. He has filled all the chairs in the last three organizations and he is also
one of the directors of the Minot Curling and Skiing Association. While his life has been
an extremely busy one he has realized the fact that the well balanced character is that
which grows in strength not only from business activity, but from recreation as well and
thus he has given a due proportion of his time to those things which are a matter of pleas-
urable interest to him. He served for several years as a member of the school board of
Minot and during most of that time was chairman of the teachers' committee. He is also
a, member of the public library board. In his business career the steps in his progress are
easily discernible. He has worked along well based and liberal lines, his push and persis-
tent energy and honorable dealings have brought him success while the methods which he
has followed have gained him distinction as a representative resident of his adopted city.
JOHN W. JOHNSON.
John W. Johnson, the owner of the Holy Cross farm, on section 18, Stanley township,
is one of the leading agriculturists of Cass county and is widely and favorably known. A
native of Urasa, Sweden, his birth occurred on the 3d of July, 1869, and he is a son of .Johan
and Johanna Maria Magnuson, both of whom spent their entire lives in that country. In
1887, when seventeen years of age, our subject left Ins native land and crossed the Atlantic
to the United States, making his way to Stillwater, Minnesota. After working on the
river for some time he was employed as a carpenter in Minneapolis and St. Paul and in 1888
came to North Dakota and worked in the harvest fields until the close of the season, when
lie returned to Minnesota, where he spent the following winter in tlie lumber woods. In
1889 he settled permanently in this state and worked as a farm hand on the place which
he now owns. Subsequently he was made foreman of the farm and later rented the place,
operating it under a lease for a number of years. He carefully saved his money and in
1904 had accumulated sufficient capital to purchase the farm, which comprises four hun-
dred and twelve acres of fine land. For the past ten years he has been making a specialty
of raising seed potatoes, principally Early Ohios, for the Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma
markets and has succeeded beyond his expectations in that undertaking. In 1914, in associ-
200 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
ation with Albert Brakkc, he built a potato storage house with a capacity of twenty-five
thousand bushels. He is also a stockholder in the Farmers elevator at Wild Rice, the Far-
mers elevator at Sanders and the River Line Telephone Company.
The Holy Cross farm is one of the points of historic interest in the county as it was
located by the first white settler in this stiite witli the exception of the French Canadians
who settled at Pembina. In ISo'J Father Genin, a French Catholic priest, came to what is
now Cass county, Korth Dakota, and built a church and erected a cross, which is to this day
known as the Holj' Cross. He had received from the government a grant of land on which
to establish a mission, which was known as the Holy Cross Mission, but subsequently
returned to France and also spent some time in Rome before again coming to North Dakota.
On his arrival at the site of his mission he found that six French Canadians had squatted
on the land, but he forbore to contest their claim. This was in 1870. The French Canadians
thought that thirty or forty acres apiece was all the land that they wanted but later found
that inadequate and sold out, removing westward. The old mission ground, which is now in
possession of llr. Johnson, is still known as the Holj' Cross farm.
In 1893 Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Caroline Peterson, of Xorman
county, Minnesota, and they have become the parents of seven children: George A., mana-
ger of the W. H. White lumberyard at Wild Rice; and Richard W., Albert T., Ima M.,
Myrtle, Anna and John W., Jr., all at home.
Mr. Johnson is independent in politics, following the lead of his judgment rather than
the dictates of a party leader. He holds membership in the Modern Woodmen, and his religious
faith is that of the United Lutheran church. His has been an active, useful life, and his
industry has been rewarded with gratifying success. He has also gained the sincere respect
and the warm regard of those with whom he has been brought in contact, for his salient
characteristics are those of the highest type of manhood.
CHARLES A. ANDERSON, D. V. S.
Dr. Charles A. Anderson, a veterinary surgeon practicing at Valley City, was born at
Stevens Point, Wisconsin, February 11, 1864. His father, A. T. Anderson, a native of Nor-
way, came to America when a young man, settling in Wisconsin, where he maiTied and
reared his family, there residing until 1880, when he removed to Barnes county and took up
his abode in Ashtabula, where he continued to make his home until 1906, when he removed
to Valley City, where he was residing when death called him September 6, 1914, at the
age of eighty-eight years. He was a blacksmith by trade and a man of marked energy and
business ability. After becoming identified with agricultural interests in North Dakota
he gave much attention to stock raising, largely handling cattle that were a cross between
Durham and Holsteins and proved splendid milkers.
Charles A. Anderson was one of a family of six children born of his father's second mar-
riage. His youthful days were spent in Wisconsin and his educational opportunities were
those provided in a log schoolhouse, for the family were pioneers of that state as well as of
North Dakota. After removing to Barnes county he continued to attend school as opportunity
offered and later he worked upon the homestead farm of four hundred and eighty acres,
which included also a tree claim and preemption claim. There he remained until 1886,
when at the age of twenty-two years he turned his attention to the livery business and
this led to his interest in the profession to which he now devotes his time and energies.
In preparation for practice he entered the Chicago Veterinary College and later opened
an ofTice at Valley City, where he has since continued. For three years he was associated
with Dr. .J. W. Poole, a graduate of the Ontario Veterinary College, and later entered into
partnership with Dr. C. H. Martin, the partnership continuing for six years. Since that
time Dr. Anderson has practiced alone. In 1902 he built a hospital and stable on Front
street, which he uses exclusively in his business, the hospital being splendidly equipped
for all kinds of veterinary work. He keeps in touch with the latest scientific methods and
his services, by reason of his skill and ability, are in constant demand, his practice now
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 201
being very extensive. He is also the owner of some fine stock and a splendid Percberou
stallion weighing over two thousand pounds heads his stud.
In 1890 Dr. Anderson was married to Miss Stella M. Wylie, a native of Wisconsin
and a daughter of Edgar L. Wylie, a North Dakota pioneer. They have two children:
Viola, who attended the Valley City Normal School and has taken up the study of music;
and Charles R., now in school. Dr. Anderson is a member of the Knights of Pythias and
in that organization and also outside of its ranks he has many warm friends. His profes-
sional connection is with the State Veterinary Association and he is a man of acknowledged
prominence in his chosen calling.
LARS OLSEN.
Lars Olsen, who is engaged in farming on section 33, Warren township, Cass county,
lias also served as postmaster of the town of AVarren for twenty-three years. His birth
occurred in Norwaj- on the lltli of March, 1849. and he is a son of Ole and Margaret Olsen,
who were lifelong residents of that country. They were the parents of six sons, of whom
four are still living, and all reside in America.
Lars Olsen was reared in his native land and acquired his education in the public
schools there but in 1870, when about twenty-one years of age, came to the United States.
He lived in St. Paul until 1876 and was there employed as a laborer. His next removal
was to Thompson, Minnesota, whence in July, 1878, he made his waj- to Cass county. North
Dakota, and located on his present home farm on section 33, Warren township. He erected
a log cabin with a bark and sod roof, which was the first house on the prairie in his part
of the county, and for six years that remained his residence. At the end of that time,
however, he built a better dwelling and as the years have passed he has made other improve-
ments upon his place. He has planted a fine grove, which serves as a windbreak and also
adds to the beauty of the farm. He owns one hundred and sixty acres, from the cultivation
of which he derives a good incoihe, and in addition to growing grain he raises considerable
stock. For twenty-two j-ears he also engaged in buying grain but lias now discontinued
that business.
Mr. Olsen was married in 1876 at St. Paul, Minnesota, to Miss Carrie Eriekson, who
died in 1887. She was the mother of sis children, of whom four survive, Ole, Alfred, Carl
and Hilbert. In 1891 Mr. Olsen was again married, Miss Sophia Sontroll becoming his
wife. To them have been born ten children, Mabel, Alice, Melvin, Lydia, Cecelia, Reuben,
Bernice, Lenora, Arnold, and one who is deceased.
Mr. Olsen is an adherent of the democratic party and for the past twenty-three years
has served eflSciently as postmaster of the town of Warren, which is located on land which
he once owned. Since 1S81 he has been school director, for fifteen years he has served as
treasurer of his township, and he was formerly township assessor and has at all times
proved conscientious and capable in the discharge of the duties devolving upon him. Both
he and his wife are communicants of the Lutiieran church, in whose teachings are found
the principles which govern their conduct.
GEORGE E. McCLURE.
Tlie natural resources of the country surrounding Minot have offered splendid oppor-
tunities for the acquirement of wealth, for the district is rich in its mineral deposits, in
Its agricultural possibilities and in its chances for commercial development consequent upon
the other two. George E. McClure is operating profitably in the coal fields of the state
as treasurer and general manager of the McClure Coal Company, miners and wholesale and
retail dealers in coal. He was born in Chisago county, Minnesota, May 5, 1877, a son
of Samuel and Eleanor (Warner) McClure, the former bom in the north of Ireland, while
the latter was a native of the state of New York. The father, who was a lumberman, went
202 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
to Minnesota at a very early day, establishing his home there before the city of Minneapolis
was founded. He continued to engage in tlie lumber business there until his death, which
occurred in 1911. He had long survived his wife, who died in 1889.
George E. McClure was the fourth in their family of five children and in the high
school at Stillwater, Minnesota, he completed his education. When about eighteen years
of age, or in 1895, he entered the employ of an insurance firm in Minneapolis, with which
he continued for about eighteen months, when he became an employe of the Foley-Beau
Lumber Company, accepting a situation in the yards. He gradually worked his way
upward in that connection, being advanced to the position of general manager and salesman.
For seven years he continued with the company and in 1903 removed westward to Minot,
being here emploj-ed as a salesman by the Vanderwalker Coal Company for about nine
months. At the end of that time he was made assistant manager of the company's business
and a year later the firm was reorganized under the name of the McClure Coal Company,
at which time Mr. McClure became manager and one of the stockholders. He is now
treasurer and general manager of the company, which is engaged in the wholesale and retail
coal trade and owns abo\it one thousand acres of land in this state, operating a mine twelve
miles west of Minot. The company also ow-ns valuable timber lands in British Columbia,
Oregon and Washington, also a mine at Sandcoulee, Jlontana, operating under the name of
the Nelson Coal Company. The McClure Company also operates a thousand acre farm near
Minot where the mining interests are being developed and likewise owns lands in California,
Oregon. Washington, North and South Dakota and Minnesota. Mr. McClure is also a stock-
holder and director in the Union National Bank of Minot, in the elevators at Devils Lake
and Lone Tree and in a mercantile business at Tasker, North Dakota.
In Novonber. 1901, Mr. McClure was married to Miss Anna L. Aldridge, who was born
in Minneapolis, a daughter of George A. and Adelia (Strong) Aldridge, the former a native
of Canada and the latter of Maine. The father was a millwright and engaged in the sawmill
business. He now makes his home in St. Paul, where he is employed by one of the large
lumber comiianies of Minneapolis. To Mr. and Mrs. McClure have been born two children:
Samuel A., who was born in July, 1902; and Gertrude Elliott, born in July, 1905.
Fraternally Mr. McClure is a Mason, belonging to the blue lodge at Milaca, Minnesota,
and is identified with the Elks lodge at Minot, and with the United Commercial Travelers
at Minot. His religious faith is that of the Episcopal church and politically he is an
independent democrat. He served as city clerk in Minnesota and he is the present ch.air-
man of the democratic committee of Minot. He puts forth earnest and cll'ective efiort for
advancing the interests of the party and stands for all that is progressive in citizenship.
His labors have been an important element in furthering the development of the section
of the state in which he lives, for the company of which he is a member is operating
extensively in utilizing the natural resources here afforded and has reached out through its
ramifying trade relations and business connections into various sections of the northwest.
At all points in his career Mr. McClure has been guided by the spirit of unfaltering enterprise
and, knowing no such word as fail, he has accomplished what he has undertaken.
.loIlX 1IAL\ lOUSON.
John Ilalverson, a furniture dealer of Valley City, who is winning advancement through
close application and a discriminating study of popular taste in the line of house furnish-
ings, was born in Hurdahl, Norway, on the 21st of February, 1854, representing a family
connected with farming interests in that land. He attended school in his native coiintry
and at the age of fifteen years came to America, infiuenced to this step by the fact that
liis older brother Peter came to the new world in 1869. Making his way across the country
to l^Iinnesota, ,Tohn Ilalverson spent the fir.st summer at Bloomfiidd and Dien went to
Albert Lea, where he attended school for two years, realizing that further educational
training would prepare him to cope much bettor with intricate problems and conditions
of business life. He then went to Preston. Minnesota, where he entered upon an apprentice-
ship to the drug trade, at which he worked for nine years, becoming acting manager of
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 203
the business at Fountain, Minnesota, and also the postmaster of the town, receiving
appointment to the office fn 1875, when he was twenty-one years of age. A the end of
five years' service as postmaster he removed to Twin Valley, where he was employed in a
general store for four years. In 188S he arrived in Valley Citj^ and secured a position in a
general store, in which he occupied a clerkship until 1900. In that year he was elected
register of deeds and his faithfulness and capability in office led to his reelection in 1902
and in 1904, followed by his retirement to private life in 1906. He then turned his attention
to the furniture business, buying out the store of his son-in-law, who owing to ill health
was obliged to remove to the west. He was first located on Fifth avenue but disposed of
his interest there in 1908 and is now conducting business on Main street, where he has a
large and well appointed establishment, carrying an excellent line of furniture of various
grades to meet the diversified tastes of his patrons. In addition he conducts an under-
taking establishment, having modern undertaking parlors on West Main street, and both
branches of liis business are growing and profitable.
Mr. Halverson was married to Miss Pauline Frederickson. a native of Norway and a
representative of a pioneer family of* North Dakota. She died in 1895, leaving six children:
Qara, the wife of E. S. Dobbin, of Hood River, Oregon; Henry, who for four years was
county treasurer and is now cashier of the Marion State Bank of Marion, North Dakota;
Minnie, a stenographer with a law firm at Hood River, Oregon; Adolph, an employee of the
Great Northern Railroad Company, with headquarters at Glacier Park; Louise E., a ba,nk
clerk at Hood River, Oregon; and Victor, who died in 1914, at the age of twenty-one years.
AH of the children, after attending the public schools of Valley City, became students in
the State Normal there. In 1900 Mr. Halverson was married again, his second union
being with Miss Tillic Hoel, a native of Norway, whose people also settled in North Dakota
in the period of its pioneer development. The children of the second marriage are Eugene
and Alice, both attending the Valley Cit\- State Normal.
Mr. Halverson is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Benevolent
and Protective Order of EUcs and the Modern Woodmen of America and he not only ranks
as a progressive and representative merchant of Valley City but also as a substantial
citizen, for he has ever supported and endorsed those measures which are a matter of civic
interest and civic pride, seeking to promote the substantial growth and improvement of
his city and to uphold its standards of municipal integrity.
MARTIN G. MYHRE.
Martin G. Myhre, cashier of the First State Bank of W'alcott, is an important factor
in financial circles in that town and under his direction the business of the bank has
grown steadily. He has also represented his district in the state legislature. His birth
occurred in Winona county, Minnesota, January 30, 1874, and he is a son of Gilbert and
Malena (Torgerson) Myhre, both of whom were born in Norway, the former in 1846 and
the latter in 1849. Both the paternal and maternal grandfathers. Christian Hanson and
Hans Torgerson, died in Norway. The parents were married in that country but in 1869
emigrated to America and settled in Winona county, Minnesota, where the father purchased
land. He cultivated his farm there until 1878, when he removed to Dakota territory and
took up a homestead in what is now Richland county. North Dakota. He became the owner
of a section of land and also held title to other property. He passed away upon the
liomcstead in 1910 and his wife died there in 1915. They were Lutherans in religious
faith and the father was one of the organizers of the local church of that denomination.
He took a very active part in church work and his influence was always on the side of
right and justice. He cast his ballot in support of the candidates of the republican party
and was honored by election to a number of local offices. To him and his wife were born
eleven children, of whom eight are living and of whom our subject is the sixth in order
of birth.
Martin G. Myhre attended the country schools in the acquirement of his early education
and later attended the University of Minnesota, there pursuing a law course. He completed
204 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
his legal study at Columbian University, now George Washington University, in Washing-
ton, D. C, and in 1900 was admitted to the bar. He took the law course at Columbian
University at night as he was employed in the civil service at Washington during the day.
He practiced law for a few years but in 1907 returned to Walcott and engaged in banking,
entering the First State Bank as cashier, a position wliich he has since held. The
institution is capitalized for fifteen thousand dollars, has a surplus and undivided profits
of five thousand dollars and its deposits average one hundred and eighty thousand dollars.
Mr. Myhre has a detailed knowledge of banking and as he adds to this an understanding
of the principles of finance which underlie all banking practice, ho is a very efliicient
cashier, so directing the policy of the bank that it holds the confidence of the public and
at the same time returns good dividends to its stockholders, lie has prospered financially
and owns a large farm and also has other real estate interests. He began his independent
career without capital and the prosperity which he now enjoys is the direct result of liis
enterprise and business ability.
In March, 1904, Mr. Myhre was married to Miss Julia Fossum, a daughter of Andrew
Fossum, who came to Dakota in 1871. He located upen a farm and is still engaged in its
operation. He is also president of the First State Bank. Mr. and Mrs. Myhre have two
children: Gladys, who is nine years of age; and Arnold, six years old.
Mr. Myhre is a republican and has taken an active part in politics. He has not only
held a number of local offices but in 1914 and 1915 represented his district in the state
legislature, proving an able working member of that body. He is identified with the
Lutheran church and fraternally is connected with the Masons and the Jlodern Woodmen.
He is widely known throughout Richland county and is highly esteemed and respected.
JUDGE N. C. YOUNG.
Judge N. C. Young, practicing at the bar of Fargo as a member of the firm of of Watson
& Young, has won recognition as one of the. leading attorneys of the state. He also has
other important business connections and is accounted a forceful and resourceful man. He
was born January 28, 1862, in Jlount Pleasant, Iowa, a son of Charles S. and Joanna E.
(Williams) Young, both of wliom were natives of Ohio, where they were reared and married.
Soon afterward they removed to Henry county, Iowa, traveling through Chicago with an
ox team and proceeding across the Illinois prairies until they reached their destination.
Mr. Young purchased land in Henry county and there engaged in farming for a long period
but later in life retired and removed to Tabor, Iowa, where he passed away in the year 1910.
His widow survives and yet makes her home in Tabor. Mr. Young was at one time mayor
of the city and was very prominent in the community in which he resided.
Judge Young, reared in Iowa, pursued his education in Tabor College, in Iowa City
Academy, and in the Iowa State University, in which he pursued a classical course and was
graduated in law in 1887, winning the degiees during his student days of Bachelor of Arts,
Master of Arts and Bachelor of Laws.
On the day following his graduation Judge Young was married to Miss Ida B. Clarke, of
Iowa City, who was also graduated from the State University in that year and won the
degrees of Master of Arts and Bachelor of Philosophy. She had three sisters who were
alumnae of the State University, two of whom gained valedictorian honors, while all three
were members of the Phi Beta Kappa. Mrs. Young has been a frequent contributor to the
literature of North Dakota, writing a number of poems and songs. Slie is one of the state's
most able, cultured and accomplished women. She served for two terms as president of the
State Federation of Women's Clubs and is now president of the "North Dakota Association
Opposed to Suffrage."
Following tlieir marriage Judge and Jlrs. Young estublishcd their home at Bathgate,
Xorth Dakota, where he entered upon the practice of law, remaining in that city for eleven
years. In August, 1898, he was appointed to succeed Judge Corliss on the supreme bench and
in November of that year was regularly elected supreme court judge for a term of six
jears. In 1904 he was reelected without opposition for a six years' term but resigned his
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 205
office to enter upon the private practice of liis profession on tlie 15th of August, 1906. He
also served as state's attorney of Pembina county from 1S91 until 1895. Following his
elevation to the bench he removed his family to l-'argo in 1S9S in order that his children
might have the educational advantages to be secured in that city. Upon resigning from the
supreme court he entered into a law partnership with J. S. Watson and has since been his
associate in active practice. He stands as one of the foremost members of the North Dakota
bar and his practice is now extensive and of an important character. He is remarkable
among lawyers for the wide research and provident care with which he prepares his cases
and upon the bench he proved himself the peer of the ablest members of the court of last
resort. His decisions indicate strong mentality, careful analysis, a thorough knowledge and
an unbiased judgment. Aside from his professionel connections he has important banking
interests in the western part of the state, being president of one bank and vice president of
two others.
Judge and Mrs. Young have become the parents of three children, Laura B., who was
graduated from the University of Iowa with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, is now the wife
of C. W. Spaulding, cashier of the Citizens State Bank at Streeter, North Dakota. Horace
C, who won the B. A. degree upon graduation from the University of Iowa and took a partial
law course there, spent some time in his father's law office, was admitted to the North
Dakota bar in 1914, and is now located at Bowman, North Dakota, as a member of the firm
of Scow &, Young. Dorothea is a graduate of the Newton School for Girls at Boston, Massa-
chusetts, and also of the New England Conservatory of Music at Boston and is now engaged
in professional concert work.
After resigning from the supreme bench, Judge Young was appointed president of the
board of regents of the North Dakota State Universit}' and so continued until 1914. In 1907
he was elected to the presidency of the university but declined the honor. He has always
figured prominently in support of educational work and for years served as a member of the
school board of Fargo. He also seeks the progress of his community and state and he and
his family hold membership and take an active interest in the Congregational church. Fra-
ternally he belongs to Bathgate Lodge, F. & A. M., and has attained the thirty-second degree
of the Scottish Rite in Dakota Consistory. He is also a member of the Country Club and of
the Commercial Club of Fargo. His interests are broad and varied, touching many of the
activities which affect the welfare of the community and of the commonwealth. His influ-
ence has been a potent force in upholding the political and legal status of the state and in
advancing its material, intellectual and moral progress.
PETER WESTLUND.
Peter Westlund, of Stanley township, Cass county, who owns five hundred and fifty
acres of excellent land, was born in Sweden on the 15th of November, 1846, a son of Peter
and Mary (Ingebretson) Westlund, who were lifelong residents of that country. They were
the parents of five children, all of whom are living.
Peter Westlund passed the days of his boyhood and youth under the parental roof
and received his education in the public schools. In 1869, in early manhood, he came to
America and made his way to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he worked for the Great
Northern Railroad Company on a gi-avel train. Later he became a brakeman on the
Northern Pacific Railroad and was in time promoted to conductor. He remained with that
company for ten years, but in 1879 he removed to Cass county, North Dakota, and located
upon his present home farm, which is situated on section 5, Stanley township. He has
erected fine buildings upon the place and otherwise improved it. He has invested in
additional land, his holdings comprising five hundred and fifty acres, from which he
receives a good income. He also owns stock in the Farmers elevator at Horace and in the
creamery at Fargo.
In 1881 Mr. Westlund was united in marriage to Miss Enga Niquist, also a native
of Sweden. She passed away in February, 1907, and was laid to rest in the Horace cemetery.
She was the mother of five children, as follows: Emma, deceased; Hilma, at home;
206 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Ephraim and Oscar R., both of whom arc college graduates; and Agnes, who is attending
normal school.
Mr. Westlund is a republican in liis jjolitieal belief and lias served as school director
for si.\teen years, doing much in that time to advance the interests of the public schools.
He came to this country a poor young man but through taking advantage of the opportunities
here oll'ered he has gained financial independence and is recognized as one of the substantial
and valued citizens of Cass county.
KEV. WILLIAM C. HUNTER.
Rev. William C. Hunter, of Minot, has entered upon a period of rest after long years
devoted to the work of the Presbyterian ministry. He was born at Woodburn, in County
Antrim, Ireland, March 27, 1850, a son of Alexander and Mary (Einlay) Hunter, who were
also natives of that localitj-, where the father followed the occupation of farming. Both
passed away in Belfast, Ireland.
In a family of eight children Rev. Hunter is the fifth in order of birth. He attended
school at Carrick, Fergus and Glasgow, Scotland, pursuing the arts course in Glasgow Univer-
sity. He prepared for the ministry by a three years' course in the Chicago Theological
University, which confened upon him the degree of Bachelor of Divinity. Long before he
prepared for the ministry, however, he had started out in the business world to provide for
his own support. At the age of si.xteen he was an assistant in a grocery store and was thus
employed until he entered college at the age of twenty-two years. Following his three years'
college course he engaged in the grocery business in Glasgow as a commission merchant for
about eight years and it was on the expiration of that period that he crossed the Atlantic
and located in Toronto, Canada, after visiting his brother in Scotland, Canada, for a short
time. In the former city he entered the employ of James Barton's Sons and a year later he
went to Chicago, where he entered upon his theological course, having determined to devote
his life to the ministry. Following the completion of his studies he was ordained in the First
Congregational church of Ch:* igo, of which the distinguished divine, Dr. Goodwin, was then
pastor. Having thus qualified for the ministry Rev. Hunter went to Garden Bay, in the
upper peninsula of Jlichigan, and engaged in preaching in tliat locality for more than two
years, during which period he assisted in organizing three churclics there and was also instru-
mental in building a manse. He afterward returned with his family to Illinois, where he
took charge of two churches, one at Brighton and another at Kemper. He also supplied
the Greenville church for a time, residing there for about two years, and on the 7th of Feb-
ruary, 1891, he came to North Dakota, settling at Sanborn, where he engaged in preaching,
also having charge of two out stations for two years. He next removed to Wheatland, North
Dakota, and accepted the pastorate of the Presbyterian church at that point, continuing his
labors there for more than three years, at the end of which time he removd to Minot in IS'IG,
having received a call from the Presbyterian church of the latter city. About the same time
he received calls from the churches at Bottineau and Dickinson, but decided to make Minot
his home and for more than six years continued his pastoral labors at Minot, Burlington and
Logan. In 1902 he resigned his charge in Minot, but continued his work at Burlington, at
Logan and at other points, doing general missionary work. He organized churches at Surrey,
Burlington and Bowbells and assisted also in organizing a church at Logan. To that depart-
ment of ministerial work he directed his energies imtil 1900, when he went to Montana to
accept the pastorate of a church at Terry, the county seat of Custer county. While thus
engaged he assisted in organizing a chiirch at Mildred, Montana, and one at Fallon. His
residence in Montana covered a period of three years, at the end of which time he returned
to his home in Minot in 1912 and since then has lived practically retired from the ministry.
His home is a beautiful commodious residence, which he erected, and he also owns a quarter
section of land near Minot and a half section in Montana which he has rented.
On the 25th of September, 1879, Eev. Hunter was united in marriage to Miss Helen
Galloway, who was born at Kilmarnoch, Ayrshire, Scotland, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Michael Galloway, who were also natives of Ayrshire, whence they removed to Glasgow,
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA , 207
wlieie they reared their family. The father there engaged in business as a boot and shoe-
maker and was also a salesman, selling the product of his own factory. He developed a
business of large proportions, conducting four stoves in Glasgow, his enterprise and diligence
winning him a place among the foremost merchants of that city. Both he and his wife are
now deceased. Mrs. Hunter was one of the eldest in a large family and was educated at
Glasgow. By her marriage she has become the mother of four children. Jennie M. is the
wife of Harold Lamming, a mail clerk, who has charge of a car on the Great Northern Kail-
road and resides at Grand Forks, North Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Lamming have become the
parents of four children: Edith, Dorothy and Jean, all at home; and Dora, who died in
infancy. Edith Ann, the second daughter of the Hunter family, is the wife of Reno L. Hay-
ford, editor of the Minneapolis Tribune, and they have one child, Helen Louise. Ernest M.
G. is an assistant in the hospital at Medical Lake, Spokane, Washington. Mabel, the youngest
of the family, is the wife of F. L. Wetch, a bookkeeper in the Northern Telephone oflice and a
resident of Minot.
Rev. Hunter gives his political support to the republican party, but has never been an
aspirant for office. He has long been an active member of the Masonic fraternity and was
the first master of Terry Lodge, No. 74, F. & A. M., at Terry, Montana. He is now affiliated
with Minot Lodge, of which he was secretary for one term, and with the Royal Arch
chapter, in which he was high priest for a year. At the present time he is worthy patron of
the Eastern Star, to which Mrs. Hunter also belongs, and he was formerly identified with
the Woodmen of the World and with the Yeomen. Mr. and Mrs. Hunter still hold member-
ship in the Pre-sbyterian church and Mrs. Hunter is a member of the Ladies' Aid Society.
Even in his youth Rev. Hunter never lightly regarded the duties and obligations which
devolved upon him, but conscientiously performed every task assigned him and as the years
advanced he thoughtfully considered and studied the questions of life. It was this that
helped him to take up the work of the ministry, wherein his labors have been of far-reaching
eflFect, for his influence proved an uplifting force in the lives of many and his teachings
carried home to the minds of his hearers the basic principles of the gospel.
MATHEW LYNCH.
Mathew Lynch, of Lidgerwood, has played an important part in the business and agri-
cultural development of Richland county and has also been a leader in political affairs, having
represented his district in the state legislature. He is president of the Farmers National
Bank and is the owner of a great deal of valuable farm land. A native of Wisconsin, he was
born near Berlin on the 26th of November, 1S57, and is a son of James and Adeline (Perkins)
Lynch. The father, who was born in Ireland, came to the United States in early manhood
and after his removal to Wisconsin followed farming, although he had been a wagon maker
in Ireland. He purchased government land, which he developed and improved and which he
still owned at the time of his death. He was a democrat in politics and was a communicant
of the Roman Catholic church. His mother also came to this country, emigrating after her
husband's demise. The mother of our subject, who was born in Germany, came to the United
States in girlhood and her marriage occurred in New England. She became the mother of
seven children, of whom six are living and of whom our subject is the fifth in order of birth.
Mathew Lynch received his education in the common schools of Wisconsin, but left
home when still a boy, as his mother had died. In 1ST9 he became a resident of Richland
county, North Dakota, and took up a homestead and tree claim, proving up on both. While
living in Wisconsin he had worked as a farm hand and had thus gained valuable knowledge
concerning agricultural work which enabled. him to operate his own farms successfully. After
cultivating his land in Liberty Grove township for a number of years he removed to Wynd-
mere in the spring of 1886 and there engaged in general merchandising in partnership with
W. H. Morgan. The firm subsequently started a branch store in Lidgerwood and successfully
conducted both enterprises. In 1888 Mr. Lynch bought out the interest of Mr. Morgan and
he and Mr. Rickert continued as partners until 1893, when our subject purchased Mr.
Rickert's interest and continued the business until 1908, when he sold out, but again pur-
208 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
chased the business, January 1, 1913, and still conducts the same. He organized the Lidger-
wood State Bank, which was later known as the Lidgcrwood National Bank and which sub-
sequentl}' bought out the Farmers Bank, and it is now conducted under the name of Farmers
National Bank. Ho is president of the institution, which is capitalized at lifty tliousand
dollars, has a surplus of ten thousand dollars, and average deposits of three hundred and
nine thousand dollars. The bank holds the confidence of the public and its business has
grown steadily. Jlr. Lynch keeps in close touch with all of the departments of the bank
and the success of the institution is in no small measure due to his excellent judgment and
knowledge of business conditions. He owns seven quarter sections of land in Richland and
adjoining counties, from which he derives a handsome income. He is now a man of independ-
ent means, but he had no property save his team and prairie schooner when he drove here
from Berlin, Wisconsin.
On the 30th of August, ISSS, at Sibley, Iowa, !Mr. Lynch was married to Jliss Mary
Maher, a native of Wisconsin. They have four children. Francis Leo is living on a claim in
Canada and is engaged in the machinery and land business. Fraternally he is a member of
the Knights of Columbus. .James William is also living on a claim in Canada. Mathew
Hoyt, who graduated from St. Thomas College of St. Paul and who devoted one year to the
study of law, is now employed in the Farmers National Bank at Lidgcrwood. He is likewise
a member of the Knights of Columbus. Mary Irene is still in school.
Jlr. Lynch is a republican and casts his ballot in support of the candidates and measures
of that party. He has taken an active part in politics, and was appointed postmaster of Lid-
gcrwood, February 1, 1890, serving four years. He was elected to the state legislature in
November, 1898, and after serving one term was appointed postmaster by President Mc-
Kinley, February 1, 1900. After serving four years he was reappointed by President Roose-
velt in 1904 and again in 1908; and by President Taft in 1912, serving until May 15, 1916.
He is a consistent member of the Catholic church and is also identified with the Catholic
Order of Foresters. All who know him respect him for his fine qualities of manhood, and
his personal friends are many.
MARTIN JACOBSON.
The history of Minot would be incomplete were there failure to make reference to
Martin Jacobson, and in its unfolding his history will present many points of interest and
many lessons worthy of emulation. He was born at Ridgeway, Iowa, November 17, 1863,
the son of Jacob and Esther (Hanson) Knudson, both of whom were natives of Norway.
In early life, however, they came to the new world and were married in Iowa where for
many years the father engaged in farming and both he and his wife died and were buried
on the old homestead in that state. The father died in 1903 when he was eighty years of
age and the mother passed away in 1912 at the age of eighty-seven.
Martin .Jacobson was the sixth in order of birth in their family of seven children.
He was reared in Iowa when the district was a pioneer locality and he pursued his edu-
cation in a log school house near his father's place. But his opportunities in that
direction were somewhat limited and he has had to depend upon the school of experience
for many of the lessons which he has learned. He early began work in the fields and
continued to assist in the cultivation of the old home place until he was eighteen years of
age when his father sold the farm to Mr. Jacobson's brother. At that time Martin
Jacobson came direct to North Dakota, arriving in the year 1882. He worked one sum-
mer for .John ililler, who was the first governor of the state, and later he returned to Iowa
and rented a half section of land near Ridgeway, carrying on farming on his own account
although but nineteen years of age. He continued to develop that place for about four years
and when twenty-two years of age he loaded five horses in an emigration car and again
came to North Dakota. He unloaded the car at Buckston and drove two hundred and fifty
miles to his present homestead, eight miles west of Minot. Settling thereon he took the
preliminary steps toward developing the place. The following winter he returned to Iowa,
married and then brought his bride to his home. Five children were born on that ranch
MARTIN JACOBSON
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 211
where the family resided for eleven years, the father devoting his energies to general
farming. On the expiration of that period he removed to Minot, but still continued the
operation and supervision of his ranch and is now farming sixteen hundred acres devoted
to the raising of small grain. In the season of 191.5 he threshed twenty-seven thousand
bushels of gi-ain. He is one of the most extensive farmers of his part of the state and
one of the most ])rogressive business men. He has about seventy-five head of Short-
horn cattle; sixty head of horses; three hundred head of hogs; and three hundred full
blooded, Partridge Wyandotte chickens.
On removing to the city Mr. Jacobson engaged in the hardware business and enjoyed
a large trade for four years; Almost from the beginning such was the volume of his
business that he employed more than twenty people and in 1905 he had an entire traiij-
load of hardware and machinery billed for Minot with instructions from the Great
Northern Railroad Company to operate the train as he wished. In 1906 he received an
entire carload of strap hinges. His' business brought him very gratifying profit but
eventually he sold out to two of his employees who formed the firm of Fugelso & Jacob-
son. In 1902 he built the opera house, a modern structure the front of which is occupied
by the Union National Bank. He continued in the machine business until 1914 and he
assisted in organizing the Union National Bank of which he was the first vice president.
He has now disposed of most of his interest in that bank but still has important commer-
cial interests in the city. His labors have been most valuable and effective in promoting
the upbuilding of the town, his work being attended by far-reaching and beneficial results.
On the 1st of January, 1887, Mr. Jacobson was married to Miss Annie Kittelson
who was born at Ridgeway, Iowa, on the same day as her husband and they were baptized
together, attended sdiool together and on the fiftieth anniversary of their birth each
weighed one hundred and seventy-one pounds. Her parents were Albert and Aagaat
(Mogen) Kittelson who were born in the same place in Norway. Both Mr. and Mrs. Jacob-
son's parents were children together and came to America about the same time, the
two families living about three-quarters of a mile apart. Mrs. Kittelson died when her
daughter w-as about six months old. Her father was never active in politics but did much to
further religious work, holding office jn the church and acting as trustee at the time the
Augsburg Seminary in Minneapolis was built.
To 3Ir. and Mrs. Jacobson have been born six children. Karl II., born October 19,
1887, married Luella Henry and resides in Opheini. ilontana, where he is engaged in the
lumber business and operates an electric light plant fifty-five miles from the raib-oad.
Chester J., born in February, 1889, is now at home. He attended Shattuck Military Acad-
emy and as a member of the football team won the championship for Minnesota. Alletie
Christina was graduated in both vocal and instrumental music from the Minneapolis
School of Music with the class of 1913. Mildred Almira, who was graduated from the State
Normal School of Minot in 1914; is. now a teacher in the Minot school and is a great favorite
in social circles. Alton Leroy is taking a high school course and is a member of both the
basket ball and football teams. A'ernon Malcolm is also a high school pupil in Minot.
Mr. Jacobson is iirominent in Masonic circles, belonging to the blue lodge, chapter
and commandery of Minot. to the consistory at Grand Forks and to the Slystic Shrine.
He is also active in the Sons of Norway. He belongs to the Norwegian Free church, and he
it was who planned the jnesent church edifice in Minot. He has been the prime mover
in its improvements and has had charge of the annual lutfisk supper for several years.
In politics he is a republican and when but twenty-five years of age was elected county
commissioner, being the youngest' ever chosen for that position in his county. For more
than twenty years he has served on school boards, first at Burlington and afterward at
Minot, and acted as chairman of the teachers committee. He is chairman of the build-
ing committee of the new high school at Minot, which is to cost three hundred tliousand
dollars. The plans are an embodiment of Mr. Jacobson's ideas, his broad experience and
natural ability being of great value. For four years he was a member of the state senate
and he left the impress of his individuality upon the legislation enacted during that
period. For two years he was a member of the state normal school board and the normal
buildings in Minot were erected largely after his plans. At the present time he is a
member of the library board and for many years he has been a trustee of the church.
212 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
His own educational advantages were extremely limited and recognizing the value of an
educational training he has taken an active and lielpful part in the development of all
educational institutions and interests of this part of the state. In fact there are few
public movements for the benefit and upbuilding of community or commonwealth with
which he has not been allied and his labors have been most helpful.
In 1904 Mr. Jacobson built his present residence which is one of the most commodious
and modern in Minot. Among the homes more recently built in the city there are none
that will rank higher in equipment or in finish. The halls are finished in quarter-sawed
oak wliile tlie interior of every room is finished in bird's-eye maple of fine quality. The
kitchen and pantries are commodious and the dining room is not onlj' beautiful but very
extensive in size. The rooms are so constructed tliat covers may be laid for very large
parties such as frequent tlie Jacobson home, for the members of the family are social
leaders. Mr. Jacobson's first interest is always his family and their happiness, money
being a secondary consideration. In 1907 Mr. Jacobson issued a calendar made from a
picture of himself, his wife and six children mounted on eight of his fine, highbred race
horses, expending the sum of three hundred and fifty dollars to have this calendar made.
Many of these pictures are to be found in various parts of the United States in the homes
of their friends expensively framed. Mr. Jacobson sent one of these calendars to Presi-
dent Eoosevelt and challenged the president with a wager of one thousand dollars to race
one mile family against family. He received a personal letter from the president express-
ing his appreciation of the calendar but the challenge was not accepted. There is no
phase of public progress with which Mr. Jacobson has not been connected, from making
the plans for the state normal school and public library buildings to shaping the legisla-
tion affecting the welfare of the commonwealth. In all things he has been actuated by the
spirit of enterprise and progress and guided by sound common sense, a quality which is
too often lacking. Both he and his wife are in splendid health, being remarkably young
in appearance which they attribute to the fact that for ten years they have slept on a
splendid open sleeping porch which is one of the adjuncts to their home. They believe that
fresh air has been tlie tonic that has warded oflT the burden of years. Mr. Jacobson has
many enthusiastic admirers, his friends and contemporaries in business recognizing his
worth, and the course that he has pursued should serve as a stimulus to tliose who may
have to depend upon their own resources for advancement and success.
JUDGE HERODOTUS H. TAVLOK.
Judge Herodotus H. Taylor, judge of the county couit of Sargent county, was born in
Troy, Spencer county, Indiana, November 35, 1856, a son of Green B. and Christine (Fisher)
Taylor. The father was a river man and in 1870 removed to Evansville, Indiana, where he
operated a line of steamboats on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers for many years. In 1883 he
came with his son, Judge Taylor, to North Dakota, settling in Sargent county, in that sec-
tion which became Taylor township, being named in honor of the father. He secured a
quarter section of government land, upon which he resided until his death in 1900, after which
his remains were taken to Evansville for interment. His political allegiance was given to
the republican jiarty and in matters of citizenship liis attitude was ever one of loyalty and
progressivcness. His wife died during tlie boyhood of flieir son Herodotus, who was one of a
family of eight cliildren: Alice, James, Elizabeth and Timo\ir T., all now deceased; Herodotus
H.; Lola and Homer, wlio have also passed away; and Green B., living in Taylor township,
Sargent county, whither he removed with his father and brother.
In early boyhood Herodotus H. Taylor entered the public schools of Evansville, passing
through consecutive grades to his graduation from the high scIlooI. Subseqiiently he was
employed in a commission house for two years and for three years he was engaged in farm-
ing, two years of that time being spent in Kentucky and one year in Indiana. As previously
stated, he came to North Dakota in 1883 and secured a quarter section of land in Taylor
township, Sargent county. Tlie journey was made to Lisbon by rail, from wliicli [loint he had
to take his things by wagon freight to his farm, a distance of fifty miles, for no railroad had
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 213
been built into Sargent county at that time. Not a furrow had been turned nor an improve-
ment made upon his place, but with characteristic energy he began the development of his
property and for sixteen years was engaged in the cultivation of about a section of land.
He afterward disposed of his farm and removed to Forman, where he retired from active
business cares. He had won a substantial measure of success through his well directed
efi'orts, but he could not be content without some occupation or pursuit, for indolence and
idleness are utterly foreign to his nature. After serving in the oilice of register of deeds for
six years he established a bank at Cogswell in 1904, calling it the Sargent County State
Bank, of which he became the cashier and one of the directors, so continuing for about eight
years. He then went to Oakes, where he was connected for a time with the First National
Bank and in the meantime sold his interest in the bank at Cogswell. In his business affairs
he has enjoyed an unsullied reputation for reliability as W'ell as determination and enterprise.
On the 20th of January, 1895, Judge Taylor was married to Jliss Minnie L. Burns, a
native of Michigan, born near Six Lakes. Removing to North Dakota, she was married in
this state, and they have become the parents of three children : Mildred, a graduate of the
high school; and Vivian and Florence, who are attending school.
Judge Taylor belongs to Golden Fleece Lodge, No. 31, A. F. & A. M., of Forman, and
Ivanhoe Cammandery, of Lisbon. He gives his political allegiance to the republican party and
in 1S98 was elected on that ticket register of deeds of Sargent county, at which time he took
up his abode in F'orman, where he now makes his home. He retired from that office after an
incumbency of six years with the goodwill and conlidence of all concerned and in 1914 he was
elected to the office of judge of the county court and in 1916 again became a candidate with-
out opposition, a fact which indicates how excellent was the record wliich he made during his
first term in office. His course upon the bench has been in harmony with his record as a man
and citizen, characterized by thoroughness, by devotion to duty and by the utmost loyalty
to the trusts given to his care.
JAMES W. STITELER.
James W. Stitelcr, who is serving efficiently as cashier of the Farmers National Bank
of Lidgerwood, was born in Pennsylvania on the 20th of March, 1876. His parents, John C.
and Francis M. (Stewart) Stiteler, were born respectively in Indiana county, Pennsylvania,
on the 3d of April, 1846, and in Jefferson county, that state, on the 18th of April, 1848. The
paternal grandfather, William Stiteler, passed his entire life in Pennsylvania and the mater-
nal grandfather, James Stewart, died there. The parents of our subject were married in
Pennsylvania in 1875 and in April of the following year removed to Pcjiin county, Wisconsin,
wliere they remained until the spring of 1881, when they came to North Dakota and settled
on a claim near Fairmount, on which the father had filed in April, 1880. In 1883 he took up
a tree claim near Lidgerwood, to which he removed in 1887. He is a republican and takes
the interest of a good citizen in public affairs. He is a member of Lodge, No. 1093, B. P. O.
E., at Fergus Falls and also belongs to the Masonic order. He was a poor man when he came
to this state, but now owns a half section of excellent land and also holds title to valuable
town property. His wife passed away on the 25th of September, 1914, in the faith of the
Methodist Episcopal church, to which he also belongs. Our subject is their only child, but
they adopted a daughter, Lucille Anderson, who is married and is keeping house for her foster
father.
James W. Stiteler received a good education, attending the common schools and the
Lidgerwood higli school and thus preparing iiimself for the responsibilities and duties of
mature life. On beginning his independent career he worked as a farm hand for some time,but
subsequently built the Farmers Elevator at Lidgerwood, of which he assumed charge in July,
1906, and which he conducted for four years. He then resigned that position and entered the
Lidgerwood National Bank as bookkeeper, remaining there until January 10, 1911, when he
became cashier of the Farmers Bank, now known as the Farmers National Bank. The insti-
tution has a capital and surplus of sixty thousand dollars and its average deposits are three
hundred thousand dollars. He thoroughly understands the routine of banking practice and
214 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
displays sound judgment in deciding questions of policy that arise from time to time. He
lias so directed the allairs of the bank that it has gained the coniidencc of the public and
has paid good dividends to its stockholders.
In November, 1903, Mr. Stiteler was married to Jliss Christine M. ilurray, a native of
Pictou county, Kova Scotia, and they liave become tlio parents of four children: Frances
Kvelyn, John E. and Marion ,1., all of whom are in school; and Margaret L.
Mr. Stiteler casts his ballot in sui)port of the republican party and is at present serving
as a member of the city council. He is well known fraternally, belonging to Lodge No. 1093,
B. P. O. K., at Fergus Falls and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in the subordinate
lodge of which he has passed tinough all of the chairs and the grand lodge of which he has
attended as a delegate five times. His religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal
church, of which he is a member, and his life is guided by high standards of ethics.
JOHN M. HOLMEN.
John il. Holmcn is operating the old family homestead in Warren township, Cass county,
and is ranked among the progressive farmers of his locality. He was born on that farm,
September 2, 1878, of the marriage of J. J. and Martha Holmcn, both natives of Norway.
They came to the United States in the latter '60s and after residing in Minnesota for a few
years removed to Cass county, North Dakota, and located on the farm on section 24, Warren
township, where our subject now lives. The father erected a log cabin, which remained the
family residence for a number of years, but later he built an excellent farm dwelling. He
made many other improvements upon the place and brought his land to a high state of culti-
vation. He passed awaj' upon the homestead in 1910, but his wife is still living tlierc at the
age of seventy-six years. Three of their four children are living.
John M. Holmen was educated in the common schools and has always livid on the lionie
farm. He assisted bis father w-ith its operation until the latter's demise, since whicli time he
has had charge of the farm work. Tlie family owns three hundred and forty acres, which
our subject cultivates, and lie iiersonally holds title to one hundred and sixty acres on section
9, Stanley township. He follows modern methods of agriculture and his woU directed labor
is rewarded by excellent crops. He also raises high grade stock. In adililion to his~farni inter-
ests he is a stockholder in the Farmers elevator at Horace.
Mr. Holmen is a republican in politics, but has never sought nor desired ofliee. His entire
life has been spent in Cass county, and he is widely known and has many sincere friends, as he
possesses those traits of character which invariably command respect and win regard.
CARROLD L. BUTTLES.
Carroll! J,. I'littles, superintendent of the Riverside ccmeterj' at Fargo. North Dakota,
was born in Rochester, Minnesota, on the 10th of July, 1873, a son of Grin F. and Elizabeth
(Wright) Buttles, the former a native of New York state and the latter of Nebraska. The
father, who was a carpenter by trade, removed to Iowa in pioneer days and at the time of
the Civil war enlisted in an Iowa regiment, remaining at the front for four years. He was
maj-ried in that state and subsequently removed to Minnesota, whence in 1880 he came to
North Dakota, locating at Fargo. There he w'as in the employ of the Haines & Magill Eleva-
tor Company until his demise, wliidi occurred in 1884.
Carrold L. Muttles was reared under the parental roof and attended the public schools
in the acquirement of an eilucation until he reached the age of sixteen years. He then
became a wage earner, securing em|>loyment as a clerk in a grocery store. For liKccii
or si.xteen years he worked for T. E. Yerxa but subseiiuently engaged in farming for about
seven years. Since 1911 he has lieeii superintendent of the Riverside cemetery at Fargo
and has concentrated his energies upon the discharge of his duties in that capacity.
In 1897 Mr. Buttles was united in marriage to Jliss Ida Reed, of Jamestown, this
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 215
state, by wlioiu lio has two eliildreii: Geoi'ge, who is attending the Fargo high school; and
Frances, a grammar scliool student.
Mr. Buttles is a stanch adherent of the republican party, believing in the wisdom of
its policies. Fraternally he is identified with the ilodern Woodmen and the Royal Arcanum,
and both he and his wife hold membership in the Broadway Jlethodist Episcopal church.
IV AR SEIM.
Ivar Seim, who is part owner of and conducts the Blanchard Mercantile Company at
Blanehard, Traill county, was born in Norway, on the 3d of March, 1870, a son of Eric and
Elizabeth (Hamre) Seim, both natives of that country, where they still make their home.
To them have been born twelve children, all of whom are living, four residing in America
and eight in Norway.
Ivar Seim was reai-ed in his native land and attended the public schools in the acquire-
ment of his education but in 1888, when a youth of eighteen years, emigrated to America
and, making his way to North Dakota, located in Traill county. He worked as a farm hand
for some time, but in 1896 came to Blanchard and established what is known as the Blan-
chard Mercantile Company, of which he is part owner and which he manages. He under-
stands the business thoroughly and has built up a large and profitable patronage. The
excellence of the goods carried and the reasonableness of his prices have commended him to
the public and his business is one of the prosperous concerns of the town. He also owns
two hundred acres of land on section 13, Blanchard township, which is well improved and
which yields him a good return.
JOHN McGUIGAN.
John McGuigan, who is manager of the elevator at Chaflfce, owned by the Amenia &
Sharon Land Company, has had long experience in grain buying and is very efficient in his
chosen work. He was born in Ireland on the 1st of October, 1865, a son of Bernard and Susan
(Allister) McGuigan, the former of whom died in Ireland, while the latter is still living there
at the age of eighty-five years.
The subject of this review was reared under the parental roof and attended the schools
of his native country in the pursuit of an education. In the spring of 1886 he decided to try
his fortune in the United States and after reaching this country continued his journey west-
ward to Casselton, North Dakota. For a short time he worked as a farm hand, hut sub-
sequently farmed in partnership with his brother William, who had preceded him to the
United States three years. In 1895 John McGuigan became connected with the grain busi-
ness and was placed in charge of the Anderson & Gage elevator at Woods, Cass county. He
remained in the employ of that firm until they disposed of their elevator at Woods, after
which he became manager of the Farmers elevator at that place. Two years later he was
offered a position with the Amenia Elevator Company and for six months had the manage-
ment of their elevator at Langdon. In 1909 he was transferred to their elevator at Chaffee,
which is one of the most important elevators owned by the company. A great deal of grain
is handled there annually and the successful management of the business requires a thorough
knowledge of grain buying and sound judgment, qualifications wliicli Mr. McGuigan possesses
in an unusual degree. He and his wife own a half section of good land in Gill township and
he and his brother James hold title to another half section in that township, and his holdings
return him a substantial addition to his income.
In August, 1896, Mr. McGuigan was married to Miss Rebecca Smyth, of Lamour county,
North Dakota, and they have become the parents of two children, Mary and Ethel. Mr. Mc-
Guigan is connected with Casselton Lodge, No. 3, A. F. & A. M. ; Dakota Consistory, A. &. A.
S. R. ; and El Zagal Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S. Both he and his wife attend the Presbyterian
church, to the support of which they contribute. As manager of the elevator Mr. McGuigan
216 IIISTOKY OF NORTH DAKOTA
is a factor in the commercial expansion of Chaffee, as the grain business is of great importance
throughout the state, and he seeks to promote the general welfare as well as to safeguard the
interests of the owners of the elevator.
OLE M. LIAN.
Olc il. Lian, a successful farmer of IJarnes township, Cass county, is one of the excellent
citizens whom Norway has given to the northwest. He was born on the 4th of May, 1864, a
son of Martin and Enger Lian, the former of whom is still living in tliat country, while the
latter has passed away.
Ole M. Lian is one of a family of five children, of whom four survive, and the days of
his boyhood and youth were passed in liis native country. In 1S83 he emigrated to the
United States and made his way direct to Kargo, Cass county, North Dakota, where lie worked
as a laborer for ten years. At the end of that time he rented six hundred and forty acres
of land, which he has since cultivated. He is energetic and practical and his labors yield liim
a good return.
In 1890 Mr. Lian was married to Jliss Beintina Moe, of Missouri, by whom he has two
children, Enger and Martin, both at home. Mr. Lian is a republican, but confinea his polit-
ical activity to the exercise of his riglit of franchise. He has been dependent upon his own
resources and the prosperity w'hich lie has gained is evidence of his enterprise and good
management. He is a member of the Lutheran church.
WILLIAM S. YOUNG.
William S. Young, actively identified with banking interests, was one of the organizers
of the First State Bank of Surrey in 1907 and has continuously been its cashier. Through
this and other business connections he has become widely known and is regarded as a valued
and representative resident of the northern part of the state. He was born in Leeds county,
Ontario, Canada, March 16, 1S68, and is a son of Eansom P. and Charlotte E. (Hales) Young,
who were also natives of the same locality, both born in 1844. The father nuide farming liis
life work and in the year 1880 crossed the border into the United States, settling near Grand
Forks, Nortli Dakota, where he continued to engage in general agricultural pursuits for a
number of years. He took up the study of veterinary surgery and began the practice of that
profession. He now spends the winter months in California and maintains his homo through
the summer seasons in Fargo, where he and his wife are now widely and favorably known.
William S. Young, the second in a family of seven children, began his education in the
schools of Canada, while later he continued his studies in Grand Forks and other towns of
North Dakota. At the age of fifteen years he began working for otlu>rs although he con-
tinued to live at home until he reached the age of twenty, when he accepted the position of
clerk in a hotel. Subsequently lie engaged in the hotel business on his own account, at Fargo,
North Dakota, continuing active along that line for five years. He next engaged in the pro-
duce commission business in connection with F. W. Peterson, of Fargo, with whom he remained
for six months, and during the succeeding year he conducted a real estate ofhce in Fargo. A
further progressive step brought him into the field of banking and in 1905 he organized and
opened the Farmers State Bank at Upham, North Dakota, which was later consolidated with
the Security State Bank of that place, Mr. Young acting in the capacity of cashier until 1906,
when he retired from that position to become one of the organizers and promoters of a bank
at Napoleon. He was active in the management and conduct of that institution for a year,
at the end of which time he wintlulrcw and became one of the foremost factors in the organi-
zation of the First State Bank at Surrey in 1907. He was chosen cashier of that institution
and has continuously served in that capacity to the present time. He is a stockholder, secre-
tary and trea.surcr of the Farmers Grain Association of Surrey and is interested in the Bond
Lumber Company of Minot, which operates eight yards in the state. He is likewise a
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 217
■director of the First State Bank of Bowbells and he is quite an extensive landowner, having
considerable farm land in North Dakota, giving his personal attention to the operation of a
farm near Surrey. His business interests have thus constantly broadened out and have
become of an important character, so that he is now one of the foremost merchants and
financiers of his part of the state. He is also a partner of L. C. Eby in the Eby &, Voung
Automobile Agency at Minot, North Dakota, whicli has the Buick agency for Northwest
North Dakota. He does everything in his power to advance public interests along the lines
of material development and intellectual and moral progress.
On the 7th of August, 1895, Mr. Young was married to Miss Jessie McBain, who was
born in Quebec, Canada, a daughter of David G. McBain, who was also a native of that place,
whence he removed to Winnipeg, where he engaged in general merchandising. He died in the
spring of 1897, having for several years survived his wife, who passed away in 1890. He
served as a member of the city council of Winnipeg although he was never ambitious to hold
public office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his private business allairs. Mrs.
Young was the second in her father's family of six children and by her marriage has become
the mother of six children, Tessie May, Enid C, Norma Earl, Meredith McBain, Kayle M.
and William Gordon.
Jlr. Young is identified with several fraternal organizations, including the Masons, the
Knights of Pythias, the Foresters and the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and while at
Grand Forks he served as chancellor commander of the Knights of Pythias lodge. He belongs
to the Presbyterian church and politically is a republican, but prefers that his public service
shall be done as a private citizen rather than as an office seeker. He has, however, been town-
ship treasurer and is now a member of the board of education at Surrey and has served as
president of the board for several years.
In the work of the church he has been quite active, serving as trustee and treasurer,
and he was also treasurer of the fire department. That he is a man worthy of trust and enjoys
the confidence of the public is indicated in the fact that he has several times been called upon
to administer estates. Prompt, energetic and reliable, he possesses in large measure a fund
of common sense and keen business sagacity and through the exercise of these qualities has
been able to overcome all difficulties and obstacles which barred his path to success and along
the line of earnest, persistent labor he has gained the goal of prosperity.
ERNEST G. SASSE, M. D.
Dr. Ernest G. Sasse has gained a large and representative practice in Lidgerwood, Rich-
land county, and is one of the most up-to-date and progressive physicians in his part of the
state. He has never ceased to be a student of bis profession and through post-graduate work
and wide reading keeps in touch with the latest developments in medical science. He waa
born in St. Charles, Minnesota, on the 14th of November, 1869, a son of Gustav and Caroline
(Fitzner) Sasse, the former of whom was born in Landsberg-on-the-Warthe, Germany, in 1843
and the latter in Pilgrims Heim near Breslau, in 1841. John Sasse, the paternal grandfather,
was also born in Landsberg-on-the-Warthe, Germany, but in 1845 came to the United States
and settled upon a farm near Gloversvllle, New York. Subsequently he removed westward and
his demise occurred at St. Charles, Minnesota, in 1907. The maternal grandfather, Carl Fitz-
ner, was born in Pilgrims Heim, near Breslau, Germany, but became a resident of the United
States in 1849. He settled in Wisconsin and engaged in merchandising in West Bend, meet-
ing with gratifying success in business. He passed away in the Badger state in 1882.
Gustav Sasse was but a boy when he accompanied his parents to the United States and
he finished his education in this country. For a number of years he engaged in farming, but
later conducted a general store at Vienna, South Dakota, and, having accumulated a compe-
tence, he retired and moved to Eevillo, that state, where Mrs. Sasse passed away July 5,
1916. At the time of the Civil war he served in a Wisconsin regiment for three years, thus
aiding in the preservation of the Union. His religious faith is that of, the German Evangelical
church, and fraternally he is connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, while in
politics he is a stanch republican. To him and nis wife were born seven children: Caroline,
218 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
the will.' of Mi'lvin P. Xoble, of Revillo, wlio inns a diay line and conducts a coal business at
tliat place; Kincst G. ; Henry A., who is a druggist of Henry, South Dakota; Carl A., an
attorney and editor of the Veblin Advance at X'tblin, Soutli Dakota; Edward L., a druggist
of Vienna, South Dakota; Edith, wlio married James F. Ashbaugh, a bank cashier of Mur-
dock, ilinnesota; and Esther, the wife of Edward A. Wing, of Brookings, South Dakota, wlio
is a traveling salesman for the C. G. Kice Coal Company.
Ernest G. Sasse attended the public schools of Minnesota and of Henry, South Dakota,
and took his preparatory work in the high school at St. Charles, Minnesota. Subsequently
he completed a four j'ear's course in the State College at Brookings, South Dakota, which
institution conferred upon him the degree of Bachelor of Scifnce in 1896. Having determined
upon the practice of medicine as a life work, he entered the Medical College of Hamline Uni-
versity at Minneapolis, from which he was graduated with the M. D. degree in 1SU9. He first
located at Revillo, South Dakota, where he inacticed for four years, but in 1904 he removed to
Lidgerwood, North Dakota, where he reniained a similar length of time. He then went to
Montana and practiced at Bridger and Bearcreek, that state. In the spring of 1913 he
returned to Lidgerwood, where he has since remained and where he has gained an enviable
reputation as a capable and conscientious physician. Dr. Sasse also owns and operates the
Lidgex-wood Hospital, which is equipped with all modern appliances. He has taken post-
graduate work at London, England; Berlin, Gennanj'; and Vienna, Austria, studying abroad
during the greater part of the year of 1908, and he has also taken advanced work at San
Francisco and Chicago. He finds membership in medical societies of great benefit in keeping
in touch with the trend of medical thought and practice and is identified with the county and
state medical societies and the American iledical Association.
Dr. Sasse was married on the 10th of February, 1913, to Miss Sophia Pearson, who was
born in Lanarkshire, Scotland. They have become the parents of two children: Bruce, who
was born May 26, 1914; and Douglas, whose birth occurred July 11, 1915.
Dr. Sasse Is a republican in politics, but although he takes the interest of a good citizen
in public affairs he has never been an office seeker, his professional duties requiring his undi-
vided attention. Fraternally he belongs to the ^Masonic blue lodge and the Royal Areli chap-
ter and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and in bis life exemplifies the principles of
fraternity at the basis of those organizations. He also holds membership in the Mitliodist
Eiiiseopal church, to the support of which he contributes and whose wo'k he furthers in every
way possible. He has not only gained recognition professionally, "but has also won the per-
sonal regard of those who have come in close contact with him, his salient characteristics
being such as invariably command respect and esteem.
E. D. ANGELL.
E. D. Angell, engaged in tlie real estate and investment business, has been a resident
of Fargo since August, 1881, and in the interim has taken a deep interest in the develop-
ment of the state. His business affairs have been conducted along large and growing lines
and he is now operating e.\tensively in real estate in Canada.
Mr. Angell is a native of Xew York, his birth having occurred in Lnpeer. Cortland
county, December 30, 1855, his parents being Erasmus D. and Sarah (Lake) Angell. both of
whom were natives of New York, where they spent their entire lives, the fatlur there
following the occupation of farming.
E. D. Angell is indebted to the public school sy.stem of tlic lOmpire state for the early
educational advantages which he enjoyed. He afterward attended the State Normal and
Training School at Cortland, the Cazenovia Siniinarv and the Syracuse University and was
graduated from the last named institution with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in the class
of 1880. He afterward taught for a year in the Soldiers Orphanage School in JIansfield,
Pennsylvania, and in 1881 sought the opportunities of the new and developing northwest,
making his way to Fargo, where he arrived in August. He spent a short time with a
threshing crew and subse(]neiit!y accepted a clerkship in the general store of Hubbard
& Parlin of Casselton, remaining with them, however, for only about a month. He next
E. D. ANGELL
L
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 221
went upon tlie road as collector for N. K. Hubbard, driving over Cass and Richland counties
when there were only trails through the country, roads having not yet been laid out. In
December of the same year he located permanently in Fargo and has since been engaged in
the real estate business. He has acquired extensive farm lands in both North Dakota and
in Canada, his larger operations in recent years having been in Canada. He is one of tlie
oldest real estate dealers in years of continuous connection with the business in Fargo and
in all that he does displays a spirit of enterprise that has carried him into important relations.
He has negotiated many extensive realty transfers and has gained a large clientage.
In 1889 Mr. Angell was united in marriage to Miss Jennie C. Burns, of Phelps, New
York, who was a university classmate. They had one son, who is deceased. Mr. Angell
gives his political allegiance to the republican party, while his religious faith is indicated by
his membership in the First Methodist church, in which he is serving on the board of
trustees and to which his wife also belongs. His business activity, his public-spirited citizen-
ship and his devotion to the general welfare combine to make Mi'. Angell one of the repre-
sentative and loading residents of Fargo. He has been associated closely with the city's
interests for a third of a century, his memory forming a connecting link between the primitive
past and the progressive present.
CHRIST PAULSON.
Christ Paulson, who is successfully engaged in farming and stock raising in Warren
townsliip, Cass county, is a native of Norway. His birth occurred November 12, 1848, and
he is a son of Paul and Carrie Paulson, both of whom have passed their entire lives in that
country. Two of their four children survive.
ChrLst Paulson received his education in Norway and remained there until 1877, when
he emigrated to the United States. For a year he resided in Houston county, Minnesota, but
in 1878 came to North Dakota and settled on his present farm on section 34, Warren township,
Cass county. In the years that have since intervened he has brought his place to a high state
of development and made many fine improvements thereon. Although he raises considerable
grain, he makes a specialty of stock raising and derives therefrom a good income. He has
purchased additional land from time to time and now owns four hundred and eighty acres.
In 1883 Mr. Paulson was married to Miss Eline Graalum, likewise a native of Norway,
and to their union have been born ten children: Nettie, who is at home'; Andrew M.; Aaguth,
the wife of Carl Olson; Otelia C. ; Oscar; Joseph, who is working at Cleveland, North Dakota
as operator; .Tarl, who is a clerk in Fargo; Louise; Richard; and Martha.
Mr. Paulson gives his political allegiance to the republican party and both he and his
wife are communicants of the Lutheran church. When he came to this country he was a
poor man, but he possessed energy and good judgment and by taking advantage of the
opportunities here offered he has gained financial independence.
FRED IvLINGER.
Fred Klinger, of Hill township, who has gained gratifying prosperity as a farmer, was
born in Germany on the 15th of June, 1850, a son of Frederick William and Beattie (Krue-
ger) Klinger, both of whom i)assed away in the fatherland. Our subject was reared at home
and acquired his education in the common schools. After his removal to the United States
in 1867 he spent about four months in the vicinity of Chicago, after which he removed to
Winnebago county, Wisconsin, where he remained for about twelve years, working as a farm
hand, after which he came to North Dakota, where he has since resided. For a year he
worked for a blacksmith in Buffalo, Cass county, but in 1880 he bought a relinquishment on
a homestead on section 4, Hill township, his present home farm. He has since purchased
additional land and nov ;wns three hundred and twenty acres, from which he derives a good
222 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
income, lie has made many excellent improvements upon his place and in 1903 he erected a
modern residence, which is one of the most attractive farm homes of the county.
In ISSS Mr. Klinger was married to Miss JCliza Berry, a native of Minnesota, and they
have become tlie parents of nine cliildren, of whom eiglit survive, Laura, Clara, Maria, Jlary,
Elizabeth, Anna, Adeline and Fred.
Jlr. IClinger is a liberal democrat in politics and when he deems that he can best serve
the public interests by so doing he votes independently. For about fifteen years he has served
as a member of the school board and during that time has been instrumental in advancing
the interests of the public schools. He belongs to tlie Modern Woodmen of America and his
religious faith is that of the Lutheran church, with which his family is also identified. When
he came to tliis country he liad no capital, but he was quick to see and take advantage of tlie
opportunities here oU'ered to tlie ambitious young man and as the years have passed his
resources have increased until he is now one of the substantial residents of his townsliip.
FRANIC W. PEARSON.
Frank W. Pearson, district agent at Fargo for the New York Life Insurance Company,
is a prominent representative of life insurance interests in his part of the state, is thoroughly
acquainted with every phase of tlie business and under his direction the interests of the com-
pany have been largely promoted. He has never allowed business cares, however, to prevent
his activity along the lines which lead to the uplift of the individual and the betterment of
the community and has long been regarded as one of the foremost members of the First Con-
gregational church and a factor in the moral progress of his community.
His life record had its beginning in Manchester, New Hampshire, on the 27th of July, 1856,
his parents being William S. and Sarah B. (Paige) Pearson, both natives of the Granite state
and representatives of old New England families. The ancestral line on the paternal side
can be traced back to England, whence a representative of the name came to the new world,
settling in Rowley, Massachusetts, in 1643. This was John Pearson, who established the first
cotton mill built on the western hemisphere. The corner post of the building was still stand-
ing in 1800, according to the New England ilagazine, when it was taken up and made into
foot rules. Timothy Jlorse Pearson, the great-grandfather of Frank W. Pearson, was a
soldier of the Revolutionary war, while William S. Pearson participated in the Civil war as a
Union soldier. Prior to becoming connected with the army he was foreman in the Stark cotton
mills at Manchester, New Hampshire, and after the cessation of hostilities he removed to
Detroit, Michigan, and became identified with the Detroit Safe Company as manager of one of
its departments, remaining in active connection with the business until 1884, when his
health failed and at the invitation of his son Frank he came to Fargo, making his home with
his son until his death in 1885. His wife survived him until 1000 and both were laid to rest
in Riverside cemetery at Fargo. In the maternal line the ancestry is traced back to Eng-
land and the first member of the family in the new world, John Paige, arrived in 1G38.
Frank W. Pearson acquired a common school education at Manchester, New Hampshire,
and at Detroit, Michigan. His father early decided that the son should be a mechanic and at
the age of sixteen years he was put to work at the plant of the Detroit Safe Company, in
the employ of which concern he remained for eight years. In 1880 he came to the west, arriv-
ing at Fargo on the 22d of June, bringing with him an introduction to J, B. Hall, the editor of
the Fargo Weekly Republican. Through the assistance of Mr. TIall he secured a position as
bookkeeper with the hardware firm of Stevens & Rolph, after which he was employed as book-
keeper by three different firms until the mid-winter of 1880-1, when he was made agent for
the Detroit Safe Company, which he thus represented for a number of year* in connection with
other work. In the summer of 1881 the Fargo Daily Republican was started and Mr. Pearson
was asked to take charge of the circulation department. Incidentally he was in the office
when the first edition of the paper was published and he bought the first copy that was sold.
This he subsequently presented to the State Historical Society. He continued with the
Republican in various capacities until 1892, at which time he resigned his position as city
editor and in June of that year became special agent at Fargo for the New York Life Insur-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA ' 223
aiice Company. In ISflo he was made general agent of the company and has since retained his
connection with the company. One of the most interesting experiences that came to him dur-
ing his association with the Fargo Daily Republican was in representing that paper at Bis-
marck during the last territorial legislature, at which time he was thrown into daily personal
contact with Colonel C. A. Lounsberry, who was representing the Bismarck Tribune. The
Fargo Daily Republican was the first newspaper outside of Bismarck that received the first
routine report of the proceedings of the legislature and probably the personnel of that legis-
ture made it the strongest ever assembled at Bismarck.
In July, 1887, Mr. Pearson was united in marriage to Miss Emma Spotts, of Fargo, who
at that time was a teacher of music in the Fargo public schools. To them have been born
five children, as follows : Lillian M., the wife of Ralph Beard, who is a professor in the Oregon
State Agricultural College at Corvallis; and Alice G., Mildred, Glenna P. and William S., all
at home.
In his political views Mr. Pearson has always been an earnest republican, conversant with
the questions and issues of the day and studying the vital problems which continually confront
the country. His chief activity outside of business, however, has been along the line of church
work. He has been called the resident father of Congregationalism in North Dakota. Mr.
Pearson, and E. W. Judd now of Washington state, were the pioneers in founding the first
Congregational church in Fargo, which was the first church of that denomination in the state.
Mr. Pearson has ever since been associated therewith and is now a deacon in the church. He
was also the president of the Brotherhood of the church and in all lines of the church work
has been very active and helpful. Fraternally he is a Mason, belonging to the lodge, chapter
and commandery. In 1896 he was chancellor commander of the Knights of Pythias lodge and
was very active in the work of that organization during the '90s but has demitted. For
several years he was quite active in the Old Settlers Association work and served as secre-
tary under the presidencies of William H. White, Colonel W. F. Ball and Judge Charles A.
Pollock. With every phase of the pioneer development of the state Mr. Pearson is familiar
and has not only been an interested witness, but also an active cooperant in many of the
plans and measures which have had direct bearing upon the state's history. Although of
New England birth he is passionately in love with that part of the union "out where West
begins, where men make friends without half trying."
AUGUST NELSON.
August Nelson, who is recognized as a leading merchant of Harwood, Cass county, has
not only gained individual success, but has also contributed in no small measure to the com-
mercial growth and expansion of his town. He understands thoroughly the problems that
confront the retail merchant and has systematized the work of his store, securing the great-
est efllciency in its operation, and his policy of giving full value for the money received has
enabled him to retain custom once gained. He was born in Sweden, October 7, 1855, a son of
Nels and Maria Nelson, both of whom died in Sweden.
The subject of this review was reared and educated in Sweden, remaining in that country
until 1876, when as a young man of twenty-one years he emigrated to the United States,
having heard much concerning the favorable conditions here. He made his way to Vermilion,
South Dakota, and remained in that locality for about eight months, working as a farm hand
during that time. In the spring of 1877 he came to North Dakota and for seven years worked
on farms in Cass county, carefully saving his money with the purpose of buying land. He
became the owner of one hundred and sixty acres in Raymond township, that county, on which
he resided until 1907. when he turned his attention from agricultural pursuits to other lines
of activity. He removed to Harwood and bought a hotel, which he conducted for six years,
in the meantime establishing his present business, which he has made the leading mercantile
enterprise of Harwood. He buys his stock with the preferences of his customers in mind
and has made unfailing courtesy a part of the service which his store gives its patrons. He
still owns one hundred and sixty acres of excellent land in Raymond township and also has
stock in the Farmers Elevator Company of Harwood.
224 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
ill-. Nelson was married in 1884 to Miss Ida C. Wakeland, of Rayiiimul township, who,
however, was born in Sweden. Two children have been born to tliis marriage: Kniil, wlio is
manager of his father's store; and Jlinnie Christina, at home.
Mr. Xelson gives his political allegiance to the republican Jiarty, but has never had the
time nor inclination to take an active part in public affairs. He and his family are attiliated
with the Swedish Lutheran church, the work of which they aid in every way possible, and
their lives measure up to high standards of ethics, ilr. Xelson is known throughout Cass
county and all who have come in contact with him, whetln'r in business or social relations,
esteem him highly.
L. X:. WALLA.
L. C. Walla, who is one of the leading business men of Horace, Cass county, is a native
of Norway, born on the 19th of April, 1878. His parents, L. P. N. and Lottie (.Jensen) Walla,
were also natives of Norway, where they lived and died. Five of their si.v children survive.
L. C. Walla was reared in Norway and attended the common schools there. In 1898, when
twenty years of age, he came to the United States and made his way to North Dakota. For
five years he worked as a farm hand in Cass county during the summers, while the winters
were spent in attending college in Fargo. At the end of that time he became a clerk in a
store in Horace and was so emplo3'ed for five years, after which he went to McKenzie county,
this state, and took up a homestead, on which he resided for fourteen months. He now owns
four hundred acres of land in that county, all of which is improved. In 1908 he returned to
Horace and established a general store and also engaged in the lumber business, both of
which undertakings he is still conducting. He is thoroughly reliable and his business policy
has gained him a good custom. He is also agent for the Norwegian American Steamsliip line
and owns stock in the F'armers elevator at Horace.
In 1908 Mr. Walla was united in marriage to Miss Anna Olson, who was born in Norway,
a daughter of Hans and Martha Olson. The father is deceased but the mother is still living.
Mr. and ilrs. Walla have two cliililrcn, Angell and Martha.
Mr. Walla is a democrat but his business interests have left him no time to take a very
active part in public affairs. Both he and his wife are communicants of the Lutheran church,
the teachings of which arc the guiding principles of their lives. When he came to the United
States Mr. Walla had no capital but through industry and good management he has become
one of the substantial men of his town.
ELLEF IvNTJDSON MYHRE.
One of the leading mercantile enterprises of Valley City is the projierty of Ellef Knudson
Myhre, a self-made man whose well diiected energies have enabled him to advance steadily
toward the goal of success. A native of Norway, he was born at Hallingdal in October, 1856.
His father, Knute Storlie, also a native of that place, had various business connections and
held several local offices, serving for some time in a position similar to that of judge of the
probate court.
His son, F.llef Knudson Myhrc, the third in a family of nine children, spent his school
days in Norway and in 1873 came to America, being then a youth of seventeen years. He was
the second of the family to cross the .\tlantic, having been preceded by his brother, Ole K.
Myhre, who settled in Minnesota in 1872 and is now living at Nome, Barnes county. North
Dakota. On coming to the new world E. K. Myhre made his way direct to Minnesota, where
he devoted a year to farming and then began work at the painter's trade, which he had pre-
viously learned in his native land. He was thus employed until March, 1879, when he removed
to Fargo and in July of the same year came to Valley City, where he again followed his
trade until 1885. in which year he opened a store that he conducted until 1894. He then
turned his attention to the real estate and insurance business, which he followed until 1900,
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 225
when he was appointed postmaster and after four years' service was reappointed, so tliat he
occupied the position until 1908. He then again entered the real estate and insurance field
and was so engaged until July, 1911, when he organized the Farmers Mercantile Company,
Incorporated, of which he became secretary, treasurer and general manager. This is a gen-
eral store and the business has steadily increased, a liberal patronge being now accorded. In
1908 Mr. Myhre erected the building which is now utilized by the Farmers Mercantile Com-
pany, a two story and basement structure, twenty-five by one hundred feet, at the corner of
Main street and Third avenue.
In March, 1884, Mr. Myhre was married to Miss Ogot Mortrude, of Norway, whose
parents were Wisconsin pioneers. Their children are: Alma Malvena, the wife of Vern Gale,
connected with the postoffice at Valley City; Carl Albert, city engineer of Valley City; Clara
B., wife of Roger E. Lloyd; Ernest Oliver, who is car clerk with the Xorthern Pacific Rail-
road Company; Ruth Alvera, a teacher of domestic science in St. Cloud, Minnesota; and
Walter Howard, who is with his father in tlie store. The family is one of prominence in the
community, enjoying the high regard and friendship of many with whom they have come in
contact.
Mr. Myhre is identified with the Sons of Norway, the Modern Woodmen of America and
the Ancient Order of United Workmen. His political endorsement is given to the republican
party and his fellow townsmen, appreciating his worth and ability, have several times called
him to public oflice. He served for two terms as a member of the city council and three
times was elected county commissioner but at length resigned that position to accept the
postmastership. He has ever regarded a public oflice as a public tnist — and it is well known
that no trust reposed in E. K. Myhre is ever betrayed. He is always loyal to the cause which
he espouses, reliable in business, loyal in citizenship and straightforward in every relation
of life.
HENRY A. KLUVER.
Henry A. Kluver is well known in financial circles of Ward county by reason of his active
connection with the banking interests of Burlington, where he organized the First State Bank
in 1909 and has since served as cashier. He was born in Butler county, Iowa, November S,
1878, a son of Charles and Dora Kluver, both of whom were natives of Heidelberg, Germany.
They were married in that country and on coming to the new world settled in Butler county,
Iowa, at which time Cedar Falls was tiieir nearest market. They were pioneers of that
locality and experienced all of the hardships and privations incident to life on the frontier,
but lived to see many changes and a marked difference in conditions in that state, Avhere
both Mr. and Mrs. Kluver continued their residence imtil called to their final rest. While in
Germany Mr. Kluver served as a soldier in the Franco-Prussian war.
Henry A. Kluver was reared in a household numbering nine children, of whom he was the
youngest. He attended school in Iowa and was also a student at the Wesleyan University of
Lincoln, Nebraska, and at the Capital City Commercial College of Des Moines, Iowa, his
thorough training there received well qualifying him for his later duties in financial circles.
He was about sixteen years of age when he began providing for his own support. He worked
his way tlirough school and when he finished his high school education pursued a commercial
course. He afterward went to Butte. Montana, where he was employed by others, and later
he lemoved to University Place, Nebraska, where he worked his way througli the university by
tutoring. He was also employed in a clothing house on Saturdays. In the spring of 1906
he came to North Dakota and settled on a homestead in McKenzie county more to obtain a
needed rest than otherwise. In the fall of 1908 he removed to Burlington and in the spring
of 1909 organized the First State Bank, of which he became the first cashier. He is still l
serving in that capacity and the success of the institution is largely attributable to his close
application and sound judgment. He is likewise one of the partners in the .lohn son -Kluver
Lumber Company and is a stockholder in a number of outside corporations, while ids real
estate holdings include land in North Dakota and city property in Lincoln. He has rented
his farms in this state and devotes practically all his time to the banking business.
226 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
On the 28th of October, 1914, Mr. Kluver was united in marriage to Carrie Wallace
Johnson, a daugliter of James and Ida J. (Colton) Johnson, mentioned elsewhere in this work.
!Mr. and Jlrs. Kluver are members of tlie Presbyterian churcli and in polities Mr. Kluver is a
republican. He served on the board of education at Burlington for a number of years, a part
of the time as president, and his fraternal relations cover connection with tlie Masonic lodge
at Alinot. He has largelj' concentrated his time and eflorts upon his business allairs and his
sound judgment and enterprise are evidenced in his success. He is a self-made man and is
highly esteemed and respected in the city in which he makes his home.
NILS N. WALLA.
Nils X. Walla, who owned four hundred and forty acres of excellent land in Stanley
township, Cass county, was born in Norway, December 9, 1826, a son of Nils I. and Pernielia
(Christianson) Walla. His parents were also natives of Norway, where they passed their
entire lives. In their family were thirteen children but only two are now living.
Nils N. Walla was reared under the parental roof and attended the public schools of
Norway in the acquirement of his education. He continued to reside in that country until
1807, in which year he came to the United States. He first settled in Fillmore county, Minne-
sota, wliere he remained until 1874, when he removed to Cass county, this state. He settled
on<he land which is still owned by the family and at once began to improve his place, which
was then but a tract of raw prairie. His fii'st residence was a log cabin b\it a number of years
later he erected a good frame dwelling and he also made many other improvements upon
the place. The land is now under cultivation and the family derive therefrom a good income.
Mr. Walla owned four hundred and forty acres on sections 19, 20 and 30, Stanley township,
and gained financial independence.
In 1868 Mr. Walla was united in marriage, in Minnesota, to Miss Anna Johnson, who
was born in Norway, a daughter of Jolin and Karen (Christopherson) Johnson, who were
lifelong residents of Norway. Mr. and Mrs. Walla became the parents of twelve children,
five of whom are living, John, Anna, Karen, Benjamin and Nora.
Mr. Walla was a republican and for years served acceptably as school director and as
school treasurer. He was a member of the Lutheran church, to which his widow also belongs,
and his influence was always on the side of right and progress. He was over eighty-nine years
of ago when he passed away January 7, 1916, and he had the satisfaction of knowing that
his life was well spent, as he not only prospered financially but was also a factor in the
development of his community along lines of moral and educational advancement.
HANS T. HOGY.
Hans T. Hogy is a well known representative of the grain trade in Ward county, having
in 1905 established a grain elevator in Burlington, while at the same time he is proprietor of
a second elevator at Deslacs. His spirit of progress is manifest in an unceasing activity that
results in success. A native of Wisconsin, he was born at Viroqua, August 20, 1870, his par-
ents being Foster and Christie (Lermo) Hogy, both of whom were natives of Norway, where
tbev were reared and married. They came to America abo\it 1807, settling at Viroqua. and
in that locality the father engaged in farming. Subseqiiontly he removed to Cyrus, Minne-
sota, and continued to engage in agricultural pursuits until his death in October, 1912. His
widow survived for only a few months, passing away in March, 1913.
Hans T. Hogy pursued his education in the district schools of his native county and in
the public schools at Cyrus, Minnesota, having removed to the latter state with his parents,
with whom he remained until he reached the age of twenty-two years, when his father gave
him eighty acres of land, also telling him to go to the barn and select the horse which he
wanted. Thus he started upon an independent business career and for seven years was
engaged in farming in ^Minnesota, after which he turned his attention to the grain business,.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 227
which he followed in that state until 1905. Arriving in Burlington, North Dakota, in that
year, he became identified with the grain business there and is now operating the Farmers
Elevator. He has extended the scope of his business by taking over the elevator at Deslacs.
He is also engaged in the live stock business, having on hand two hundred and fifty head of
cattle. While he owns considerable land in North Dakota, he devotes the greater part of his
time to the grain trade, yet he feeds cattle extensively each year, employiaig men to cultivate
his land. He readily recognizes the salient points in a business transaction and so directs
his efforts that energy and determination have brought to him success.
In June, 1896, Mr. Hogy was united in marriage to Miss Indiana Lybeck, who was born
in Christiania, Norway, and during her early girlhood was brought to America by her parents.
She died in February, 1915, leaving two daughters: Myrtle, who is attending the State Normal
School in Minot; and Hazel, who is a pupil in the Burlington schools.
Mr. Hogy is identified with the Modern Woodmen camp at Burlington and with the Elks
lodge at Minot and his religious faith is evidenced in his membership in the Lutheran church.
His political allegiance is given to the republican party and his fellow townsmen have called
him to some local offices although he has never aspired to political preferment. He has
worked diligently to attain his present success and business standing, both of which have
been creditably won and place him with the leading citizens of Ward county.
A. F. BONZEE.
A. F. Bonzer, of the firm of Bonzer & Mathews of Lidgerwood, is not only a factor in
the business development of his town and county but is also very active in politics and in
public afl'airs generally. He was born in Clayton county, Iowa, November 30, 1863, of the
marriage of Joseph and Catherine (Blaha) Bonzer, both natives of Bohemia. The father
was born in 1813 and although Bohemian by birth spent thirteen years in Vienna, where he
received an excellent education. He was able to speak and write German, Bohemian and
English and was well informed on all subjects of general interest. In his youth he came
to the United States with his parents, both of whom died in this country. Follow^ing his
marriage he located in Clayton county, Iowa, where he purchased land from the government,
which he cultivated until 1883. In that j'ear he became a resident of Brown county. South
Dakota, and at once took up a homestead, upon which he resided for twelve years. He then
again removed westward, making his way to Oregon, where he remained for a year, after
which he located in Idaho. Still later he came to North Dakota and passed away in this state
in 1903. He was a democrat in politics, and his religious faith was that of the Catholic
church. He was successful financially and also gained the warm regard and the sincere
respect of all who came in contact with him, for his life measured up to high standards. To
him and his wife were born six children, five of whom are still living, namely: Mrs. Lizzie
Johnson, a resident of Cresco, Iowa; John, a retired farmer residing in Hecla, South Dakota;
Henry, who is engaged in the hardware business in Hettinger, North Dakota; A. F.; and 0. W.,
who is manager of a hardware store in Lidgerwood.
A. F. Bonzer received his education in the common schools of Iowa and during his boy-
hood and youth devoted much time to assisting his father with the farm work. He engaged
in farming independently in Iowa and South Dakota but in 1893 he removed to Lidgerwood,
North Dakota, and established a meat market. For ten years following this he also bought
and shipped cattle, becoming one of the large stock dealers of the county, but at the end of
that time he sold out and erected a large brick building, in which he engaged in the mer-
cantile business, conducting a general store successfully for five years. On disposing of that
business he entered the real-estate field but for six years divided his attention between a
number of business interests. Since 1908, however, he has devoted practically his entire
time to the land and loan business as a member of the firm of Bonzer & Mathews. They buy
and sell land outright, operating chiefly in the southern part of North Dakota, and they
have gained a gratifying measure of success. Mr. Bonzer owns a great deal of valuable farm
and city property and is also a director in the Farmers National Bank of Lidgerwood and the
Farmers State Bank of Mantador, this state.
228 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Mr. Bonzer was married in 1887 to Jliss Haiinali Dinger, wlio was born in Indiana and
is a (laughter of Polycarp Dinger, who removed his family to South Dakota in 1882. For
a number of years he was actively engaged in farming but is now living in Lidgerwood. Mr.
and Mrs. Bonzer have five children : Cora, the wife of Walter Truax, cashier of the Genesee
State Bank of Geiieseo, this state; Clarence, who is assisting his father; Mamie, the wife of
Adolph Kotehan, cashier of the State Bank of Kermit, North Dakota; Arthur, residing in
Genesee; and Archie, who is attending St. John's school at CoUegcville, Minnesota.
The parents attend the Baptist church, but the children are members of the Methodist
Episco])al church. Mr. Bonzer is well known fraternally, belonging to Lodge No. 1093, B. P.
O. E., at Fergus Falls; the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed through
all of the chairs; and to the Masons. In politics he is a stalwart democrat and is recognized as
one of the leaders of his party in southeastern North Dakota. He has been called to a num-
ber of positions of trust and honor and has at all times discharged his official duties with
ability and conscientiousness. For seventeen years he served on the school beard and for
eighteen years he has been a member of the city council, of which he is now president, and
for six years, beginning with 1901, he was county commissioner. Still higliiM- honor came to
him when in 1912 he was elected to the state senate, defeating a strong republican candidate,
although the republican majority is normally three or four hundred. His has been a life
of intense activity, and his achievements are the more commendable in that he has depended
solely u))on his own resources since boyhood.
HAROLD THORSON.
A superficial view of the life record of Harold Thorson makes one feel that his career
is almost magical, but careful analysis of the course that he has followed shows that his
splendid success is but the direct, logical and merited reward of persistent, earnest labor,
keen discernment, judicious investment and unabating energy — qualities which in time have
made him one of the foremost bankers in the two states of North Dakota and Jlinneseta,
while he pays the largest income tax in the former state. Back of this is an interesting story
— the story of a youth of foreign birth who sought the ojiportunities of the new world and
started out in business circles on this side the Atlantic with a caj)ital of good health, vigor,
determination and ambition. He was born on the Dovre farm in Nordre Aurdal Brcstegjeld,
Valdrcs, Norway, November 16, 1841, and when a youth of sixteen he bade adieu to friends
and native land and started for the new world, believing that he might have better business
opportunities on this side the Atlantic. On his waj' to this countrj' he was temporarily
struck snowblind while crossing Filefjeld to Laerdal. As a passenger on the sailing vessel
Gauge Rolv, which weighed anchor at Bergen, he spent five weeks before landing at Quebec.
From that point he made his way to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and in a land unhampered by
cast or class he put forth his initial effort toward attaining success. Realizing the value of
education as a business asset, he spent three years as a high school pupil in Manitowoc and
for four years he was employeil as a cli'rk. thus gaining mercantile experience and at the same
time adding largely to his knowledge of the Knglish language and of American methods and
customs. During that period he practiced the strictest economy until his savings amounted
to a sum sullicient to enable him to embark in business on his own account.
Mr. Thorson chose Jlinnesota as the field of his labors and in 1865 opened a store at
Northfield. All through the period of his connection with trade interests there he was study-
ing business conditions and opportunities in this state, watching the trend of development
and progress, and in 1889 he gave demonstration of his notable prescience and foresight in the
purchase of a large tract of land at Klbow Lake. It was this that caused him to transfer his
business activities to northwestern Minnesota and North Dakota. Dr. .1. Paul (loode of the
University of C'liicago, economist, whose study of the resources of the country has perhaps
been as comprehensive as that of any other man, says that the best possible investment is rn
farm land, and so it proved in the case of Mr. Thorson, who began cultivating his land on
an extensive scale, bringing the tract to a high state of improvement and thus greatly
enhancing its market value. It was also a logical step to real estate dealing and further-
HAROLD THORSON
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 231
more he became a factor in financial circles by identifying himself with banking. From point
to point in that field he lias extended his efforts until he is now president of a large number
of banks throughout the northwest. He pays the largest income tax in North Dakota.
After residing at Elbow Lake for a long period Jlr. Thorson went to St. Paul, where he
lived retired for three or four years, but idleness is utterly foreign to his nature and
this life of inactivity did not please him. In 1906, therefore, he removed to Drake, North
Dakota, where he purchased the Merchants State Bank. He today controls twenty-five dif-
ferent banks in North Dakota and Minnesota, of most of which he is the president, and
lie is regarded as one of the foremost representatives of banking interests in tlie two states.
He is a stockholder in the American National Bank and the Northern Savings Bank, both of
St. Paul, being a director in the former and vice president of the latter. His holdings of farm
lands are also extensive and he likewise has large investments in city property in St. Paul
and elsewhere.
On November 22, 1864, Mr. Thorson was united in marriage to Miss Karen Lajord, by
whom he had eight children, four of wliom still survive, as follows: Thor D., bank examiner
for his father; Clara J., who is the wife of L. H. Ickler, vice president of the American
National Bank of St. Paul; Cecil Lenor, at home; and Henry Lewis, who is employed in the
Merchants State Bank of Drake. The wife and mother passed away in 1913.
Mr. Thorson has been a generous contributor to church and charitable work and he was
one of the incorporators and one of the largest contributors to the support of St. Olaf College
at Northfield, Minnesota, during tlie days when it was struggling for existence. To secure
tlie location of the scliool at Northfield he made a personal contribution of two thousand
dollars and assisted in raising six thousand more among tlie influential men of the city. He
procured tlie old public school buildings and lots in tlie town for twenty-five hundred dollars
and he picked out the present beautiful site on Manitou Heights as a place for the permanent
home of the institution. He was the principal member of the building committee at the
time of the erection of the main building and he bore the expense of tearing down the old
buildings on the original site and removing the materials and putting them into what is
known as the old Ladies' Hall on the hill. He contributed ten thousand dollars toward the
erection of Mohn Hall and has never ceased his active interest in the school. He has been
equally generous in support of various other beneficient projects. His friends regard him as
a commercial genius. He himself modestly disclaims this, but it is a self-evident fact that his
ability has brought him to a position far in advance of the great majority of his fellowmen.
One of the secrets of his success is that he has noted and utilized opportunities that others
have passed heedlessly by. Another element in his progress has been his untiring diligence
guided by sound judgment and expressed in honorable business methods. He is a great man
not because he has attained wealth but because he has maintained that even balance which
enables him while conducting mammoth business interests to recognize and meet Ins duties
and obligations in other connections, judging life from a sane, practical standpoint and making
the most of his opportunities not only for tlie benefit of himself but also for the benefit of the
northwest.
PETER JOHNSON.
As North Dakota is primarily an agricultural state its wealth and development are due
chiefly to the labor of its progressive and enterprising farmers, among whom is numbered
Peter Johnson, who owns and operates three hundred and twenty acres of excellent land in
Raymond township, Cass county. He was born in Sweden on the 24th of May, 1860, of the
marriage of John F. and Margaret (Hendrickson) Johnson, both of whom died in their native
country.
Peter .Johnson was reared at home and in the acquirement of his education attended the
common schools of Sweden. In 1882, when a young man of about twenty-two years, he
determined to try his fortune in the United States and accordingly made his way to North
Dakota, where he was employed during the summer as a farm hand. The following winter
he went to Duluth, Minnesota, and did teaming and worked in the woods until spring, when
232 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
he returned to this state. A year later he bought a relinquishment on a tree claim in Steele
county, which he sold three years later. He then returned to Sweden and for a year and
a hall' remained there but at the end of that time came again to the United States and pur-
chased his present home farm, which comprises one hundred and sixty acres on section 10,
Raymond township, Cass county. He also owns one hundred and sixty acres on section 11
and cultivates the entire three hundred and twenty acres, his labors being rewarded by large
crops, tlie sale of which yields him a good profit. Although he is now one of the substantial
citizens of his township he not only had no capital when he came to North Dakota in 1882
but was in debt for his passage money. He worked to such good purpose and managed hia
affairs so well that on his return to Sweden five years later he had sixteen hundred dollars
saved. In addition to his valuable farm he owns stock in the Farmers elevator at Ilarwood
and the Farmers elevator at Prosper.
In 1888 Mr. Johnson was married in Sweden to Miss Margaret Peterson, by whom he had
four children, two of whom are living, John and Peter E., both at home. The wife and
mother died in 1894 and six years later Mr. Johnson married Miss Edla Sandstrom. who
was born in Sweden, a daughter of Lars and Johanna (Peterson) Sandstrom. Her father is
still living in Sweden but her mother has passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have become
the parents of three children, Herbert, Sigma and Fern.
Mr. Johnson is a stalwart republican and for a number of years was constable and for
several terms was a member of the school board, his services proving very satisfactory in
those capacities. He is identified with the American Yeomen and the Scandinavian lodge,
and both he and his wife are communicants of the Swedish Lutheran church, which indicates-
the principles which govern their conduct.
PETER S. GOLBERG.
Peter S. Golberg, a farmer residing in Stanley township, Cass county, has manifested
those qualities of energy and faith in the future which are characteristic of the west. He
was born in Wisconsin on the 12th of May, 1852, a son of Svcnd and Segri (GoUings) Gol-
berg, both of whom were born in Norway. In 1847 they emigrated to the United States and
for five years they made their home in Wisconsin, but in the latter part of 1S32 they ri'rnoved
to Fillmore county, Minnesota.
Peter S. Golberg, the eldest in a family of thirteen children, was educated in Minnesota
and grew to manhood in that state. In 1877 he came to North Dakota and located upon a
farm on section 8, Stanley township, Cass county, where he is still living. He is a stock-
holder in the Farmers Elevator at Horace.
In 1881 occurred the marriage of Mr. Golberg and Miss Hannah Olson, who has lived in
Cass county since she was seven years of age. Mr. Golberg is a stalwart democrat and has
taken quite an active part in polities. For one term he served as county auditor and for one
term as county commissioner, proving an able and conscientious official. He is at present a
member of the township board. Fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of
America and both he and his wife are communicants of the Lutheran church. His salient
characteristics are such as have always won respect and esteem and he has many warm per-
sonal friends.
AUSTIN GRAY.
Austin Graj-, who was connected with business interests in a niiniber of North Dakota
towns, was especially well known as a hotel man and won a competence which enabled him
to build in 1905 a commodious home at Leeds and to retire from active life. However, he
was not long permitted to enjoy his leisure as his death occurred on the 10th of April, 1906.
He was born in De Kalb county, Illinois, November 30, 1846, of the marriage of Norman and'
Anne (Ledden) Gray. The father was probably born in Vermont and the mother was a native-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA ' ■ 233
of Ireland. He devoted his life to farming and never removed farther we,st than Illinois
although he visited his son Austin in North Dakota.
Austin Gray, who was the eldest of a family of six children, attended school in De Kalb
count}', Illinois, and completed the work of the grammar grades. He remained at home until
twenty-one years of age and in the meantime learned the blacksmith's trade. On attaining
his majority he went to Georgetown, Colorado, where he remained for a number of years, after
which he removed to Chicago. He was employed in machine shops there for a considerable
period but about 1880 removed to North Dakota and located in Dickey county, eight miles
northeast of Oakes. He resided upon his farm until after his marriage, when he engaged in
the hotel business at Leeds, this state, at the request of his wife, who had for a number of
years conducted a hotel at Oakes. They remained the proprietors of the hotel at Leeds for
twelve yeiirs and at length, at the solicitation of traveling men, changed the name from the
Commercial Hotel to the Hotel Gray. On selling out their interests there they removed to
the site of Ryder and, purchasing a tract of land, founded the town. Mr. Gray engaged in
the general mercantile business there, conducted a hotel and was also the first postmaster of
the town. He played an important part in the development of Ryder along material and civic
lines and was one of its most influential citizens. After remaining there for two and a half
years he returned to Leeds, where he erected a fine residence and retired from the cares of
business. He retained title to the hotel at Ryder and he and his wife also purchased a hotel
at White Earth and Mrs. Gray is still interested in both properties. He passed away April
10, 1906, and his demise was widely regretted, for he had a host of warm friends.
Mr. Gray was married on the 13th of January, 1893, to Mrs. Anne (Barrett) Galvin. She
was born in New York harbor on a sailing vessel on which her parents, Daniel and Mary
(Barrett) Barrett, natives of County Clare, had crossed from Ireland to the United States.
On removing to this country in 1853, they located in Pennsylvania but subsequently removed
to New York, where the father engaged in construction work as a contractor on the New York
& Erie Railroad from Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, to Clean, New York. Later he removed with
his family to Rochester, Minnesota, and for eighteen years engaged in farming in that
locality. On the expiration of that period he removed to North Dakota and after living for
a time on the present site of Wimbledon, went to .Jamestown, where he passed his last days,
dying in 1899. His wife was called bj' death in 1891. They were the parents of fourteen
children, of whom Mrs. Gray is the fifth in order of birth. In 1866 she was married to Michael
Galvin, a native of Ireland, whom she met in New York state. He engaged in railroad work
there for some time but on the outbreak of the Civil war enlisted in Company D, One Hun-
dred and Fifth New York Volunteer Infantry, for six months. On the expiration of his term
of service he reenlisted for three years and served with his command until he was taken
prisoner at the battle of Shiloh. He was confined in Andersonville prison for six months but
was released at the close of the war. He then went to Salamanca, New York, but later
removed to Rochester, Minnesota, where he remained utnil his death on the 10th of April,
1883. To him and his wife were born seven children, namely: William Henry, deceased;
Mary Elizabeth, the wife of John Boyle, a railroad man living in .Jamestown; Daniel, who
died when nine years old; Ann, the widow of F. E. Wood, of Leeds, this state; Grace L., the
deceased wife of H. A. Jones, of Minnewaukon, North Dakota; and .John N. and Michael B.,
both of whom have passed away.
Mr. Gray was a stanch advocate of the democratic party and served as a member of the
board of education of Leeds for many years. Fraternally he belonged to the Workmen and
Woodmen. He was a communicant of the Roman Catholic church but did not confine his
interest in moral and religious effort to his own denomination, for he did more than any
other resident of Leeds for the advancement of the Protestant churches of the town. His
broadmindedness and generosity found expression in many ways and there was no project
calculated to promote the public welfare that did not receive his heartiest support and coop-
eration. He was a man of sterling integrity, of unusual business ability and of marked
determination and those who were closely associated with him held him in the highest regard.
There were many who profited by his help and who owe their success to his timely and
unostentatious aid. His demise was indeed a loss not only to his family and intimate
friends but also to his community.
Mrs. Gray stills owns the hotel at Ryder and has an interest in the hotel at White
234 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Earth and in 1907 removed to licrtliold, wlioro she erected tlie Hotel WiiUher, whicli she
owns and conducts. The hotel building is a two story modern brick structure which is
equipped for the comfortable aeconuuodation of sixty guests. It is considered one of the
best hostelries between Minot and Williston and is up-to-date in every respect. Mrs. Gray
gives the closest personal attention to the conduct of the business and neglects nothing
afFccting the comfort of her guests. She has built up a large patronage and is an important
factor in the business life of her community. She is characterized by enterprise, sound judg-
ment and public spirit and holds a high place in the esteem of all who know her.
GUST NYSTROM.
Gust Nystrom is widely known and highly respected throughout Cass county, to the
agricultural development of which he has contributed not a little. He owns four hundred
and eighty acres of well improved and highly cultivated land and he was the organizer and
is the president of the Farmers Elevator at Horace. A native of Sweden, his birth occurred
on the 4th of January, 1858, and his parents were Peter and Nettie Nystrom, wlio were life-
long residents of that country. They were the parents of six children, four of whom are
still living.
Gust Nystrom was reared at home and acquired his education in tlie jtublic schools of
Sweden, where he remained until 1882. In that year he came to America and, making his
way to the west, found employment as a carpenter in St. Paul. After a year he came to
North Dakota and took up land in Richland county, where he resided for seven years, after
which he sold that place and purchased his present home farm on section 24, Warren
township, Cass county. He has improved the place with fine buildings and has made it one
of the best developed farms in his township. He has also purchased additional land and now
owns four hundred and eighty acres, all of wliich is improved. He was the organizer and is
the president of the Farmers Elevator at Horace, a progressive and prosperous concern.
In 1885 Mr. Nystrom was united in marriage to Miss Amelia .Jensen, a native of Norway,
who came to America in 1881. She passed away in 1913 and was laid to rest in the
Horace cemetery. She was the mother of ten children, namely: Alma, the wife of Elmer
Holman; Ida; Adolph; Amelia, who is teaching school; Jane, who is a graduate of the
Aakers Business College at Fargo and who is now a bookkoopor in the Scandinavian Bank
of that city; George; Lydia; Walter; Robert; and Ernest.
Mr. Nystrom is a stanch republican and docs all in his power to secure the victory of
that party at the polls. He has served on the town and school boards, discharging the duties
devolving upon him in a capable manner. He is a member of the Lutheran church, of which
he is one of the trustees, and for ten years he has served as superintendent of the Sunday
school. He is one of the leaders in all movements seeking the moral advancement of his
community and is likewise interested in everything that tends to promote its material
development.
AXEL TRANGSRUD.
Axel Trangsrud is a retired farmer residing at No. 91.') Tenth avenue. North, in Fargo,
and the record of his life indicates what may be accomplished when determination and energy
are utilized as the basis of success. He was born in Norway on the Snth of October, 1859,
and is a son of Hans and Bertha (Torderud) Trangsrud, who came to the United States in
1870 and after a year spent in Mitchell county, Iowa, removed to North Dakota, where they
secured a squatter's claim on the eastern side of the Sheyenne river on section 14, Normanna
township, Cass county. This the father afterward homesteaded when the homestead law
went into effect and there he and his wife continued to reside throughout their remaining
days, his atterttion being given to the further development and improvement of the farm.
Axel Trangsrud was reared on the old homestead and acquired a district school educa-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 233
tion. His opportunities in youth, however, were limited but he received ample training in
farm work, early becoming familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring
for the crops. After reaching man's estate he remained at home for a number of years,
givuig his attention to the operation of the home farm, and in 1895 he turned his attention
to merchandising in Davenport, Cass county, where he remained until 1899, when he sold his
interests there and returned home. In 1901 he purchased a half section of land in Pleasant
township but never lived upon that farm, renting it to a tenant for eight years, after which he
disposed of the property. About 1907 he came into possession of the old homestead compris-
ing two hundred acres of rich and productive land and a year before he had acquired one
hundred and sixty acres from a brother's estate, which farm cornered on the home place.
Thus Mr. Trangsrud came into possession of three hundred and sixty acres of valuable farm
property and bent his energies to its further development and improvement, bringing his
fields to a high state of cultivation and annually gathering therefrom rich crops. He resided
upon this property until January 34, 1913, when he retired from active farm life and removed
to Fargo, where he now makes his home. He still remains a stockholder in the Farmers
Elevator Company at Kindred, is a stockholder in the Scandinavian American Bank of Fargo
and in the Kindred State Bank and from his investments derives a gi-atifying annual income.
As a companion and helpmate on the journey of life Mr. Trangsrud chose Miss Meta
Olson, a native of North Dakota, by whom he has two children, Howard and Alpha. He gives
his political allegiance to the republican party and for two terms has ably served as assessor
of Normanna township. Mr. Trangsrud is a member of the Sons of Norway and is one of the
well known pioneers of Cass county, to which he came in 1871. In the forty-five years which
have since elapsed he has witnessed many notable changes whereby a wild frontier district
has been converted into a populous and prosperous commonwealth. In keeping with the
onward march of progress he has so conducted his business affairs that success in substantial
measure has come to him.
HON. KNUTE S. EAMSETT.
Hon. Knute S. Eamsett, who has been active in framing state legislation as a member
of both the house of representatives and state senate and who still continues a leading
factor in political circles, is known in business connections as a most enterprising mer-
chant of Fingal and also as vice president of the Merchants State Bank. He was bom
near Madison, Wisconsin, April 29, 1854, and is a son of Siver K. and Britha (Johnson)
Eamsett. The father, who was born at Hedemarken, Norway, lived to the advanced age
of eighty-six years but the mother passed a-\vay at the age of fifty-five. Siver K. Eamsett
was a cabinetmaker by trade and in 1S48 crossed the Atlantic to the new world, settling
first near Madison, Wisconsin, where he worked at eabinctmaking and also at carpentering
and building. Later he went to Vernon county, Wisconsin, where he took up the occupation
of farming and there made his home throughout his remaining days.
Knute S. Eamsett was the second in order of birth in a family of eight children. He
mastered the elementary branches of learning in the district schools of Vernon county and
afterward graduated from the high school at Viroqua, AVisconsin, and attended the Wisconsin
State University at Madison and the C. C. Curtis Business College at St. Paul. His residence
in North Dakota dates from 1882, in which year he arrived in Bismarck and engaged in the
mercantile business as a clerk. Later he removed to Washburn, where he conducted a general
store and also filled the office of postmaster. He there continued until 1892, when he dis-
posed of his store at that point and removed to Fingal, where he established a general store
and has since carried on a business of creditable and gratifying proportions. He is likewise
the vice president of the Merchants State Bank and owns several business buildings as well
as residences and lots in the town of Fingal in addition to his own fine modern residence.
On the 35th day of July, 1888, Mr. Eamsett was united in marriage to Miss Bertha M.
Cumberland and their children are: Maurice S., a high school pupil; and Howell Le Eoy.
Mr. Eamsett gives his political allegiance to the republican party and his opinions carry
weight in political circles in this state. His fellow townsmen, appreciative of his ability and
236 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
liis public spirit, elected him their representative to the state legislature in I'JDU and in lUOO
he was elected a member of the state senate. In both houses he gave earnest consideration
to the vital questions which came up for settlement and supported various legislative meas-
ures which have become laws. In 1914 he was elected a member of the state central com-
mittee and still retains his membership therein. Fraternally he is a Knight Templar Mason
and also belongs to several other secret orders. He is a member of the Lutheran church and
is a man of high moral worth. He is of a genial and pleasing personality, is a man of ability
and has won substantial success. At the same time he has proven his capability and effi-
ciency in public ollice and he never allows private affairs to so monopolize his attention that
they exclude the faithful performance of his public duties. "
GUSTAVE W. NACK.
Gustave W. Nack, who is engaged in merchandizing in Embden, Cass county, is recog-
nized as an excellent business man and has built up a large and profitable custom. He was
born in Germany on the 20th of June, 1ST9, a son of Albert and Alvina (Bast) Xack, both
natives of that country, where they remained until 1886, when they brought their family to
the United States. They settled on a farm in Cass county, Xorth Dakota, where the father
passed away, but the mother is still living and now resides at Casselton.
Gustave W. Nack remained under the parental roof until he became of age and then
began farming on his own account. He was practical and progressive and his well diiected
labors were rewarded by fine crops, the sale of which yielded him a good income. He con-
tinued to farm until 1911, when he removed to Embden and entered the mercantile field, in
which he also succeeded. He carries a good stock of goods, selected with reference to the
needs of his community, and as his business methods are thoroughly reliable his trade has
grown steadily. *
In 1909 occurred the marriage of Mr. Nack and Miss Martlia Krucger, a native of Cass
county and a daughter of William and Barbara Krueger, pioneers of that county who came
to this state from Germany. Two children have been born to this union, Evelyne M. and
Murl G.
The republican party has a stanch adherent in Jlr. Xack and he takes a keen interest
in public affairs. He is now serving as postmaster of Embden and has demonstrated his fit-
ness for the office, discharging his duties with efficiencj'. He belongs to Casselton Lodge,
No. 3, A. F. & A. M., and is a Mason in deed as well as in name, exemplifying in his life the
beneficent spirit of the craft. He has resided in Cass county during the greater part of his
life and those who have known him since boyhood are his stanchest friends, a fact which
indicates his sterling worth.
ARTHUR L. PARSONS.
Arthur L. Parsons, an attorney of Lidgerwood, is recognized as one of the able mem-
bers of the bar of Richland county and has gained a good clientage. He was born in St.
Paul, Minnesota, on the 25th of August, 1873, a son of J. S. and Louise (Folsom) Parsons,
both of whom were natives of Maine. The father, whose birth occurred in 1840, died in 1915.
The mother, who was born in 1845, passed away in 1913. They were married in the Pine
Tree state, but in the '60s emigrated westward and located in Illinois, whence in 1870 they
removed to St. Paul, Minnesota, where the father engaged in the machine business. In 1899
they came to North Dakota and he took up land in Richland county. ITo met with gratify-
ing success and from time to time acquired title to additional land until at one time he
owned sixteen hundred acres. In 1903 he sold out and during the remainder of his life lived
retired. In politics he was a stanch republican and he took a keen interest in public affairs,
being especially concerned for the welfare of the school system, serving for some time upon
the school board. He was a man of liberal education, a graduate of Bates College of Lewis-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 237
ton, Maine, and his wide knowledge and sound judgment gave bim a position of leadership
in his community. To him and his wife were born six children, namely: Ottie, the wife of
W. J. Medland, a banker of Park River, this state; Arthur L.; Cleve M., an attorney of
Hettinger, North Dakota; Eoy, who is farming near Chinook, Montana; Stella, who is now
Mrs. Downing, residing near Velva, this state; and Ralph I., a wheat buyer living in Canada.
The Parsons family is of English descent but has been established in this country for a
number of generations. A great-great-grandfather of our subject participated in the Revo-
lutionary war.
Arthur L. Parsons received his elementary and secondary education in the schools of
•Geneseo, Illinois, graduating from the high school in 1891. He subsequently entered the
College of Law of the Minnesota State University, which conferred upon him the degree
■of LL. B. in 1896. He was admitted to the bar in Minnesota and also in North Dakota and in
the year of his graduation began the active practice of his profession at Lidgerwood, where
he has since remained with the exception of two j'cars, during which he was connected with
Emerson H. Smith at Fargo. He returned to Lidgerwood in 1907 and the confidence which
the general public has in his ability is evidenced by the large and profitable patronage which
he enjoys. He prepares his cases carefully and is convincing in the presentation of his argu-
ment before the court with the result that he hag gained a favorable verdict in most
instances. He practices in all the courts and stands high among his professional brethren.
In connection with his law practice he conducts an insurance business and writes many
policies annually.
In 1900 occurred the marriage of Mr. Parsons and Jliss Floy Goss, of Durand, Wiscon-
sin, by whom he has three children, Ruth, Dorothy and Arthur D.
Mr. Parsons is an adherent of the republican party and for two years was maj'or of
Lidgerwood, giving the municipality an efficient and businesslike administration. He has
been clerk of the school board during the entire period of his residence in Lidgerwood and has
also served as city attorney for several terms. His religious faith is that of the Baptist
ehurch, and fraternally he is connected with the Masons and the Woodmen, these associa-
tions indicating the rules which govern his conduct. He is not only a successful attorney,
but is also a public-spirited citizen and a man of unquestioned integrity, and all who have
come in contact with him hold him in the highest esteem.
FHANK M. JOHNSON.
Frank M. Johnson, one of the leading business men of Alice, North Dakota, is now
engaged in general merchandising but formerly devoted his time and attention to agricul-
tural pursuits, in which he was also successful. He was born in Iowa county, Iowa, on the
3d of .Tune, 1866, a son of Alexander P. and 5Iary (Wade) .Johnson, both natives of Peoria
county, Illinois, where they were reared and married. In 1853 they removed to Iowa county,
Iowa, becoming pioneer settlers of that part of the state. At the time of the Civil war the
father enlisted in the Union army, becoming a member of the Eleventh Illinois Cavalry,
under the command of Colonel Robert IngersoU. After the close of the war he returned to
Iowa and farmed there xuitil 1888, when he removed to South Dakota. Five years later he
came to North Dakota, locating in Sargent county, where he passed his last years. His
wife is still living and makes her home with her two sons, Frank M. and Thomas F.
Frank M. .Johnson attended the public schools in the pursuit of an education and during
his boyhood and youth gained valuable training in farming through assisting his father. On
reaching manhood he decided to follow the occupation to which he had been reared and for a
number of years was successfully engaged in farming in Sargent county. In 1913, however,
he came to Cass county and in partnership with his brother, Thomas F., is now engaged in
the mercantile business in Alice. They carry a well selected stock and have built up a large
and lucrative patronage, their reliable business methods commending them to the confidence
of the general public. They still retain their land holdings, owning seven hundred and twenty
acres in Sargent county.
Frank M. .Johnson casts his ballot in support of the democratic party, but has never
238 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
been an aspirant for office, finding that his private affairs require his entire time and atten-
tion, rte belongs to the Masonic order and in all relations of life strives to live up to the
high moral teachings of the craft, lie has not only won the respect of all who have come in
contact with him, but has also gained the warm personal regard of many.
P. J. ENGESETH.
P. J. Engeseth, engaged in the general practice of law at Minot, was born in Dane
county, Wisconsin, August 23, 1873, a son of John Engeseth, of whom mention is made
elsewhere in this work. He continued his education after leaving the common schools in the
Luther College at Decorah, Iowa, and in the University of South Dakota, in which he p>ir-
sued his law course, graduating in the class of 1904. He was reared to farm life and during
vacation periods throughout his college days he worked at farm labor in Wisconsin, thus
providing for the expenses of his university work. In 1901 he came to the northwest, settling
at Dell Rapids, South Dakota, where he remained until in the spring of 190S he came to
Minot. Here he entered upon the practice of law and with the exception of a year spent
in California has since continued an active member of the Minot bar, devoting his attention
to general practice and also making a specialty of collections and mortgage foreclosures. He
devotes his entire time to his professional duties and has made steady advancement in his
chosen field of labor.
On the 12tli of August, 1915, Sir. Engeseth was united in marriage to Miss Mabel
Johnson, a native of Painted Woods, North Dakota, and a daughter of .John A. .Johnson, who
is an agriculturist now residing in Painted Woods. In his political views Mr. Engeseth is
independent nor has he ever aspired to office holding. Fraternally he is connected with the
Elks Lodge, No. 10S9, of Minot, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of
Pythias. His attention, however, has always been largely concentrated uiioii his professional
duties and he early recognized the fact that industry is just as essential in law practice as
in any other field of labor. He has therefore closely applied himself to the work of preparing
his cases and does not enter the courts until well qualified to present his cause in the strong,
clear light of common sense and of sound reasoning.
JOHN I^. JONES.
Tlie life record of .John R. .Jones, of Hankinson, Richland county, should serve to spur the
ambition of those who are beginning their independent career, for from a poor boy he has
worked his way upward until he is now one of the leading capitalists of this section of
North Dakota. He is the largest land owner in Richland county, is president of the Farmers
& Merchants Bank of Hankinson, of the First State Bank of Rutland, the First National
Bank of Wyndmere, and of the Security State Bank of Jlclntosh, South Dakota, and is a
stockholder in many other banks in North and South Dakota, and also has many other
important business interests. Although the greater part of his time has been given to his
business affairs, he has not failed to cooperate with movements seeking the advancement
of his community along lines of moral and civic progress, and he is recognized as one of the
foremost citizens of his county.
Mr. Jones was bom in Winnebago, Wisconsin, on the 12th of August. IS.'jO, a son of
Evan and Margaret (Roberts) Jones. The father was born in Wales, but came to the
United States in his young manhood, locating in Wisconsin, where he was married to Miss
Roberts, also a native of Wales. He purchased land from the government as the section
where he settled was then largely undeveloped, and he devoted the remainder of his life to
operating his homestead. He was a republican in politics, and for years served as marshal
of Neenah, Wisconsin, making an excellent record in that office. His religious faith was that
of the Methodist Episcopal church. To him and his wife were born eleven children, of whom
our subject is the eldest and of whom ten survive.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 239
John R. Jones received excellent educational opportunities and was graduated from
Ripen College, at Ripon, Wisconsin, in 1882. For some time he worked in lumber yards and
was subsequently superintendent of various mills in northern Wisconsin, but in 1886 he
removed to Hankinson, North Dakota, where he was connected with a corporation engaged
in the lumber and machinery business. At length he bought out the concern and has since
continued independently In those lines of business. He has succeeded beyond his greatest
expectations, and his annual business has reached a large figure, and in addition to his
business at Hankinson he has lumber yards at Rutland, North Dakota, and at New Effing-
ton and Hammer, South Dakota.
In 1886 Mr. Jones was married, in northern ilichigan, to Jliss Victoria Hamilton, and to
this union was born a daughter, who is now a missionary in Canton, China. The wife and
mother died on the 18th of March, 1887. Jlr. Jones was later married to Mary E. Stilwell,
of Ripon, Wisconsin, and to them have been born five children: John S. and Iferold M.,
both attending college; and Edith Belle; Daniel L. and Mary Carol, all at home.
Mr. Jones easts his ballot in support of the measures and candidates of the republican
party, but has never taken an active part in politics. He and his family are all devout
members of the Congregational church at Hankinson, in which Mr. Jones is very much
interested, being an active church member and very liberal in his contributions toward the
support of the church. He is widely known throughout the state and all wlio have been
brought in contact with him hold him in high esteem, and lie has many warm personal friends
among his business associates and neighbors.
ARNE 0. TUSIvIND.
Arne 0. Tuskind, of Davenport, has varied business interests in Cass county. He is
engaged in merchandising in Davenport, is president of the Farmers State Bank of that town
and also has an interest in a valuable farm. He was born in Norway on the 31st of January,
1863, and his parents were Ole and Carrie (Bratforl Tuskind, both of whom were born in
the land of the midnight sun. In 1871 the family crossed the Atlantic to the United States
and, making their way to the middle west, settled in Iowa, where they lived for one year.
In 1872 they removed to Cass county, North Dakota, and took up their abode on a farm on
the Sheyenne river, where the parents spent the remainder of their lives. The place was a
tract of wild prairie when it came into the possession of the family and the first residence
was a log cabin with a sod roof, which remained the family home for ten years. In time,
however, excellent improvements were made on the farm. Five of the nine children are still
living.
Arne O. Tuskind received his education in the common schools and remained at home
until he was twenty-five years of age, when he obtained employment as a clerk in a store at
Davenport. He worked in that capacity for seven years and then engaged in general mer-
chandising on his own account. He has an excellent store in Davenport and has gained a
gratifying patronage. He is also president of the Farmers State Bank of that town and was
one of the organizers of the institution, which holds the entire confidence of the community.
He is likewise treasurer of the local telephone company and he still owns an interest in the
old homestead, which comprises five hundred and fifty acres of improved land.
Mr. Tuskind was married in 1890 to Miss Josie Johnson, a native of Norway, who came
to the United States in her girlhood. They have become the parents of five children: Carl,
who was employed as a bookkeeper in the Moore building in Fargo and who is deceased ;
Clarence, at home; Stella, who is attending high school at Fargo; and Eugene and Arnold.
Mr. Tuskind is a democrat and has taken much interest in public affairs. He has served
as president of the village board, of which he is now treasurer, and for ten years he was
president of the board of education, doing much in that time to advance the interests of
the public schools. He holds membership in Lodge No. 29, K. P., in which he has held all
of the chairs, and he has served as a delegate to the Grand Lodge of North Dakota. He is
likewise identified with Modern Woodmen, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the
Modern Brotherhood of America and the Yeomen. Both he and his wife are members of
2-10 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
the Lutheran church, and he is serving as secretary thereof. His is a well rounded character,
and in his life he has combined business activity with public service and with work along the
lines of moral advancement and development. All who have been brought in contact with
him hold him in high esteem, and his personal friends are many.
B. H. SCHNEIDER.
B. H. Schneider is the efficient and popular cashier of the Farmers State Bank of Daven-
port, Cass county, and is also a landowner. He was born in that county on the 3d of Sep-
tember, 1S82, a son of Louis and Johanna Schneider. His parents, who were natives of
Wisconsin, removed to this state in 1879 and located upon a farm four miles north of Daven-
port, where the father passed away in 1909 and where the mother still makes her home.
They became the parents of nine children, seven of whom are still living.
B. H. Schneider remained at home until he attained his majority and acquired his edu-
cation in the public schools and in a business college at Fargo. On completing his course
there he accepted a position as bookkeeper at Valley City, where he remained for a year,
after which he became assistant cashier in the Sawyer State Bank, which office he filled for
two years. At the end of that time his father died and he returned home to take charge
of the farm, which he operated for six years. He then aided in organizing the Farmers State
Bank at Davenport, of which he has since served as cashier. He understands business con-
ditions, manifests e.vcellent judgment in deciding various questions of policy, and under
his direction the bank has prospered. He also owns one hundred and sixty acres of land
and has an interest in the homestead.
On the 24th of December, 1914, Mr. Schneider was married to Jliss Mary Liechty. who
was born in Indiana and is a daughter of C. S. and Mary (Witmer) Liechty, both of wliom
are living in this county.
Mr. Schneider votes the republican ticket and has served as township clerk and is now
filling the office of village clerk. Both he and his wife are members of the Evangelical church
and take an active interest in the spread of its influence. Mr. Schneider is a }'Oung man
of marked energy and ability, and his continued success seems assured.
LEWIS H. PAIGE.
Lewis H. Paige, an attorney practicing at Berthold. was born in Oronoco, Minnesota,
May 4, 1860, a son of Foster A. and Clara M. (Beals) Paige, both of whom are natives of
the state of Vermont. The father was a farmer and in 1858 left New England, removing
westward to Minnesota, at which time he settled near Oronoco, but after about three years
returned to Vermont, where he remained until 1881. He then became a resident of Glendon,
Minnesota, where he engaged in merchandising for seven years. On the expiration of tliat
period he removed to Fargo and for about eighteen years acceptably filled the responsible
position of bookkeeper with the Fargo Loan Agency. His death there occurred in August,
1909, and his widow now resides with her son Lewis in Berthold. The father was born in
1832, so that he was seventy-seven years of age at the time of his demise. To him and
his wife were born five children: Julia, deceased; Lewis IL: Foster, w-ho is manager of a
large farm near Fargo and is also a large landowner; Nathaniel, who died in childhood; and
Marie, a violinist residing in Portland, Oregon.
Taken by his parents to New England in his early childhood, Lewis H. Paige attended
school at St. Albans, Vermont, and afterward pursued a special course in chemistry at
Fargo. Later he studied law with W. C. Dodge, of Fargo, and when twenty-three years of
age he accepted the position of bookkeeper in the oflTices connected with the elevator of the
Northern Pacific Company at Fargo. Two years later he entered the employ of the New
Hampshire Trust Company, for which he traveled in western Minnesota and South Dakota
until 1886, when he accepted the position of manager with the W. B. Clark Investment Com-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 241
pany at Fargo, remaining there until 1891. In the meantime he read law with Mr. Dodge
for about four or five years and in the fall of 1891 entered the office of that attorney, with
whom he remained until the fall of 1893, having been admitted to the bar on the 4th of
October, 1889. In the fall of 1893 he went to the Pacific coast with the intention of locat-
ing in that section of the country, but after spending about a year in Portland, Seattle and
Tacoma he returned to Fargo, where he entered the employ of the Fargo Loan Agency, with
which he continued until the fall of 1904. He was afterward employed by the firm of Wells
& Dickey until 1906, when he removed to Berthold and opened a law office, since which time
he has there engaged in the practice of law and in the real estate and loan business. He
purchased the town site and he has since made two additions to Berthold and he now owns
three business properties and an attractive residence in the town. He is also an extensive
owner of North Dakota farm lands, but the greater part of his attention is given to the
practice of law.
In May, 1893, Mr. Paige was married to Miss Estelle W. Power, who was born in Worces-
ter, Massachusetts, a daughter of William A. and May (Walter) Power, natives of Pitts-
field, Massachusetts, and Elmira, New York, respectively. The father served in the Civil
war as a member of the Ninth Illinois Cavalry for four years, was twice wounded in battle
and was promoted to the rank of adjutant. At the close of his military service he returned
to New York, where he engaged in railroad work until May, 1880, when he came to the west,
settling in what is now Leonard, North Dakota. There he engaged in stock farming and
breeding, continuing at that point until 1893, when his health failed and he went to the
Milwaukee Soldiers' Home, where he is now located. His wife is living with her daughter,
Mrs. Paige, at the age of sixty-five years, while Mr. Power has reached the age of seventy-
four years. Mrs. Paige is the only child and was educated in the schools of Fargo, com-
pleting a high school course.
In his political views Mr. Paige is a democrat, but has never sought nor desired public
office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs. Almost his entire
attention is given to his law practice and his ability in that line has brought him a good
clientage.
CHARLES ELMER BATCHELLER.
Charles Elmer Batcheller, cashier of the First National Bank of Fingal and proprietor
of the Poplar Grove Jersey Farm, which adjoins the town, was born at Stockton. New Y'ork,
October 10, 1863, a son of George Stillman and Eliza Ann (Lamphear) Batcheller. The
genealogy of the Batcheller family in America was compiled and published in a volume of
six hundred pages March 21, 1898, by Frederick C. Pierce, of Chicago, the ancestry being
traced back to the beginning of the seventeenth century in England, at which time members
of the family figured prominently in public affairs. The Rev. Stephen Batcheller, "Puritan
Emigrant," was among the first to come to America, while others were William, Joseph and
Alexander Batcheller. Three hundred representatives of the family took part in the Revo-
lutionary war, as recorded in the genealogical volume, and twenty of the name received pen-
sions. Many of the descendants have been and are prominent in the learned professions and
in various walks of life. Different branches of the family have spelled the name in various
ways. Captain Joseph Batcheller, grandfather of Charles E. Batcheller, was born in Wor-
cester, Massachusetts, June 3, 1778, and died in 1870. He was married .January 18, 1810, in
Smithfield, New York, to Dorothy Needham. who was born April 32, 1789. and passed away
February 20, 1865. Their son, George Stillman Batcheller, was born at Pomfret, New York,
July 5, 1825, and wedded Eliza Ann Lamphear, who was born November 18, 1834, and passed
away March 9, 1881. Of their family of six children five were daughters.
The only son, Charles E. Batcheller, attended the district schools and the State Normal
at Fredonia, New Y'ork, and afterward took up railroad work as station agent and operator
on the New York Central, continuing in that connection for six years. Coming to North
Dakota in 1892, he was afterward connected with the Northern Pacific Railway Company
for eighteen months and then accepted the position of assistant cashier in the First National
242 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Bunk at Bullulo, North Dakota, witli wliich lie remained for five years. In 1899 he removed
to Fingal, where he organized the State Bank of Fingal, wliich is 1904 was merged into
the First National Bank. In 1900 the company erected the present bank bnilding, which is
splendidly equipped for the conduct of the hiisiness. Since the establishment of the bank Mr.
Batcheller has continuously filled the position of cashier. There has been nothing spectacular
in its history but a steady, continuous growth that is most gratifying. The bank has a
paid in capital .stock of twenty-five thousand dollars and a surplus of five thousand dollars.
Its total demand deposits amount to fifty-seven thousand three hundred and sixty-seven
dollars and its total time deposits to ninety-four thousand eight hundred and forty-eight
dollars. ]\Ir. Batcheller also owns a valuable farm of three hundred acres adjoining the town of
Fingal, of which he has two hundred acres under cultivation, while the balance is devoted
to pasture and the raising of alfalfa. The place is well fenced and there is good water,
while the residence, barns and outbuildings are all commodious and siibstantial. Here Mr.
Batcheller is engaged in the raising of thoroughbred stock, making a specialty of Jersey
cattle, which he has exhibited at the county and state fairs, and at the state fairs of 1910,
1911 and 1912 he carried oif all the first prizes. He now has over seventy head of Jersey
cattle on his place and finds a ready market for all the increase.
On the 28th of June, 1899, Mr. Batcheller was united in marriage to Miss Laura Dona-
hoe, of Huron county, Ontario, a daughter of Peter Donahoe, who was born near Toronto,
Ontario, 'and Eliza (Kenny) Donahoe, also of Ontario. The grandfather, Brian Donahoe,
was a native of Ireland and his father removed to Canada with his seven sons, most of whom
emigrated to the United States.
Fraternally Mr. Batcheller is connected with the Masons as a member of lodge, chapter,
commandery and Mystic Shrine. He is also identified with the Benevolent Protective Order
of Elks. At the present time he is serving on the governor's staff and he visited the Panama-
Pacific Exposition in San Francisco as one of Governor Hanna's aids. His standing in
financial circles is indicated by the fact that he has been honored with the presidency of the
North Dakota Bankers' Association, succeeding J. L. Caskcl, of Grafton, who in turn suc-
ceeded Governor L. B. Ilanna. Mr. Batcheller is vice president of the State Society of the
Sons of American Revolution. He belongs to the Congregational church and is a past presi-
dent of the North Dakota Christian Endeavor Union. His wife is a lady of much more than
average ability and has been a valuable assistant to her husband through the excellent
advice which she has given liim in relation to his banking and stock raising interests.
WILLIAM 1). W ILSON.
William D. Wilson, of Minot, who has farming interests in Ward county, was born in
Ontario, Canada, July 3, 1877, a son of William and Isabella (Caithness) Wilson, natives
of Canada and Scotland respectively. The father, who was a contractor and builder, came
to the United States in 1891, settling in Fargo where he engaged in business until he retired.
He afterward removed to Minot, where he passed away in 1907, while his widow still makes
her home in that city. Their family numbered eight children, of whmn William D. Wilson
is the fifth in order of birth.
In a high school in Canada William 1). Wilson completed his education and when a youth
of sixteen entered a telegraph office at Fargo as an apprentice. He continued there as an
operator until 1S97 and afterward spent a year in Grand Forks in the same capacity and a
similar period at Moorhead, Minnesota. In 1899 he arrived in Minot as manager for the
Western Union and Great Northern Companies, occupying that position for six years. In
1900 however, he filed on land in Ward county and when he left the telegraph office took
up his abode upon the farm, which is situated ten miles from !Minot. With characteristic
diligence and determination he bent his energies to the development, cultivation and improv-
ment of his place and resided thereon until the fall of 1912, when he established his home
in the city of Minot in order to afford his children better educational opportunities. He
is the present manager and secretary of the ^linot Dairy Company, of which he is one of the
stockholders, and he still gives his attention to the further development of three hundred
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 243
and sixty acres of excellent farm land, devoting the greater part of his time to his agricul-
tural interests.
In January, 1900, Mr. Wilson was united in marriage to Miss Edith Blom, who was
born in Ortonville, Minnesota, a daughter of Paidolph and Caroline (Johnson) Blom, both of
whom were natives of Stockholm, Sweden, whence the mother came to the United States at
the age of sixteen years. The father was about twenty j-ears of age when he crossed the
Atlantic, settling in Minnesota. The Johnson family established their home near Chicago,
and Mr. Blom engaged in general merchandising for some time and eventually removed to
Minot after residing in Fargo for a number of years. He retired from business in that city
and is now enjoying a well earned rest, but his wife passed away in Minot in 1913. Mr.
and Mrs. Wilson have become the parents of three children: Lucile B.ernice, a high school
pupil in Minot; Helen Mae, also attending school; and Woodrow Donald, three years of age.
Mr. Wilson is a prominent member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, having
filled all of the offices in the local lodge and representing the organization in the Grand
Lodge, in which he has likewise been called to official position. He is now master Woodman
at Minot. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he served on the
township school board for four years. His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church,
the teachings of which have been a dominant force in his life, guiding him in all of his
relations with his fellowmen. He seeks those things which are most worth while not only
for himself, but for the community', working for the intellectual and moral progress as well
as for the material development of the district.
JOHN G. BOATMAN.
John G. Boatman, postmaster at Milnor, was born in Sedalia, Missouri, July 7, 1860,
a son of Thornton and Rebecca (Brownfield) Boatman. The father was a native of Ken-
tucky and of Scotch descent, while the mother's birth occurred in Virginia. In early life
they removed to Missouri with their respective families and near Sedalia, that state, were
married, establishing their home there and continuing their residence near that city until
called to their final rest. The father was a miller by trade and became the owner of a large
mill, but at the time of the Civil war this was burned to the ground by the soldiers. He
then turned his attention to farming and continued in active connection with business pur-
suits until he retired from business life, spending the last ten years in the enjoyment of a
well earned rest in Sedalia. He died in 1901, having for more than a quarter of a century
survived his wife, who passed away in 1875. In their family were eight children and all
are yet living.
John G. Boatman, the third in order of birth, obtained his education in the schools of
Sedalia, which he attended until he reached the age of fourteen years and then at his
mother's death Ijegan to earn his own living. He was employed in difl'erent ways at Sedalia
until seventeen years of age, when he began freighting by team to the mining camps out of
Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo. For three months he freighted express for the state
penitentiary at Canon City and spent about a year in that city, but in 1879 returned to
Missouri, where he invested his earnings in a farm of two hundred acres near Sedalia. He
then began farming on his own account and the result of his labors was soon seen in highly
cultivated fields.
As a companion and helpmate on life's journey Mr. Boatman chose Miss Maggie Hamil-
ton, whom he wedded in 1883, while she was visiting in Sedalia. They have become the
parents of four children: Charlie and Price engaged in farming; Boy, employed in a lumber
yard at Milnor, and Leila, the wife of Franz Gustavson.
Following their marriage Mr. Boatman and his wife remained in Missouri until 1885,
when he disposed of his property interests there and purchased a farm in Woodbury county,
Iowa, comprising two hundred and forty acres of rich and productive land. He lived thereon
for about seventeen years, when he disposed of that property and in 1902 went to Sargent
county. North Dakota, where he invested in three hundred and twenty acres of land in Mil-
nor township, adjoining the corporation limits of the town of Milnor. Since that time he has
244 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
further extended the boundaries of his farm by the purchase of a quarter section and he
also rents four hundred acres adjoining, so that hu now farms about eight hundred acres,
being one of the extensive agriculturists of the community, llis business allairs are wisely
directed and are bringing to him substantial and gratifying success.
Mr. Boatman is the oldest member of Anchor Lodge, Ko. 25, F. & A. M., at Jliliior and
is a most loyal and exemplary representative of the craft. His religious faith is that of the
Presbyterian church and his political belief that of the democratic party. In 1913 he
received the appointment to the position of postmaster of Milnor under President Wilson
and still serves in that capacity, making as excellent a record in office as he had previously
done as a private citizen and as a business man. He has never been afraid of hard work and
seems always to have realized the full force of the old Greek adage: "Earn thy reward; the
gods give naught to sloth."
H. G. BROTEN.
H. G. Broten, who is serving as postmaster of Davenport, and is also engaged in mer-
chandising there, is a native of Cass county, born on the 29th of Jlay, 1884. His parents,
Ole A. and Lena (Brink) Broten, were both natives of Norway, where they remained until
1865, in which year they emigrated to the United States. After residing for about fifteen
years in Minnesota they removed to Cass county. North Dakota, and took up their residence
on a farm. The father passed away in 1909, but the mother is still living. Our subject's
paternal grandfather also survives and has reached the advanced age of ninety-five years.
H. G. Broten is one of a family of four children, all of whom are living and all are
married. He passed the days of his boyhood and youth under the parental roof and attended
the common schools in the acquirement of an education. On beginning his business career
he became a clerk in a store at Davenport, in which connection he continued for two years.
He was then assistant station agent at that "place for a time, after which he was a brake-
man on the Great Northern Kailroad for two years. He next engaged in the flour and feed
business at Davenport, with which he is still connected. In 1911 he established a newspaper,
known as the Davenport News, which he conducted for a time. He now holds the oflice of
postmaster and is sj-stematic and accurate in the discharge of his duties. He also conducts
a store in connection with the postoffice and owns a good business block in Davenport.
Although comparatively a young man he has gained a measure of success that many of
his seniors might well envy.
Mr. Broten was married in 1911 to Miss Edna Zimmerman, who was born in Canada of
the marriage of Jacob and Elizabeth (Brill) Zimmerman. Her parents are still living and
reside upon a farm in Cass county, this state.
Mr. Broten is a republican and takes a keen interest in everything that affects the
general welfare. He is now serving as chairman of the village board and manifests the
same care and thought in directing the affairs of the municipality as he does in managing
his private business interests. Fraternally he is identified with the Modern Woodmen of
America and has many friends in that order and in the community at large.
ABRAM S. TAYLOR.
Abram S. Taylor, a grocer at Sheldon, was bom in Schoharie county, New York, Aug-
ust 11, 1845. His father, William Taylor, one of the early residents of the Empire state,
removed westward to Wisconsin and thence went to Elgin, Illinois, where he spent his
remaining days. He was a lawyer by profession and while in Wisconsin engaged also in the
real estate business. After his removal to Illinois he purchased what was known as the
Banner farm of that state, situated forty miles out of Chicago and four miles from Elgin
and comprising a half section of land. He then turned his attention to general agricultural
pursuits and continued the further development and improvement of his notably fine place
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 245
up to the time of his death, whiclx occurred in 1S67. A number of years before he had
wedded Margaret Shutts, a native of Xew York, who died in 1S48. Mr. Taylor, the father,
was married three times.
Abram S. Taylor began his education in the schools of the Empire state, continued his
studies in Sheboygan and also attended an academy at Elgin, Illinois. It was while he was
a student there that the Civil war began and he volunteered for service in the Union army,
joining the Seventeenth Illinois Cavalry on the 25th of December, 1863, and remaining with
his command until the Christmas season of 1865. Later he engaged in farming in Illinois
and in 1876 removed to Sauk Eapids, Minnesota. While there making his home he trav-
eled for a hardware house, devoting six years to that business. Later he went to South
Dakota, where he secured a squatter's claim, and as soon as possible he filed on his land,
giving his attention to farming there for eighteen years, his labors resulting in bringing
about a marked transformation in the appearance of his place. When the work of the
farm was put. aside he removed to Shelbj', South Dakota, where he engaged in the lumber
business for a year and a half. In 1903, however, he came to North Dakota and established
a lumber yard in Glenburn, where he continued for a year, hauling his lumber from Minot to
Glenburn, a distance of twenty-two miles, up to the time when the railroad was put through.
In 1904 he removed to Sheldon, where he opened a hardware store which he owned and
managed for eight years, and on selling out in that line he established a grocery business,
which he is now conducting. He has gradually worked his way upward and is enjoying a
profitable trade.
In 1867 Mr. Taylor was married to Miss Clara Bradley, who was born in Vermont, Sep-
tember 30, 1850, her parents being old residents of that state. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor have
had five children, namely: Eveline, who was born May 16, 1869, and passed away in 1895;
Cora, whose natal day was May 16, 1870; Lisle, born in 1877; Charlie, bom in 1879; and
Blanch", whose birth occurred in 1898.
In his politcal views Mr. Taylor is a democrat and while living in Walworth county,
South Dakota, served as registrar of deeds and as county commissioner. At the time he
was chosen for the first named office he was the only democrat elected on the ticket, having
a majority of one hundred and fifty over his opponent — a fact which indicated his personal
popularity and the confidence reposed in him. At the close of his first term he was again
nominated and won the election by a majority of two hundred and fifty notwithstanding
Walworth is a strong republican county. He is a member of the Fraternal Bankers Society,
as is his wife. They attend the Presbyterian church but Mrs. Taj'lor is an Episcopalian in
religious faith. Well known in Sheldon, they are highly esteemed because of the possession
of traits of character which have kept them in line with all those interests and movements
which work for the uplift of the individual and the benefit of the community.
CHARLES L. STEVENSON.
Charles L. Stevenson, who for fourteen years has been actively connected with the State
Bank of Berthold, of which he was one of the founders and of which he is now the president,
came to his present position well qualified by previous experience in the l^anking business
at Minto and before that time in other places. Practically his entire life has been passed
in North Dakota, although he was born in Kingston, Canada, August 4, 1875, a son of
James and Louisa (Jacobi) Stevenson, the former a native of the north of Ireland, while
the latter was born in Germany. In the fall of 1876 they arrived in this state and settled
on the Turtle river near Grand Forks, where Mr. Stevenson secured and developed a home-
stead which he continued to cultivate until 1914, when he disposed of that property and
now makes his home in California. His wife passed away in 1913. He has never been
active in politics but was always loyal to the best interests of his community and during
his residence in this state served on the local board of education.
Of a family of eight children Charles L. Stevenson was the third. His educational
opportunities were very limited, as he did not get to attend school after reaching the age
of twelve years, at which time he entered a bank in the employ of his uncle at Ardoch,
246 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
North Dakota. He was a little barefooted ureliin clad in jeans trousers, and no one would
have predicted that he would some day be at the head of a banking institution himself.
The diligence, determination and industry which have been his salient features were early
manifest and there were times when he would be left for two or three days alone in the
bank. He received twenty-five dollars for seven months' work and at the end of that time
he pursued a three months' course in a business college in Minneapolis. He then returned
home and acted as bookkeeper and also as postmaster for a cousin who was employed in a
general store. He severed that business connection when sixteen years of age and went
into the Bank of Minto at Jlinto, this state, in the position of assistant cashier, there
remaining for about nine years, although in the meantime he was advanced to the position
of cashier. He resigned in 1902 and came to Berthold, where he purchased lots and erected
the present bank building, founding the State Bank of Berthold, which institution he entered
as it first cashier. Five years later he purchased the interests of other stockholders and
became president of the institution, in which connection he still continues. He is cngsiged
in the general banking business and his wise direction of the interests of the bank, manifest
in a progressiveness that is tempered by safe conservatism, has brought well merited success
to the institution. He is also a director of the Fanners Elevator Company and the owner
of considerable farm land and in 1914 cultivated fifteen hundred acres, while in 1915 he
gave personal supervision to the tilling of seven hundred and forty acres. He was at one
time proprietor of a drug store in Berthold but has recently disposed of that business to
his brother and now largely concentrates his attention upon his banking business.
On the 23d of June, 1902, Mr. Stevenson was married to Miss Laura Hughes, a native
of North Dakota and a daughter of John and Sarah Hughes. Her father, a farmer by
occupation, became one of the early residents of this state and is now living retired in
Minto. To Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson have been born two children: Frances, born June 24,
1903; and Jack L., July 31, 1909. In his political views Mr. Stevenson is a democrat but
has never aspired to office. Fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of
America, of which he was formerly treasurer, and with the Elks lodge at ]\Iinot. His long
connection with the business interests of Berthold has made him widely known in Ward
county and his part of the state, and the substantial and reliable qualities which he has
displayed have gained for him the goodwill and confidence of colleagues and contemporaries.
rilATtLF.S F. TRUAX.
Charles F. Truax is a well known representative of the printing business and also of
the cattle industry in western Nortli Dakota. He is the owner of a large and well equipped
printing establishment at Minot and in that connection is conducting a constantly increasing
business. He is a western man by birth, training and preference. He was born at Sauk
Center, Minnesota, October 19, 1869, a son of James Wright and Chloe Anna (Wheeler)
Truax. The father was born in Ogdensburg, New York, in 1833, and the mother's birth
occurred on Barnharts Island, Canada, in January, 1842. In early life Mr. Truax engaged in
railroad work and after the outbreak of the Civil war he enlisted as a member of Company A,
Second Wisconsin Cavalry, with which he served for full four years. He was wounded in
battle and for a time was conlined in the hospital by his injuries. After his recovery he
continued to work in the hospital until the war closed. Later he engaged in driving a Red
River cart until 187.5, when he began railroad work, in which he continued actively until
1900. lie was then elected county judge at Williston, North Dakota, where he served until
two years prior to his death. He had also become a landowner of the state, securing a
claim under a soldier's right, his place being located two miles north of Williston. His widow
now resides in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Charles F. Truax is the youngest in a family of six children, of whom three are yet
living. He attended the public schools of Hastings, Minnesota, completing the work of the
eighth grade, after which he entered the newspaper office of Dan Chamberlain, who was
conducting a daily paper and with whom he remained for about two years. He then went
into the Gazette office of Irving Todd & Son in Hastings, Minnesota, continuing there for
CHARLES F. TRUAX
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 249
seven or eight years, after which he engaged in raihoad work with his father until 1902.
On the 39th of March, 1889, he arrived in Minot and when he withdrew from active connection
with railroad work he established the Ward County Independent. A year later he formed a
partnership with G. D. Colcord for the publication of a weekly paper and they have an
office equipped for all kinds of commercial and law printing and job work. He is likewise
engaged in the cattle business. Indefatigable industry has been the salient factor in his
growing success, winning him a place among the substantial business men of Minot. His
investments in real estate include farm lands in Mountrail county, which he has rented and
which brings to him a good financial return.
On the 28th of June, 1901, Mr. Truax was united in marriage to Jliss JIartha Dalziel
Gibb, a native of London, Ontario, Canada, and a daughter of William and Katie (Carter)
Glbb, both of whom were born in Scotland. Emigrating to the United States, they located
first in New .Jersey, subsequently removed to Lake Park, Minnesota, and in, 1886 came to
Minot, North Dakota. Here ilr. Gibb began ranching, raising cattle and horses, and now
carries on his operations in Mountrail county, on the Missouri river. He is at present serving
as postmaster of Brookbank, North Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Truax have three children,
namely: Cliarles Abraham, who was born in 1903; William Raymond, whose natal year was
1905; and Theodore Gibb, whose birtli occurred in 1907.
Mr. Truax and his family are members of the Presbyterian church and fraternally he
is connected with the Masons. He has passed through all of the chairs of the blue lodge and
of the Royal Arch chapter and served as senior warden and captain general and is now serving
as generalissimo in the Knights Templar commandery and Is a charter member of Kem
Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Grand Forks. In politics he is a republican but has had no
aspiration for political office. He has served, however, as a member of the board of
education for seven years and at this writing is its president. The cause of education finds
in him indeed a stalwart champion and one whose efforts have been directly beneficial in
promoting the interests of the schools. What he has accomplished represents the fit utiliza-
tion of the innate powers and talents which are his and his advancement has resulted largely
from close application and determination to accomplish what he undertakes.
WALTER E. KRICK.
Walter E. Krick, owner and publisher of the Berthold Tribune of Berthold, Ward
county, was born in Caledonia, Minnesota, Februarj' 23, 1873, a son of Theobald and Isabel
(Holden) Krick. The father was born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1832, and the Mother's
birth occurred in Trondhjem, Norway. In early life Theobald Ivrick became a shoe manu-
facturer and in the year 1850 he left his native land for the United States, landing at New
York, where he worked for others for a time. He then went to Canada and was associated
in business with two brothers for a year or two. He afterward removed to Caledonia,
Minnesota, where he engaged in the shoe business, continuing in that city until his death
in 1898. His wife, who was born in 1843, is still a resident of Caledonia.
Walter E. Krick, the eldest of their four children, pursued his education in the schools of
Caledonia, which lie attended to the age of fifteen, when he secured a position in a printing
office at a salary of fifty cents per week. He remained in that establishment imtil he was
the owner of a half interest in the business, having gradually worked his way upward,
thoroughly acquainting himself with every phase of the trade. In 1902 he sold out and in
August, 1903, went to Berthold, North Dakota, where he purchased the Tribune, a weekly
paper, which he has since published. His office is thoroughly equipped for all commercial
work and his entire attention is devoted to his printing interests. Since the paper was
founded its name has never been changed and under the direction of Mr. Krick the Tribune
has become a most interesting journal, devoted to community aff'airs and to the dissemina-
tion of general news.
In May. 1901, occurred the marriage of Mr. Krick and Miss Anstis Lucille Harries, a
native of Caledonia, Minnesota, and a daughter of Captain W. H. and Anna (Dunbar) Harries,
who were early settlers of that place. Her father served as a member of congress from the
Vol. 11—14
250 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
first district of Minnesota in 1893 and was revenue collector in Minnesota under the Cleve-
land administration. He was also county attorney of Houston county and is the present
commandant of the Soldiers' Home of Minnesota. At the time of the Civil war he served
with the First Wisconsin Regiment throughout the entire period of hostilities, was wounded
in buttle and was confined to a hospital for a long period. He still carries the bullet over
his heart, it being so near the vital organ that it cannot be removed. His wife passed away
about 1883. To Mr. and Mrs. Krick have been born three children, Estelle Isabel, Alice
Beatrice and Robert Walter.
Mr. Iviick is the present secretary of the Jlasonic lodge at Berthold and belongs also to
the Odd Fellows lodge, the Woodmen camp and the Modern Brotherhood of America at
Berthold and to the Elks lodge at Minot. In politics he is a stalwart republican and is now
serving as president of his village. He was tlie first postmaster of Berthold under Presi-
dent Taft and he has been a member of the board of education, maintaining at all times a
deep and helpful interest in public affairs relating to the public welfare and the upbuilding
of the locality in wliicli he makes his home.
A. L. BAYLEY.
A. L. Bayley was born in Dodge county, Wisconsin, June 10, 1874, the son of S. E. and
Melissa (Sanford) Bayley, tlie former a native of Vermont and the latter of Wisconsin.
His parents were married in Wisconsin, whither the father had gone as a young man, and
where they continued to live until the year 1880, wlien they joined the pioneers then emi-
grating to Dakota territory, settling on a government homestead in Cornell township, Cass
county, near Buffalo, which the father proved up and operated for more tlian two decades.
The mother passed away in 1890, and some years later the father went to live with his
son, R. E. Bayley, with whom he still makes his home.
A. L. Bayley attended the public schools and supplemented the education so acquired
by taking a business course and a year's preparatory course in Fargo College and by study
in the State Agricultural College. He left the latter institution in the year ISOS, when in
his sophomore year, and accepted a position with S. G. More of Buffalo, Jvortli Dakota, as
assistant cashier of the Bank of Buffalo, which bank was later nationalized, becoming the
First National Bank of Buffalo. In the year 1903 Mr. Bayley severed his connection with the
First National Bank of Buffalo to accept the cashiership of the then newly organized State
Bank of Alice and as such officer has since assisted in directing the financial policies of tliat
institution until it has grown to be one of the sound and prosperous banks of the state. He
is also interested in agricultvirc as he owns two hundred and forty acres of good land near
Alice.
On .June 8, 1007, Mr. Bayley was married to Jliss Maud A. Dickinson, a daugliter of
Hon. and Mrs. F. H. Dickinson of Ayr, North Dakota. Ilcr father served two terms in the
state legislature and is at present residing with his wife on a fine farm near Ayr, North
T)akota. To Mr. and Mrs. Bayley have been born four children, three of whom are living,
namely: Howard E., Douglas D. and Edgar L.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Bayley are members of the Moravian clnncli of Alice and of Aurora
Chapter, No. 59, 0. E. S. of Buffalo, North Dakota. Mr. Bayley also holds membership in
the Ancient Order of X'nited Workmen; the Modern Woodmen of America; Buffalo Lodge,
No. 77, A. F. & A. M.; and Endcrlin Chapter, No. 19, R. A. M.
CHART>ES J. BUCK.
Charles J. Buck, the popular and efficient young cashier of the Embdcn State Bank, has
been connected with banking since beginning his career and has advanced steadily in his
chosen work. He was born in ChafTee, Cass county, April 13, 1883, of the marriage of Fred
and Dorothea (Thcile) Buck, both natives of Germany, where they resided until 1875. In
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 251
that 3'ear they emigi-ated to the United States and, making their way to the middle west,
settled in Dearborn, Michigan, which is now within the city limits of Detroit. After remain-
ing there for two years they removed to Fargo, Xorth Dakota, which was then about as
large as the village of Embden is at the present time. The father was made section boss on
the Northern Pacific Railroad, with which he was connected for five years, after which he
took up a homestead in Walburg township and turned his attention to farming. He bought
other land and his holdings in time totaled six hundred and forty acres. In 1898, however,
he removed to North Carolina and made investments in land there, which proved unfortunate,
as he met with financial reverses. He then returned to North Dakota and bought a half
section of land in Gill township, Cass county, which he still owns. For the last five years he
has lived retired in Fargo.
Charles J. Buck was reared at home and acquired his education in the public schools
and in the Dakota Business College at Fargo, where he took a business course, graduating
from that institution with the class of 1905. He then secured a position as assistant
cashier in the Medina State Bank at Medina, North Dakota, remaining with that institution
for one and a half years, after which he became cashier of a bank at Chafl'ee which was
owned by the same people as the Medina State Bank. Nine months later, however, the
bank at Cliaffee was sold to a number of the leading farmers of the district and Mr. Buck,
in February, 1908, removed to Embden, becoming assistant cashier of the State Bank at
that place which had been established the previous September. As the cashier, C. A. Wheel-
ock, was a non-resident, Mr. Buck assumed the duties of that office and directed the policies
of the institution, discharging his important duties with discretion. In 1912 the bank
was bought by the local farmers and Mr. Buck was formally elected cashier. He makes the
safeguarding of the interests of the depositors and stockholders his first concern, but also
promotes the legitimate trade expansion of the community by a judicious extension of
credit.
Mr. Buck was married on the 11th of October, 1910, to Miss Nora Corcoran, of Chaffee,
by whom he has a son, Vincent J. He is identified with the Modern Woodmen and with
Jamestown Lodge No. 995, B. P. 0. E. In politics he is a stalwart republican, but although
he takes a praiseworthy interest in public affairs, he has never sought official preferment.
He has concentrated his energies upon his banking business and has gained recognition as
one of the leaders in local financial circles.
RICHARD N. LEE.
Richard N. Lee, the editor of the Walcott Reporter of Walcott, Richland county, is well
known in his section of the state and his paper is recognized as an excellent weekly. He
was born in Grant county, Minnesota, on the 14th of August, 1879, the oldest child of Ole
and Carrie (Hanger) Lee, both natives of Norway, the former born in 1845 and the latter
in 1855. They came to the United States with their respective parents, grew to manhood
and womanhood in this country, and were married in Red Wing, Minnesota. The father
farmed during the greater part of his active life, but was for a time a hotel keeper in Red
Wing and also served on the police force there. Subsequently he took up a claim in Grant
county, Jlinnesota, and still later removed to the vicinity of Mcintosh, where he purchased
land. The town was platted on his land and in addition to farming he conducted a butcher
shop in Mcintosh for some time. In 1900 he removed to North Dakota and settled on a farm
in Viking township, Richland county, which he operated until he retired. At that time he
sold his farm and he has since resided in Walcott, where he owns a good residence. He is a
democrat and while living in Grant county, Minnesota, served as supervisor of Gorton town-
ship. He and his wife are both identified with the Norwegian Lutheran church, in the work
of which they have always taken a deep interest. Six of their eight children survive.
Richard N. Lee was educated in the country schools and in the high school at Mcintosh,
Minnesota. In his youth he learned the printer's trade and in 1902 entered the employ of
George Van Arman the proprietor of the Walcott Reporter. Five years later Mr. Lee pur-
chased the paper, which he has since successfully conducted. It has a circulation of sis
252 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
luindrod and is well pntroni/cd liy tlic local inercliants as an advertising medium. He also
has a well equipped job printing plant and does considerable work of that character. He
owns the fine cement block building in which his plant is located and also holds title to his
comfortable residence. He is recognized as an able newspaper man and has also gained a
gratifying financial success.
In March, 1906, Mr. Lee was united in marriage to Miss Virginia Van Arman, a daugh-
ter of George and Nettie (Heath) Van Arman, and they have become parents of three
children, two of whom are living, Ramona and Grace. He is independent in polities and
fraternally is connected with tlie Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen. His wife is a
consistent member of the Congregational church and takes an active interest in its work.
Mr. Lee devotes his entire time to his business, which is one secret of his success. He has
made the Reporter not only an up-to-date and reliable disseminator of news, but also an
important factor in the formation of public opinion and in the promcitiun of ]irojects for the
general good.
FRED 0. FOLDEX.
Fred 0. Folden, who owns and conducts a drug store at ClifTord, Traill county, was
born in Norway, September 11, 1864, of the marriage of Ole and Serine Folden, both also
natives of that country. The father passed away there and subsequently, in 1879, the
mother came to America, locating in Minnesota. Later she removed to Traill county, North
Dakota, where she passed away.
Fred O. Folden is one of a family of eight children, of whom five are living. He received
his education in Norway, where he remained until 1879, in which year he came to America
with his mother. After living for a time in Fillmore county, Minnesota, where he worked
as a farm hand, he decided to try his fortunes in North Dakota and located in Griggs
county. He remained there for two years but in 188S came to Traill county and two years
later purchased a drug store at ClifTord and has gained recognition as one of the up-to-date
and reliable merchants of the town. He carries a good stock, his prices are reasonable, he
lias gained an enviable reputation for fair dealing and as the years have passed his
patronage has shown a steady growth. He also owns stock in the Farmers Elevator and
in the Traill Coiinty Telephone Company, both prosperous local enterprises.
In 1904 occurred the marriage of Mr. Folden and Miss Ingeborg .lacobson and tliey
have two sons, Oscar E. and Ernest 0. Mr. Folden is a republican in his political belief
and for nine years served as clerk of the school board. In 1896, under JIcKinlcy's adminis-
tration, he was appointed postmaster of ClifTord and was continued in that office until
1915, making an unusual record not only as to the length of his service but also as regards
the ability with which he discharged his duties. He holds membership in the Modern
Woodmen of America and he and his family attend the Lutheran church. He is entitled to
the credit which is given to a self-made man, for he came to this country a poor boy and
through his own eflorts has gained a competence and has also won a high place in the
esteem of his fellow citizens.
TVER A. CASPERSON.
Tver A. Casperson, who is successfully engageil in merchandising in Walcott, Richland
county, was born in Norway, March 27, 1864, a son of Casper and Ingeborg (Peterson)
Olsen. The father, who was born in 1823, died in 1913, but the mother, whose birth occurred
in 1827, is still living and makes her home with the subject of this review. They were
married in Norway in 1848 and remained in that country until 1882 when they emigrated
to the United States and located in Walcott, North Dakota. The father spent the rest
of his life in honorable retirement, having accumulated a competence. He was a very active
member of the Lutheran church and in his daily life exemplified the teachings of Oiristian-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 253
ity. To him and his wife were born four children, namely: Mrs. Anna Farup, who died in
1914; Mrs. M. N. Wigtil, a widow residing in Walcott; 0. C, who is farming three hundred
and twenty acres of land three miles from Walcott; and Iver A.
Iver A. Casperson was reared upon a farm and early became accustomed to agricultural
work. On beginning his independent career he worked as a farm hand and when he had
acquired sufficient capital he invested in land, which he cultivated for a time. He then
supplemented the education which he had previously acquired by attending school at Will-
more Seminary, after which he engaged in teaching in Englisli schools for ten years. In
1895 he entered the business world, becoming clerk in a store, in which capacity he worked
for six years. At the end of that time he purchased an interest in a mercantile establish-
ment and is now a large stockholder in the Walcott Mercantile Company, which owns a
large store and which has built up an extensive and profitable patronage. They carry a
well selected stock of general merchandise and spare no pains to satisfy the wants of their
customers.
In 1897 Mr. Casperson was united in marriage to Miss Anna Anderson, a daughter of
Carl Anderson, an early settler of North Dakota and a successful farmer. Mr. and Mrs.
Casperson have »ix children: Mabel and Charles, who are attending high school; Aleta
and Inga, who are in school; Elmer; and Mildred.
Mr. Casperson casts his ballot in siipport of the candidates and measures of the repub-
lican party and for fifteen years served as township school treasurer, while for eight years
he was clerk of Walcott. He holds membership in the Lutheran church and in all the rela-
tions of life he measures up to high standards of manhood. He is considered one of the
valuable citizens of Walcott and his personal friends are many.
JOHN OLSON.
John Olson, who is residing on section 30, Hill township, and owns thirteen hundred
and sixty acres of excellent land in Cass county, is now one of the wealthiest men in his
township but when he came to this state he was without capital other than his enterprise,
his sound judgment and his determination to win prosperity in this new country. He was
born in Sweden on the 2d of February, 1859, a son of Olof and Johanna Olson, both of whom
lived and died in that country.
The subject of this review remained at home during the period of his boyhood and
youth and attended the common schools in the acquirement of an education. He continued
to reside in his native country for a number of years after reaching his majority but in
1886 crossed the Atlantic to the United States and made his way direct to North Dakota,
arriving in Cass county on the last of June. When he reached New York city he had but
ten dollars in money and when he arrived in North Dakota he had not even a dollar. It was
imperative that he obtain work at once and he hired out as a farm hand, working in that
capacity for two or three years. He carefully saved his money and in 1888 purchased a
relinquishment on a homestead — his present home farm — on which he located in the fol-
lowing spring. He at once began the cultivation and improvement of his land, which he
has brought to a high state of development. He proved very successful as a farmer from
the start and from time to time has bought additional land, now owning thirteen hundred
and sixty acres of the finest land in Cass county. He is practical and progressive in car-
rying on his farm work, being ready to substitute a new method for an old if it promises
to be more efficient, and in managing the business phase of farming he displays sound judg-
ment. He has firm faith in the future of the state and is contributing in no small measure to
the agricultural development of his section. In addition to his large land holdings he owns
stock in tlie Farmers Elevator Company at Alice.
On the 38th of December, 1887, Mr. Olson was married to Miss Mathilda Jensen, a
native of Denmark, who came to America on the same ship as her husband. They have
become the parents of five children: Oscar, at home; Minnie, a public school teacher;
Amelia, who is also teaching school; Herman, at home; and Clara, who is likewise a
teacher. The three daughters are all graduates of the State Normal School at Valley City.
254 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Mr. Olson studies public questions carefully and casts an indciicndcnt ballot, lie lias
served as a member of the township board of trustees for the last fifteen years and for
many years has been school treasurer and a member of the school board. He has given
the same care and thought to the discharge of his ollicial duties that he gives to the con-
duct of his business Interests and has made an excellent record in office, liotli lie and his
wife belong to the Methodist Episcopal church and at all times tliey seek to exemplify the
teachings of that organization in their daily lives. He is one of the foremost residents of
Cass county and not only holds the respect but also the warm regard of those who have
been associated with him.
S. WESTLAND.
S. Westland, one of the prosperous farmers of Reed township, Cass county, was born
in Sweden, September 19, 1850, a son of Peter and Mary Westland, further mention of
whom appears elsewhere in this work. He was reared in his native land and there attended
the common schools. In 1883, when about thirty-two years of age, he came to America
and made his way to Cass county. North Dakota, where he cultivated a rented farm for
three years. At the expiration of that period he removed to Dickey county, this state,
where he took up a homestead, upon which he lived for six years. He then sold that place
and purchased his present home farm of two hundred and twenty-one acres on sections
1 and 36, Reed township, Cass county. He has erected excellent buildings and made other
improvements upon his place and in his work uses improved machinery and up-to-date
methods. When lie came to this country he had no capital, but his energy and good man-
agement have enabled him to accumulate a competence.
In 1873 Mr. Westland was united in marriage to Miss Mary Jensen and they have
nine children : Mary, at home ; Carrie, the wife of Louis Holmquist, a resident of Jlinnesota ;
Katie, who is at home; Ottilia, who is teaching school; John S., at home; Hannah, also a
teacher by profession; Paul E., who is at home; Victor, who is attending normal school at
Moorhead, Minnesota; and Goodwin F., who is in college at Fargo.
Mr. Westland is a republican in politics but has never desired to hold office. He and
his family belong to the Lutheran church and further its advancement in every way possible.
He is recognized as a good citizen and a man of unswerving integrity and there are many
who hold him in warm personal regard.
JENS PEDERSEN.
Jens Pederaen, a pioneer merchant of Milnor and one of the substantial citizens that
Denmark has furnished to Sargent county, was born on the island of Falster, oil the Danish
coast, June 19, 1855, a son of Pcder and Marie (Rasniussen) Paulson. The father, who was
a wagon maker by trade, died when his son Jens was but seven years of age. Following the
death of her husband Mrs. Paulson was married again, becoming the wife of Rasmus Chris-
tofferson, who came with his family to the new world in 1873 and settled in Michigan.
Jens Pedersen did not remain there but continued on to St. Paul and soon aftcrwiird
went to work in Minneapolis. He had previously learned the blacksmith's trade and he secured
employment in a carriage shop in Minneapolis, in which he remained for four and a half
years. He then removed to Renville county, Minnesota, where he embarked in business inde-
pendently, opening a blacksmith shop which he carefully and successfully conducted. He also
purchased one hvmdred and twenty-seven acres of land, which he cultivated in connection with
his other interests, and subsequently a further purchase added one hundivd and sixty acres
to his holdings.
Wliile residing upon his farm Mr. Pedersen was married in 1S7S to Mi>s Marie IIolT. who
was born in Norway, near Drammen, but came to the United States with her parents, Chris-
tian and Turina (Olsen) HofT, who settled in Cottonwood county, Jlinnesota.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 255
For three years Mr. Pedersen resided in Renville county and afterward removed to Rich-
land county, North Dakota, in 1882, after having disposed of the interests which he had
previonsly held. He settled three miles east of McLeod, in Richland county, and as land
in that locality was still in the possession of the government, he homesteaded one hundred
and sixty acres, on which he built a log house. In the spring of 1883, however, he left that
place and went to Sargent county, opening a blacksmith shop in the town of Linton, two
and a half miles east of Milnor. He continued to engage in blacksmithing there until the
latter part of August, 1883, when he bought city lots in the new town of Milnor, which was
opened up by the railroad on the 14th of August, 1883. He built a shop and also a dwelling,
the shop being jusi across the street from the site of bis present store. All of the buildings
in the town of Linton were then removed to Milnor but Mr. Pedersen built a home in the
west part of the village, three blocks from the main street. His was the first building
erected in the village and he continued to engage in blacksmithing there until 1889. In the
meantime he purchased a half section of land in Milnor township adjoining the town site and
this he developed and cultivated, while engaging at the same time in blacksmithing. In 1889
he established a store for the sale of farm implements in the next block south of his black-
smith shop, purchasing property there for the purpose. He continued in that business until
the fall of 1898, when he sold the building for a creamery, having assisted in organizing the
Milnor Creamery Company, a cooperative creamery. The enterprise, however, did not prove
profitable and was discontinued. Mr. Pedersen later purchased the Helgcrson-Skjenstad-
Burch general store, which had been established and conducted at Linton by Nathan Linton
and had been removed to Milnor when the town was changed. This was practically the
first store in the county. Mr. Pedersen carried on business in the same location until 1905,
when a fire occurred, destroying the building, although he saved much of the stock. He after-
ward erected a cement and brick building nearly fireproof and in the meantime he has largely
increased his stock and has won a growing trade. The store was called the Pioneer Store
by Mr. Linton and is still conducted under that name. In 1913 Mr. Pedersen erected a solid
concrete warehouse adjoining his store. In 1903 he disposed of his farm lands and is now
engaged in general merchandise business and is a stockholder in the Milnor National Bank
and a stockholder and the vice president of the Farmers Mill and Grain Company and one of
its directors.
Mr. Pedersen has one of the fine homes of his town and also has five acres across the
street, extending down to the lake. In politics he is a democrat and in 1885 and 1886 served
as county commissioner. He is a member of the executive committee of the democratic state
central committee and is one of the recognized leaders of his party in the southeastern section
of North Dakota. He has been a delegate to the national convention and he does everything
in his power to promote the growth and ensure the success of the party. F'raternally he is
connected with the Modern Woodmen of America, while his religious faith is indicated by
his membership in the Lutheran church at Milnor. His life has ever been characterized by
strong purpose and close application, and progressiveness and even-paced energy have car-
ried him into important commercial and busines relations. At the same time his interesta
have been of public benefit, for in all that he has done his work has contributed to general
progress and improvement.
CORNELIUS RUST.
Among the many Norwegians who have become valued citizens of the northwest is
Cornelius Rust, of Raymond township, Cass county, who owns eight hundred and fifty acres
of good land and also has other business interests. He was born in Norway on the 15th of
August, 1851, of the marriage of Elias and Cliristina Rust, both natives of that country. The
father died there, and the mother subsequently emigrated to the United States, her demise
occurring in Minnesota. Seven of their twelve children are living.
Cornelius Rust received his education in his native land but when about twenty years of
age came to the United States and going to the middle west, located in Goodhue county,
Minnesota, where he lived for eight years. In 1879 he removed to Cass county. North Dakota,
256 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
and took up his residence on section 3, Raymond township. Upon his farm he built a small
house, twelve by fourteen feet, and that remained his residence for three years, lie has
since erected a large and well designed dwelling and has made other improvements upon his
farm, which is now one of the valuable places of the county. Its value is increased by a fine
grove which he planted, and he also has all kinds of fruit upon the farm. In addition to his
home place he owns other land, his total holdings being eight hundred and fifty acres, all of
which is improved. He owns stock in throe farmers' elevators and is a director in the one at
Prosper.
In 1882 Mr. Rust was married to Miss Betsy Kyllo, who was born in Norway and by
whom he has seven children: Emma, at home; Herman P., who is farming in this county;
Charles; Josephine, the wife of Oscar Peterson, of Prosper; and Edward, George and Clarence,
all at home.
Mr. Rust is a republican and has served on the school board for several terms. Both
he and his wife hold membership in the Lutheran church, the teachings of which govern their
conduct. They have made many warm friends in the county, where both are well known,
and he is recognized as one of the most substantial men of his locality. When he came to this
country, however, he was without capital, and his success is due entirely to his enterprise and
wise management.
.JOHN F. ROTZIEN.
John F. Rotzien is well known in Cass county and is the efficient manager of the Farmers-
elevator at Addison, which does a large and profitable business. He was born in Fond du
Lac, Wisconsin, on the 29th of April, 1878, a son of John and Falava (Mayer) Rotzien, both
natives of Germany, whence they were brought to this country by their respective parents
when children. Thej' were married in Wisconsin and took up their abode upon a farm near
Fond du Lac, where they resided until 1887, when they went to McLeod county, Minnesota,
where the father is still living.
John F. Rotzien was reared at home and received his education in the public schools.
However, his opportunities along that line were very limited as he did not attend school after
nis mother's death, which occurred when he was but nine years of age. He received valuable
training in farm work, assisting his father from early boyhood until he was twenty-five years
of age. For the last seven years of that time he was also engaged in the live stock business,
buying the first carload of stock when he was but eighteen years old. He continued to buy
and ship stock for a number of years and in 190.3 he also turned his attention to the lumber
business in Price county, Wisconsin. He continued active in that field nutil 1910 and was
subsequently for two years engaged in the ditching business in ^Minnesota. In 1912, how-
ever, he came to North Dakota and became manager of the Reliance Company's elevator at
Linton, remaining there until 1914, when he was given charge of the Farmers elevator at Ad-
dison, the business of which he has since directed.
In 1907 Mr. Rotzien was married to Miss Irene Whiting, of Clitherall, Minnesota, by
whom he has two children, Courtney K. and Doris Irene. Mr. Rotzien casts his ballot in sup-
port of the men and measures of the republican party but has not taken an active part in
politics. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Latter Day Saints church, to the sup-
port of which they contribute. He is a successful business man. a good citizen and a loyal
friend, and all who have come in contact with him hold him in high esteem.
ATLEY A. PETERSON.
One of the leading business enterprises in Clifford is the general store owned by Peterson,
Rygg & Company and the establishment and building up of this business has been due in
large measure to Alley A. Peterson, the senior member of the firm. He is energetic and far-
sighted in the management of his affairs and has been one of the most important factors iiu
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 257
promoting the commercial growth of Clifford. He was born in Wisconsin September 19, 1873,
and is a son of Peter N. and Inga (Senesson) Peterson, who were born in Norway but emi-
grated to America in 1854. They located upon a farm in Wisconsin and the father concen-
trated his attention upon agricultural pursuits until the Civil war, when he enlisted in the
Union army, in which he served until the close of hostilities. He received a slight wound in
tlie arm but was fortunate in escaping other injury. Both he and his wife still reside upou
the homestead. To them were born fourteen children, of whom eleven are still living.
Atley A. Peterson was reared under the parental roof and at the usual age entered the
public schools, to which he is indebted for his early education. After completing the course
there ofl'ered he attended Valparaiso Cbllege in Indiana, thus still further preparing himself
for the responsibilities of life. In 1894, when a young man of about twenty-two years, he
came to Traill county, Xorth Dakota, and began clerking in a store at Clifford. He worked
in the employ of others for twelve years and during two j'ears of that time was a traveling
salesman, thus securing valuable information in regard to business conditions and methods
in various places. In 1906 he went into business for himself, becoming a member of Peter-
son, Rygg & Company, which has since conducted a general store. During the ten years that
the concern has been in existence its business has grown rapidly and has now reached grati-
fying proportions. Practically all lines of goods are carried and as the owners of the store
are painstaking in their endeavor to meet the peculiar needs of their community they are
able to turn over their capital rapidly and this insures them of increased profits. They use
up-to-date merchandising methods and their progressiveness and reliability have gained
them the patronage of the representative people of the community. Mr. Peterson gives the
most careful attention to the management of the store and much of the success of the busi-
ness has been due to his sound judgment and enterprise. The firm also holds stock in the
Farmers Elevator at Clifford.
On the 6th of September, 1897, Mr. Peterson was united in marriage to Miss Clara
Oswald, who was born in Wisconsin and is a daughter of Christian and Elena Oswald, the
former of whom is deceased, while the latter survives. Mr. and Mrs. Peterson have five
children, namely: Viola, who was born June 26, 1899, and is now attending normal school at
Mayville, North Dakota; Isadora, who was born September 29, 1901; Clifford, whose birth
occurred on the 20tli of July, 1904; At!e}% born April 11, 1909; and Carl, born October
10, 1915.
Mr. Peterson supports the democratic party at the polls and has taken quite an active
part in public affairs. For eight years he served as treasurer of his township and proved
capable and conscientious in the discharge of his duties. Fraternally he belongs to the
Modern Woodmen of America. His religious faith is indicated by the fact that he is a
member of the Lutheran church, to which his wife also belongs. He is enthusiastic over the
opportunities offered by North Dakota and has great faith in its future. When he removed
here he had no capital but he was not afraid of work and was quick to recognize and
utilize chances for advancement and is now financially independent.
OAISTER TREE.
Caister Tree is one of the well known residents of Wheatland and has gained gratif.ying
success as the proprietor of a meat market there. He also has other business interests and
owns considerable land. A native of Canada, he was born in Woodstock, .January 19, 1875,
a son of Horace and Louisa (Caister) Tree, both of whom were also natives of the Dominion.
In 1881 they removed with their familj' to Cass county. North Dakota, and became residents
of Casselton, where the father passed away. Subsequently the mother returned to Canada
and there spent her last years. They were the parents of six children but one is now
deceased.
Caister Tree remained at home until he became of age and his education was acquired
in the common schools. On beginning his independent career he engaged in the butcher busi-
ness in Wheatland and has since continued in that connection. He has one of the best meat
markets in the town and has built up a large and profitable trade. He also buys and sells
258 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
stock and in addition to tlie interests already mentioned conducts a dray line. He has
demonstrated his faith in the future of the state by investing in land, owning a quarter
section in McUenry county and also holding title to other property there. He owns the
building in which his meat market is located and his commodious and comfortable residence.
Mr. Tree was married in 1900 to Miss iHnnie Brintnell, who was born in Canada, a
daughter of J. C. and Johann Brintnell. Her father served in the United States army for
three years, but his demise occurred in Canada. The mother is still living and makes her
home in Canada. To them were born six children, of whom five are living. Mr. and Mrs.
Tree have two children. Merle B. and Lyle C.
Mr. Tree gives his political allegiance to the republican party and is now serving
acceptably as a member of the school board. Fraternally he is identified with Casselton
Lodge, No. 3, A. V. & A. M., at Casselton, and his religious faith is that of the Methodist
Episcopal church, to which his wife also belongs. They can be depended upon to further
the cause of right and justice in every way possible, and their sterling qualities of character
have gained them the sincere respect of their fellow citizens.
EDWARD ARNOLD.
Edw-ard Arnold, manager of the Northwestern Elevator Company's elevator at Everest,
is also engaged in merchandising there and is well known throughout Cass county. He was
born at Lockport, New York, on the 18th of March, 1874, a son of George P. and Kate
(Hilderman) Arnold, both of whom were natives of New York state. The father learned the
hatter's and furrier's trades in his youth and devoted a number of years to work along those
lines. In 1883, however, he came to North Dakota and took up a homestead and a preemp-
tion claim of one hundred and sixty acres each in Moraine township. Grand Forks county.
In due time he proved up on his land and continued to reside there, devoting his attention to
farming until 1910, when he sold out and removed to Larimore, where he engaged in the fur
business for several years. Previous to taking up his residence in Larimore he had spent a
number of winters there working at his trade.
Edward Arnold was educated in the common schools and passed the days of his boy-
hood and youth under the parental roof. When twenty-one years old he apprenticed himself
to the miller's trade, at which he worked for five years, but in 1900 he became identified
with the grain business, becoming second man in the Northwestern elevator at Larimore,
and in the intervening years has gained an enviable reputation as an enterprising and astute
business man. Since 1914 he has engaged in the merchandising business in Everest on his
own account and that undertaking has |)roved profitable.
On the 14th of June, 1909, ilr. Arnold was married to Miss Theresa Tritchlcr. of Cassel-
ton, by whom he has tw'o children, Elwood G. and Ralph.
Mr. Arnold is a republican but has never been an office seeker. He is identified with
the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Y'eomen. Both he and his wife belong to
the Catholic church, the influence of which they seek to extend in all possible ways. They
have gained many warm personal friends and are held in high esteem because of the integrity
of their lives.
A. H. MERRHX.
A. H. Merrill, manager of the White Lumber Company's branch at Mooreton, has been
engaged in the lumber business for many years and understands it thoroughly. A native of
Maine, he was born November 4, 18.53, and is a son of Adolphiis and Susan P. (Perkins)
Merrill, also natives of the Pine Tree state, the former born in IS.'iO and the latter in 1827.
The paternal grandfather was A. H. IVTerrill. who owned the state quarries in Brownville,
l\faine. and who was a man of wealth, his estate being valued at three hundred thousand
dollars. In his early life he resided in JIassachusctts but was for many years a resident of
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 259
Maine. The maternal grandfather was Joseph Perkins a representative of a well known
New England familj'. Adolphus Merrill worked in the quarries all of his life and passed
away in Maine in 1908. He was a republican in politics and was a member of the Congre-
gational church, to whicli his wife also belonged. They were married in Maine on the 26th
of June, 1851, and became the parents of twelve children, of whom the subject of this review
is the eldest and of whom ten are living.
A. H. Merrill received his general education in the common and high schools and subse-
quently attended the Bangor Theological Seminar}', from which he was graduated in 1886.
He then went to Utah, where he did missionary work for the Congregational church for a
time, but on the 5th of December, 1887, he removed to North Dakota and for ten years en-
gaged in teaching school. In 1899 he took charge of a lumberyard, which he conducted until
1909, and during that time also published a newspaper. He is now manager of the White
Lumber Companj^'s branch at Mooreton and is I'ecognized as one of the most able representa-
tives of that concern, with which he has been connected for a number of years.
In 1876 Mr. Merrill was married to, Miss Augusta Sampson, also a native of Maine. Both
belong to the Congregational church, in the work of wliich they take an active interest. Mr.
Merrill casts his ballot in support of the prohibition party as he believes that many of the
problems which confront the country will be solved when the liquor traffic is done away with.
He has served as clerk of the school board and is deeply interested in everything that
promotes the mora! and intellectual advancement of his community. He devotes practically
his entire time to his business and the responsible duties devolving upon him are discharged
to the satisfaction of all concerned.
ANDREW 0. HEADLAND.
Andrew 0. Headland possesses the spirit of enterprise which is rapidly working a
marked transformation in North Dakota, developing the state along lines of substantial
progress and improvement. He has won success as a farmer of Stanley township, Cass
county, and is also president of the Farmers Elevator at Sanders. He was born in Norway,
March 10, 1874. His parents, 0. E. and Bertha Headland, were likewise natives of that
country but in June, 1875, emigrated to the United States. They located upon a farm in
Cass county. North Dakota, where both passed away. To them were born ten children, one
of whom is deceased.
Andrew 0. Headland remained at home until he became of age and then purchased the
farm where he now lives, on section 2, Stanley township. The place comprises a half section
of excellent land and he also has holdings in Minnesota farm lands. In the development of
his place he follows the most progressive methods, carefully rotating his crops, studying the
needs of the soil and procuring the best seed. He also utilizes the latest improved farm
machinery in facilitating the work of the fields and caring for the harvests, and his efforts
are attended with excellent results. He is president of and a large stockholder in the
Farmers Elevator at Sanders and is also vice president of the River Line Telephone Com-
pany. All this indicates his progressive spirit, showing him to be a man who never neglects
his opportunities but wisely uses his chances for the attainment of individual success, while
at the same time he contributes to public progress.
Mr. Headland was married in 1908 to Miss Clara C. Gallagher, a native of St. Paul,
Minnesota, by whom he has three children: Bcrnice Selina. Andrew Oliver and Adele Gurina.
Mrs. Headland had never lived upon a farm up to the time of her marriage but adapted
herself very readily to farm life and takes a deep interest in all that pertains to the benefit
and improvement of the farm and the advancement of agriculturists as a class. She is an
ardent believer in the Non-Partisan League, regarding it as the means by which the farmers
will become organized into a compact body, and instead of being merely producers and
tillers of the soil, will also have voice in the government and in the management of public
affairs. She believes that the women of the farm should have the most modern equipment
to aid them in their housework and she is a believer in the conservation of forces that the
best results may be secured. While not taking an active part in the work for woman suf-
260 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
frage, she is a firm advocate of tlie cause and feels that woman, having proven lierself the
equal of man in intelligence and capacity, should have equal voice with him in the manage-
ment of the allairs which so closely affect her life, for every public question bears strongly
upon the home.
Mr. Headland is a republican and is now serving as chairman of Stanley township,
while for twenty years he was a member of the school board. Fiaternally he is a thirty-
second degree Mason and in his daily life exemplifies the beneficent spirit and teachings of
the craft. He has a wide acquaintance in this part of the state and the many substantial
and admirable qualities which he has displayed have gained for him the warm and enduring
regard of his many friends.
1. M. BUXN.
I. M. Bunn, who owns and operates an elevator at Bufl'alo, is well known throughout
that section of the state as an expert grain buyer and excellent business man. A native
of Minnesota, he was born in Goodliue county on the 25th of September, 1862, of the
marriage of Isaac M. and Cynthia (Cryle) Bunn, both natives of Tennsylvania, where they
grew to maturity and where their marriage occurred. They continued to reside there until
the '50s, when, with their three children, they removed to Goodhue county, Minnesota, and
located upon a farm, where they resided until called by death.
I. M. Bunn passed the days of his boyhood and youth under the parental roof and at-
tended the common schools in the acquirement of an education. He also learned the car-
penter's trade and after removing to Mayville, Traill county, North Dakota, he engaged in
carpentering independently. On the 2d of January, 1890, he went to Lake Superior, Wis-
consin, where he followed his trade for two years, after which he returned to Xorth Dakota
and identified himself with the grain business, entering the employ of the Anienia & Sharon
Land Company. Ue was given charge of their elevator at Amenia, where he remained for
ten years, but in 1900 he went to Ward county and homesteaded one hundred and sixty
acres of land ten miles north of Minot. He proved up on this farm but in 1903 sold it and
returned to Cass county, again engaging in the grain business. He was manager of
Armour's elevator at Page until 1904, when he took charge of the Farmers elevator at
Chaffee. On the 1st of July, 1916, he resigned that position and purchased an elevator at
Buflfalo, Xorth Dakota, where he is now engaged in business. He is an excellent judge of
grain and keeps in close touch with the market, and has therefore steadily prospered.
In 1883 Mr. Bunn was married at Larimore, North Dakota, to Miss Nellie StuU, by
whom he had four children. Three of the number survive: Maud, the wife of S. T. Son-
sterud, of Grand Forks, this state; George B., who is manager of a grain elevator at Myra,
Cass county; and Iva, a stenographer at Fargo. The wife and mother passed away in
1900, and two years later Mr. Bunn was united in marriage to Miss Daisy Carroll, of
Goodhue county, Minnesota.
Mr. Bunn is a democrat in politics, but although he takes the interest of a good citizen
in public affairs, he has never sought nor desired office, his business interests requiring his
undivided time and attention. In all relati<ins of life he conforms to high ethical standards,
and he is not only respected as a man of ability but is also highly esteemed because of his
integrity and his pleasing personal qualities.
MORGAN J. FORD
Morgan J. Ford, cashier of the Farmers Bank of ^Vheatland, is recognized as a leader in
financial and business circles of Cass county. His birth occurred in Huron. Ontario, Canada,
April 11, 18G9, and his parents were Dennis and Bridget (King) Ford, both natives of
Ireland. The father, who was born in 1832, died in 1888. but the mother, whose natal year
was 1833, survived hira for over two decades, dying in 1909. They were married in Canada,
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 261
to which country the fatlier had removed when a youth of eighteen years, and there they
continued to live until 1878, when they came to North Dakota and settled in Gill township,
Cass county. The father took up a homestead and tree claim, on both of which he proved
up, and he continued to reside upon his land until called by death. He was a devout member
of the Roman Catholic church, the teachings of which guided his life. To him and his wife
were born eleven children, seven of whom are still living.
Morgan .T. Ford attended the common schools in the acquirement of his earl}' education
and subsequently was for one year a student in the University of ilinnesota. His boyhood
and youth were passed upon the home farm, and he early became familiar with practical
methods of agiiculture, which knowledge proved of gieat value to him when he began farm-
ing independent!}'. In 1912, however, he turned his attention to another field of activity,
removing to Casselton and working for the Frank Lynch Company for two years, after
which he took up his residence in \\lieatland and accepted the position of cashier of the
Farmers Bank. He has since held that office and in the management of the affairs of the
bank has manifested sound judgment and an understanding of the basic principles of finance
that underlie banking procedure. He owns nine hundred and sixty acres of fine land, and
the financial independence which he has gained is all the more notable in tliat he is a self-
made man.
In 1902 occurred the marriage of Jlr. Ford and Miss Mary Langer, who was born in
North Dakota and is a daughter of Frank J. Langer, an early settler of Cass county. Mr.
and Jlrs. Ford are the parents of four children: .John and Weldon, both of whom are in
school; and Morgan Dennis and Mary Evelyn, twins.
The republican party has in Mr. Ford a stanch adherent, but his business interests
leave him no time to take an active part in politics. His religious faith is that of the
Catholic chiu'ch, the work of which he furthers in every way possible. He is recognized as
a valued citizen, and his personal friends are many as his predominant characteristics are
such as invariably inspire confidence and regard.
WILLIAil JIcCOSH.
William McCosh, a general merchant of Ayr. North Dakota, was born in Ontario. Can-
ada, March 3, 18T3, and is a son of William and Elizabeth (Cullen) McCosh, the former a
native of Ayrshire, Scotland, and the latter of Nova Scotia. In his young manhood the
father emigrated to Ontario, where his marriage occurred and where he successfully engaged
in farming until he retired from active life, spending his last years in the enjoyment of a
period of rest in Kincardine. He died in 1913, but his wife is still living and makes her home
with a daughter in Saskatchewan.
William McCosh passed the days of his boyhood and youth at home and received the
greater part of his education in the public schools. In 1894 he came to North Dakota
and during the following winter was a student at the Agricultural College at Fargo. In the
spring, however, he began to work at bridge building, but after two months entered the
employ of Park, Grant & Morris, wholesale grocers of Fargo, with whom he remained for a
year. He then became connected with the whoesale grocery house of Lewis, Vidger & Com-
pany, remaining with that firm for about eight months, after which he accepted a position
with T. E. Yerxa, a grocer of Fargo. He remained in that employ for about seven years,
but in November, 1903, entered business for himself, becoming a member of the Ayr Store
Company, an incorporated concern, which conducts one of the leading general stores of Cass
county. From time to time he has bought more stock in the company, now owning more
than one-half, and since 1905 he has served as manager of the concern. His long connection
with various phases of merchandising well qualifies him for this responsible position, and
under his direction the store has proved a very profitable concern. He not only under-
stands how to buy to advantage, but has also made the sales department very eSicient and
his policy of giving full value for money received has commended the store to the patronage
of the public. In addition to general merchandise good lines of hardware and farm
machinery are handled, and the company also has the agency for the Overland automobile.
262 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
In 1905 Mr. ilcCosh was married to Miss Catherine Chapman, of Ayr, North Dakota,
and they have become the parents of four cliildren, Frances, Jessie, Edwin and Catherine,
ilr. McCosh is a standi republican and for many years served as town clerk, while at present
he holds the olliee of school director. Fraternally he is well known, belonging to the
Modern Woodmen; Hiram Lodge, No. 20, A. F. & A. M., at Page, also the chapter, R. A. M.,
and Dakota Consistory. His religious faith is indicated by the fact that he is a member of
the Presbyterian church, to which his wife also belongs, and in business as in other phases
of life he guides his conduct by the teachings of Christianity. He possesses sound judg-
ment and foresight and the determination necessary to carry his projects to successful
completion. He is justly considered one of the important factors in the commercial life of
the city of Ayr.
CARL 0. STROM.
Carl 0. Strom, cashier of the Bank of Berthold, was born at Madelia, Minnesota, Jan-
uary 24, 1890, a son of Peter and Thora (Helickson) Strom, both of whom are natives of
Norway. The father came to the new world when a young man of twenty-three years and
the mother was brought to America by her parents when a little maiden of seven summers.
Peter Strom directed his attention to farming and has continuously reside<l in Watonwan
county, Minnesota, yet occupying the old homestead, to the cultivation of which he has
devoted so many years of his life. He has served as township assessor for thirty-one years,
called again and again to that office by the vote of his fellow citizens, who appreciate his
fairness and faithfulness in the discharge of his duties. His family numbered seven chil-
dren.
Carl O. Strom, the youngest, attended the high school at Jladelia and afterward the
Mankato (Minn.) College, being graduated from both schools. He remained at home until
nineteen years of age and the summer months were devoted to farm work. He then left
Minnesota and for one year engaged in teaching school in Idaho, after which he was employed
at farm labor through the summer season and attended school in the winter months for
about two years, realizing that a broader education would enable him to better cope with
the conditions of business life. He then opened a real estate office in Madelia, where he
remained for about six months, after which he became interested in the banking business at
Kensington, Minnesota, in the capacity of bookkeeper. Three months later he went to Drake,
North Dakota, and later to Fessenden, this state, where he was employed as bookkeeper
until he came to Berthold in April, 1913. He entered the bank here as bookkeeper, but
after a short time was promoted to the position of assistant cashier and has since been made
cashier continuing in this connection for two years, his entire time and attention being
devoted to the interests of the bank.
In politics Mr. Strom is a republican, but has never sought nor desired oflicc. Frater-
nally he is connected with the Odd Fellows Lodge at Berthold and in that organization has
many warm friends. He is yet a young man, but has already gained a creditable position,
and many a man his senior might well envy the success which he has already achieved.
FRED A. IRISH.
Through the successive steps of an orderly progression Fred A. Irish has reached th'_
responsible and important position of vice president of the First National Bank of Fargo
and is accounted one of the prominent figures in financial circles in this state. He was born
at Taylors Falls, Minnesota, on the 29th of September, 1870, and was but nine years of age
when he went to Moorhead, Minnesota, in company with his parents, John S. and Emma
J. Irish. The father was a boat builder and contractor and led an active, busy and useful
life.
Fred A. Irish with the glowing enthusiasm of youth, entered upon the inirsuit of an
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 263
education and received liberal training in' that direction. Moreover, throughout his life he
has been a reader and a student of human nature and in the school of experience he has
learned many valuable lessons. When his text books were put aside he turned to the
banking business, securing a position in the First National Bank at Moorhead, Minnesota,
where he remained as assistant cashier until 1903. In that year he removed to Fargo and
was appointed to the position of assistant cashier in the Red River Valley National Bank,
with which he remained for about four years. On the 1st of January, 1906, he was elected
cashier of the First National Bank of Fargo and acted in that capacity until he was chosen
vice president of the same institution. He recognizes the fact that the bank which most
carefully safeguards the interests of its depositors is most worthy of public trust and he
has ever in its conduct adhered to a progressive policy that is tempered by conservatism.
In 1904 Mr. Irish was united in marriage to Miss Mila Brown, of Aberdeen, South
Dakota. In politics he is a republican, stalwart in support of the party, but has never
been an office seeker. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons and he also belongs to
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias. The community
knows him as a public-spirited citizen, one whose interest in the general welfare is deep and
sincere, finding expression in many tangible efforts to promote the public good. He has
always lived in the west and the spirit of enterprise which has been the dominant factor in
the upbuilding of this section of the country has found exemplification in his business
career.
H. E. SIEVERT.
H. E. Sievert, the owner and publisher of the Wyndmere Pioneer, one of the excellent
weekly papers of that section of the state, was born in Calumet county, Wisconsin, March
9, 1889, a son of E. C. and Helena (Bettner) Sievert, born respectively in Calumet county,
Wisconsin, in 1S63 and in New Richland, Minnesota, in 1870. They were married in the
Badger state and resided there for eight years thereafter. At the end of that time they
removed to Minnesota and they are now residing at New Richland, that state. The father
has a machine, wagon and blacksmith shop and is quite successful in business. In politics
he is a republican, while his religious faith is that of the Congregational church. To him
and his wife have been born four children: A. F., a druggist of Great Bend, this state; H.
E.; H. W., who is engaged in the lumber business at Freeborn, Minnesota; and Nita Fern, at
home.
H. E. Sievert was educated in the New Richland high school, from which he was gi-ad-
uated in 1908. and subsequently he clerked in a store for a year and a half. At the end of
that time he entered the newspaper business at New Richland and for two years served as
foreman of an office there. In 1913 he removed to Wyndmere, North Dakota, and purchased
the Wyndmere Pioneer, which has a circulation of seven hundred. Its news columns are
up-to-date and reliable and its editorials are forceful and concise. Mr. Sievert also does job
printing and has gained a gratifying patronage along that line. He is a republican and con-
ducts the Pioneer as a republican newspaper. Since becoming a resident of Wyndmere he
has gained many personal friends and his ability as a newspaper man is generally recog-
nized.
RICHARD C. HOCKING.
Richard C. Hocking is a member of the firm of Coil, Hocking & Company and is man-
ager of their store, which is one of the best in Wheatland. He is well known in Cass
county, where he has spent the greater part of his life, his birth there occurring on the
12th of January, 1879. His parents, John S. and Mary J. (Matters) Hocking, were both
born in England and emigrated to the United States in their youth. They were married
in Michigan, where they remained until 1877, when they removed to Cass county. North
Dakota, taking up a homestead and tree claim. The father was a poor man when he came
264 HISTORY OF XORTIT DAKOTA
to tliis state but lias gained a gratifying measure of success and is now well-to-do. He and
his wife are still living upon the home farm. To them were born eleven children, of whom
nine survive.
Richard C. Hocking was educated in the common schools of Cass county, and also in
Macalester College at St. Taul, which he attended for three years, and in a business college
at Minneapolis. On finishing his schooling he became bookkeeper for a cold storage com-
pany of Minneapolis, where he remained for three years. He was subsequently bookkeojier
for the Twin City Rapid Transit Company for nineteen months but in 1904 returned to
Cass county, North Dakota, and engaged in merchandising under the style of Coil, Hocking
& Company, which firm carries a well selected line of goods and is well patronized, its lib-
eral business policy enabling it to retain custom once gained.
In I'JOl Mr. Hocking was married to Miss Catherine S. Hawley, who was born in
Canada and by whom he has two children, Catherine E. and Richard Wendell.
Mr. Hocking gives his political allegiance to the republican party but has never been
an aspirant for office. Fraternally he is connected with the Masonic blue lodge and Royal
Arch chapter and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has filled all of the
chairs. His business ability and enterprise are generally acknowledged, and he is also recog-
nized as a public-spirited citizen and as a man of sterling qualities.
LE\T RICE.
Among the pioneers who, in spite of obstacles and privations, established their homes
in Cass county in the early days of its history and who, as the years passed, developed the
prairie into well improved farms, is numbered Levi Rice, who is now living retired in Tower
City, enjoying a richly deserved period of rest and leisure. His birth oce\u-red in Xova
Scotia on the 23d of August, 1840, and he is a son of Levi and JIargaret (Robison) Rice,
natives of Annapolis county, Nova Scotia, where their entire lives were passed. The father
devoted his time and energy to agricultural pursuits.
Levi Rice was reared under the parental roof and attended the public schools in the
pursuit of an education. When seventeen years of age he went to Bigby, Nova Scotia, where
he apprenticed himself to the carpenter's trade under his brother Abner. He worked at
carpentering in Bigby for twenty-three years, gaining an enviable reputation as an expert
and conscientious workman, but in 1880 he decided to try his fortune in North Dakota,
which he believed offered unusual oi)portunities to the man who was not afraid of hard work
and was determined to succeed. lie located in Cass county and homesteaded eighty acres
on section 32, Cornell township, which he soon brought under cultivation, and later, from
time to time he bought other land, becoming the owner oi live hundred and eighty acres in
all. He concentrated his energies upon the operatinn of liis farm, and his industry and
efficient methods resulted in the production of good ii-o|is whiili lirouiilit a high prirc on thr
market. In 1902, feeling that he had accumulated a competence, lie gave up the work of
the farm and removed to Tower City, where he has since lived retired. He owns stock in the
Farmers elevator at Power City.
Mr. Rice is one of the substantial uu'n of his county and his resilience is coiufortalile
and commodious, but during the first winter that he resided in this state he lived in an
eight foot square shanty, where he kept bachelor's hall. The following year, however, his
wife and his son Francis joined him and he built a shed addition to his shack which served
as the family residence for two years. At the end of that time he was able to erect a good
dwelling.
On the 3(1 of February, 1867, Mr. Rice was \inited in marriage to Miss Cassandra
Hawkswortli, a daughter of Joshua and Jfary (McCormack) Hawksworth and a native of
Bigby. Nova Scotia, in which country her jiarents spent their entire lives. Mr. and Mrs.
Rice have one son, Francis T., a lumlier merchant of Tower City, who married Katherine
Wasam and has two children, Clifford and Jfarjory.
Mr. Rice supports the republican party at the imlls. being cnTivuiii'il tliat (he ailii|i(i(in
of its policies would make for [irosperity and the sobitiipii of many iirolih'ins of the day,
f 1
I.i;\l KICK
MKS. LEVI RICE
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 269
and he manifests a eomniendable interest in everything that affects the general welfare.
He has served for a number of years as a member of the school board, proving capable and
conscientious in the discharge of liis duties. Both lie and his wife are members of tlie
Federated cliurch and no good cause appeals to them in vain.
LARS OLSGARD.
Lars Olsgard, vice president of the Bank of Wyndmere, was born in Richland county,
North Dakota, November 21, 1879, and is a son of Ola and Guri (Sorbel) Olsgard, both
natives of Norway, the former born on the 13th of May, 1845, and the latter in 1855. The
father emigrated to the United States in young manhood and settled in Richland county.
North Dakota, in 1871, being one of the early pioneers of the county. He took up land and
now owns three liundred and eighty acres, from which he derives a substantial income.
When he came to this state he was in straitened circumstances, but lie was energetic and
possessed good judgment and in time gained iinancial independence. He is an active mem-
ber of the Lutheran church which he aided in organizing, and his political belief is that of
the republican party. He is a well educated man and keeps informed on all questions of
public interest. He was married in Richland coimty to Miss Guri Sorbel, who died on the
7th of April, 1911. They were the parents of three children: Sophia, the wife of Gustav
G. Mellem, a hardware merchant of Wyndmere; Nels, who is living on the old home farm;
and Lars. Both of the grandfatliers of our subject died in Norway.
Lars Olsgard received an excellent education, graduating from Concordia College at
Moorliead, Minnesota, in 1897. In 1900 he engaged in the hardware business in Wyndmere
and so continued for three years, after whicli he entered the First National Bank as assistant
cashier. After being connected with that bank for four years he was made vice president of
the Bank of Wyndmere, in which capacity he is still serving. The institution is capitalized
at ten thousand dollars, has a surplus of five thousand dollars and its average deposits are
two hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Olsgard devotes practically his entire time to his duties
in connection with tlie bank and his detailed knowledge of the business and his good judg-
ment are important factors in tlie success of the institution. He began liis career without
•capital but has gained a gratifying measure of success and now owns considerable hind in tlie
county.
On the 9th of .Juno, 1907, Mr. Olsgard was united in marriage to Miss Freda Franz, a
native of St. Paul, Minnesota, and they have three children, Pearl, Evelyn and Viola. He is
a republican but does not take an active part in politics. Fraternally he is well known,
belonging to the Masonic blue lodge, the coinraandery and Shrine and to the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows. He takes a commendable interest in the advancement of his community
along moral, civic and commercial lines and is recognized as a valuable citizen.
S. F. SHERMAN.
As cashier of the First National Bank of Tower City, S. F. Sherman has demonstrated
his business acumen and sound judgment and his advice is often sought on matters of invest-
ment. He was born in the city which is still his home on the 6tli of December, 1881, a son
of R. P. and Sarah E. (Philips) Sherman, the former of whom was born in New York and
tlie latter in Michigan. They were married in the Wolverine state, which remained their
home until 1880, when they became settlers of Cass county, North Dakota. The father
established a bank at Tower City, which he conducted for thirty years and which was known
as the Tower City Bank. In 1911 he retired from business, having accumulated a competence,
and removed to California, where he and his wife are still living. All of their four children
survive.
S. F. Sherman was reared under the parental roof and received his early education in
the public schools of Tower City. Upon completing his preparatory work he attended the
Vol. 11—15
270 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
University of ilichigaii. Subsequently he entered his fatlier's bank as assistant cashier, wliiili
office he held until 1903, when a reorganization was effected, the institution becoming known
as the First National Bank, of which he became cashier. He has ably managed the affairs of
the bank, and the volume of its business has grown steadily from j'ear to year. He makes
the safeguarding of the interests of depositors and stockholders his first concern and yet
has been able to promote the financial and commercial e.xpansion of the community by judi-
ciously extended credit. In addition to his banking interests he is an extensive landowner.
In 1905 Jlr. .Sherman was married to Miss Gertrude E. Smith, also a native of Tower
City and a daughter of Henrj' V. and Louisa (Chapman) Smith, natives of Minnesota. Her
father is deceased, but her mother is still living. Mr. and ilrs. Sherman have two sons,
Richard Henry and l''rederick Smith.
Mr. Sherman casts his ballot in support of the candidates and measures of the republican
party and has taken an active interest in affairs of local government. He has served capably
as mayor and for the past fourteen years has been clerk of the board of education, doing
much in that time to promote the advancement of the public schools. His fraternal aflilia-
tions are with Cereal Lodge, Xo. 9, A. F. & A. M., in which he has tilled all of the chairs;
Tower City Lodge, No. 83, I. 0. O. F.; and Valley City Lodge, No. 1110, B. P. 0. E. Both
he and his wife attend the Federated church, and they at all times stand for righteousness
and moral advancement. They are widely known, and the circle of their friends is an exten-
sive one.
O. B. (iRAY.
Agricultural interests in North Dakota find a prominent representative in 0. B. Cray,
one of the large landowners of Cass county, operating one thousand acres in Rochester town-
ship, three miles from Page. He is also identified with the business interests of the town as
a dealer in agricultural implements and has built up a large trade in that connection. Mr.
Gray is a native of Wisconsin. He was born in Boseobel, March 5, 1865, a son of Joseph W.
and Emeline (Stone) Gray, both of whom were natives of the state of New York, where they
were reared and nuirried. About 1852 they migrated to Wisconsin, where the father acquired
a farm of three hundred and five acres near Boseobel, remaining thereon until 1880, when he
came to North Dakota an<l liome.steaded one hundred and sixty acres. He also secured an
additional tract of one hundred and sixty acres in Colgate township. Cass county, as a tree
claim and devoted his energies to the cultivation and improvement of his land until the
ileath of his wife about- 1903. He afterward made his home among his children but continued
to operate his farm, the boundaries of which he had extended until it comprised four hun-
dred and eighty acres. He was busily engaged in the cultivation and supervision of that
jilace U]! to the time of his death, which occurred in ^[anli, I'.ii:;. in politics lu' was a
republican but never an office seeker.
0. B. Gray spent his youthful days under the parental roof and acquired his education
in the public schools. He was Iwent.v-one years of age when he became a wage earner, .secur-
ing employment at farm labor. In 1888 he arrived in Page and engaged in the meat and live
stock business, operating along those lines for nineteen years. Later he purchased the con-
trolling interest in the Ayr State Bank, with whicli he was identified for about a j'ear and
a half, and in 1909 he established his present imi)lement business. He nuide his first invest-
ment in land in 1895, when he jiurchased a ipuirter section, but since that time he has made
other investments at various intervals until his holdings embraced one thousand acres, all
(if which is operated iinder his imnu'diate supervision. His is one of those fine and splendidly
developed farms which have made the state fanunis. He employs the most progressive
methods in the operation of his fields and in the conduct of every phase of the business and
his success is the logical, legitimate and well merited results of his efforts.
On the 8th of May, 1892, Mr. Gray was united in marriage to Miss Kate Ilanlcy, of
North Freedom, Wisconsin, by whom he had seven children, six of whom still survive, as
follows: Clarence, who works in his father's store: Edith, a student in the State Normal
School at Mawille, North Dakota; and Lewis, Inez, Merrill and .Tames, all at home.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 271
Mr. Gray gives his political allegiance to the republican party and fraternally is indenti-
fied with the following organizations: Hiram Lodge, No. 30, A. F. & A. M., of Page; Dakota
Consistory, No. 1, A. & A. S. R.; El Zagal Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S.; Fargo Lodge, No. 260,
B. P. 0. E.; the Ancient Order of United Workmen; and the Modern Woodmen of America
at Page. He has ever maintained an even balance in his life by his activities outside of the
pale of business and yet he never allows other things to interfere with the capabale manage-
ment of his commercial and agricultural interests. He is justly accounted one of the fore-
most business men of Cass county and is a representative of that class of men who have
made North Dakota one of the great agricultural states of the Union.
W. H. BARNETT.
Among the practitioners at the bar of Fargo, W. H. Barnett is well known and con-
temporaries and colleagues accord him a prominent and enviable position in the profession.
He has been a resident of the capital since 1880 and. in the intervening years has practiced
law, his ability bringing him ])rominently to the front in a calling where advancement is
secured only through individual merit. He was born in Wisconsin on the 23d of July, 1856,
and is a son of William D. and Julia A. (Huntley) Barnett, both of whom were natives of
the state of New York. The father went to Wisconsin in 1846 and there passed away in the
year 1868. His widow still survives and makes her home with her son, W. H. Barnett, in
the eighty-sixth year of her age. Although she has now advanced far on life's journey she
is still enjoying excellent health. She was the mother of three children, two of whom sur-
vive.
W. H. Barnett was reared and educated in Wisconsin and supplemented his public school
course by a course in the law department of the State University at Madison, from which
he was graduated with the class of 1880. He then sought a favorable field for practice and
came to Fargo, where he opened a law office and has since followed his profession. He
served as assistant states attorney for two years and was then elected states attorney, which
position he occupied for four years. He also filled the office of assistant United States attor-
ney by appointment for a term of five years. Through all the intervening period since his
arrival in Fargo his practice has been extensive and of an important character. Along with
those qualities found indispensable to the lawyer — a keen, rapid, logical mind, plus the busi-
ness sense and a capacity for hard work — he brought to the starting point of his legal career
certain rare gifts — eloquent language and a strong personalit}-. An elegant presence, an ear-
nest, dignified manner, marked strength of character, a thorough grasp of the law and
the ability to correctly apply its principles, are features in his effectiveness as an advocate.
In 1883 Mr. Barnett wedded Miss Lelah Tillotson, and in the city of their residence they
are widely and favorably known, occupying a prominent position in social circles. Mr. Bar-
nett is an earnest republican and has served as police magistrate of Fargo for eleven years.
His interests, however, chiefly center in his profession and his devotion to his clients' interests
has become proverbial. He has been retained in connection with much of the most important
litigation tried in the courts at Fargo and the records bear testimony to his ability and
success.
GEORGE \V. KELLEY.
George W. Kelley is one of those who have contributed to the business growth and
expansion of Tower City and who aided in organizing the Farmers Elevator Company there,
of which he has since served as manager. He owns eight hundred acres of land and is one of
the well-to-do residents of Cass county. A native of Minnesota, his birth occurred on the 16th
of Februar}-, 1859, and his parents were John and Jane (Hammel) Kelley, both of whom
were born in Ireland. In 1850 they emigrated to America and after residing in New Jersey
for four years removed to Minnesota, where they lived on a farm until 1880. In that year
272 HISTORY OF XORTH DAKOTA
they arrived in Cass county, North Dakota, and then^ they spent their remaining years. Two
of their three children are still living.
George W. Kelley was educated in the common schools of Jlinnesota and remained under
the parental roof until he reached man's estate. In 187Q he came to North Dakota and took
up land on section 8 Cornell township, Cass county, which he at once began to bring under
cultivation. He devoted twenty-five years to farming and from time to time bought addi-
tional land, acquiring in all eight hundred acres, all of which is improved. On leaving the
farm he removed to Tower City and helped to organize the Farmers elevator there, of which he
has since served as manager. He is an accmate judge of the quality of grain, keeps in close
touch with the markets and possesses sound judgment, and has proved very successful as
manager of the elevator, which does a large business. He is also vice president of the First
National Bank of Tower City and is treasurer and secretary of the local telephone company.
his sagacity and enterprise being factors in the advancement of the interests of those con-
cerns.
Mr. Kelley was married in 1894 to Miss Myrtle Beil, a native of Indiana, by whom he
has had eight children: George R., Vera. .John, Myrtle, Muriel, Helen and Roy, all of whom
are at home; and Frederick, who is deceased. Mr. Kelley is a stanch adherent of the repub-
lican party and for four years served as county commissioner, while for a number of years
he held the office of school director. He is a member of Tower City Lodge, No. 83, I. O. 0. F.,
and the teachings of the order are exemplified in his conduct. When he began his independent
career he had no capital and he has at all times depended upon his own resources. The grati-
fying measure of success which he has gained is therefore evidence of his ability.
GEORGE C. OTTIS.
George C. Ottis, the proprietor of the leading store in Wyndmere, also has a number
of other important business connections and has been a leading factor in the development of
his town and county. He was born in Cass county, North Dakota. September 17, 187.'), a son
of Samuel and Carrie (Eikery) Ottis, the former of whom was born in Denmark in 1841
and the latter in Wisconsin in 1847. The father served in the Danish army during the war
between Germany and Denmark, but in 1864 he emigrated to the United States and made
his way to Minnesota, where he farmed for a few years. In 1871 he came to Dakota terri-
tory and took up a homestead, which he developed into a well improved farm. He has been
very successful in business and still owns two sections of land after giving land to his chil-
dren. He also owns his residence at Kindred, where he is living retired. His political sup-
port is given the republican party, and he is a member of the Lutheran church. He was
married in Fillmore county, Minnesota, to Miss Carrie Kikery. who died in 1891. Of their
children four sons are living, namely: Louis, who is residing on the old homestead: George
C; Bernhard, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work: and John, cashier of the
bank at Kindred.
George C. Ottis attended the public schools and was later for two years a student in
the Concordia College at Moorhead, Jlinnesota, where he completed the commercial course.
Subsequently he engaged in merchandising in Kindred for two years, after which, in 1900.
he removed to Wyndmere, where he has since remained. He began business on a small scale
but his store is now the largest in the town and the volume of his trade is growing steadily.
He has prospered from the beginning as he has always adhered closely to the strictest com-
mercial ethics and as he has spared no pains to supply the wants of his customers. In addi-
tion to his store he is financially interested in the Noonan Security Bank, the Davenport
Bank and the First State Bank at Opheim. ifontana, of which he is a director. He also
owns stock in a number of enterprises, including an elevator and a creamery, and he holds
title to a section of good land. He is one of the most successful men of Richland county, and
his record is the more creditable in that he has always depended entirely iijion his own
efforts.
Mr. Ottis was married in 1903 to ;Miss Clara llollingby. a native of Osage. Iowa, by
whom he has a daughter, Irene. He votes the republican ticket but is not otherwise active in
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 273
politics. Fraternally he is connected with the ilasonie blue lodge, conimandery and Shrine,
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Woodmen. He holds membership in the
Lutheran church and its teachings have guided his life. He is not only widely known and
highly respected throughout the county but there are many who are his warm personal
friends.
L. H. STINE.
L. H. Stine, of Tower City, is one of those men who, having gained a competence through
the cultivation of the soil, have now retired and are enjoying a well deserved period of rest
and leisure. He was born in Hungary on the 3d of December, 1870, a son of Frank and
Rosa Stine, also natives of that country. The father died in Hungary, but in 1884 the
mother came to America and passed her last years in this country, dying in Jlinnesota
in 1889.
L. H. Stine, who is the only child born to his parents, came to the United States when
but twelve years of age and resided in Minnesota until 1893, in which year he came to North
Dakota and settled upon a farm in Barnes county. He devoted his time and energy to agri-
cultural pursuits and as the years passed his resources increased steadily, for he was practical
and progressive in his methods and managed his business affairs well. In 1915 he sold his
farm and removed to Tower City, where he is now practically living retired. In partnership
with another gentleman, Mr. Stine purchased the store of W. W. Kueg & Company at
Tower City in the early summer of 1916, and they now carry a stock valued at about
twenty-five thousand dollars. Although he does not give his personal attention to the
business, his son George is assisting in the management of the store. Mr. Stine also recently
purchased one of the most modern residences of the city and there he_ and his family are
now living.
Mr. Stine was married in 1894 to Miss Lenna F. Felstad, a native of Norway, who,
however, was brought to this country by lier parents when but five years old. To this unit)n
have been born four children: George, who attended college at Fargo and is now connected
with his father's store; Gertrude, a college student; Louis, a high-school student; and Walter.
Mr. Stine votes the republican ticket and he is now serving as a member of the school
board, while he was formerly on the township board. He is identified with Lodge No. 8.3,
I. 0. O. F., with the Masons, the Workmen and the Yeomen and is well known in local
fraternal circles. Both he and his wife attend the Federated church, to the advancement
of whose work they give freely of time and money. Mr. Stine came to this country without
resources other than his strength, energy and sound judgment, and the success which he
has gained is due entirely to his own etforts. Those who know him, and he has a wide
acquaintance, hold him in high esteem and warm regard.
NELS K. NELSON.
Among those who have contributed in no small measure to tlie agricultural develop-
ment of the southeastern part of North Dakota is Nels K. Nelson, who resides on section C,
Empire township, Cass county, and who owns nine quarter sections of good land in that
county. A native of Norway, he was born on the 17th of July, 1874, a son of Karolius and
Olianna (Arnson) Nelson, who in 1884 emigrated to the United States with their family.
The father took up a homestead near Milnor, Sargent county, North Dakota, and also pre-
empted one himdred and sixty acres, which he subsequently sold. He has become the owner
of other land, however, holding title to three hundred and twenty acres near Milnor, and is
now living retired at that place.
Nels K. Nelson accompanied his parents to this country when he was ten years of age
and continued to reside under the parental roof until he reached man's estate. He attended
the common schools and thus gained a good education. After he became of age he bought
274 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
oiu' Iniiuln'il and sixty ucrcs of lund and a year later purcliased a. socund i|uartiT section,
liis labors as a larnier being from the lirst rewarded with excellent crops. As the years
have passed he has added to his holding's from time to time and they now comprise nine
ijuarter sections, or toiirteen hundred and forty acres, of as tine land as tliere is in Cass
county, lie has depended upon his own etVorts, and the fact that he is now a man of
independent means is evidence of his energy, his knowledge of the best methods of agricul
ture anil the wise management of his business aflairs. He owns stock in the Ayr State
Hank and in the Ayr Farmers Elevator, in which he is a member of the board of directors,
and is recognized as one of the leading citizens of his county.
Jn I'.IOO occurred the marriage of Jlr. Nelson and Miss Xellir .M. I.iiidstroni. of Krie
township, Cass county, and they have become tlu' parents of six diildnii. of whom tliree
are still living, Anna S., Gordon A. and Elmer.
.Mr. Nelson is a republican in politics but has never had the tinu' nor inclination to
take an active part in public aftairs. Fraternally he belongs to the Ancient Ordi'r of Inited
Workmen, and both he and his wife are identified with the Presbyterian (•liur<h. During
the three decades that he has resided in this stats he has witnessed a remarkable trans-
formation, for when he arrived here it was still largely a frontier region and the most
farsighted could not have pridictcd its present high state of development.
DAVin M. JIALLOUGH.
Daviil .\I. ilallough is engaged in farming on sections 24 and 25, Howe township, Cass
county, w lieie he owns three hundred and twenty acres of land, and since 1907 lias also owned
an elevator at Embden with a capacity of twenty-five thousand bushels. A native of Canada.
he was born on the 18th of April, 1S79, and is a son of Joseph and Christina (Smith) Mal-
lough. the former of whom was born in Ireland and the latter in Scotland. Koth removed to
Canada in their youth, but in 1880 they took up their residence in Cass county. North Dakota.
The father homesteaded land there and continued to cultivate it until his demise. His wife
also passed away in that county. All but one of their ten children are still living.
David M. Mallough remained at home until he became of age and divided his time between
attending school and assisting his father with the farm work. Beginning his independent
career, he determined to follow the occupation to which he had been reared, jmrchased land and
began to cultivate it on his own account. After following agricultural pursuits for seven
years on section 14, Howe township, h.' renu)ved to his present farm, which cominises three
hundred and twenty acres on sections 24 and 2."j, that township. He raises both grain and
stock and as he is at once eiu?rgetic and |nactical his activities yield him a good financial
return. In 1907 he entered the grain business and now owns a large elevator at Embden which
yields him a good profit.
In 1901 Jlr. Mallough was married to Miss Anna Mc( onncll, a daughter of John Mc-
f onnell, a retired farmer living in Embden, He was born in Canada on the 17th of October.
1849, and his parents were David and Anna (Hamilton) JlcConnell, the former a native of
Canada and the latter of Scotland. Tlie mother removed to the Dominion, however, in her
youth and there her marriage occurred. Both ilr. and :\[rs. David McConnell resided in the
Dominion until called to their reward. They had eight children but live are now deceased.
.lidin .McConnell remained at home until he was twenty-three years old, when he began
farming on his own account in his native country. Later he removed to Cass county. North
Dakota, but a short time later went to the vicinity of Aberdeen, South Dakota, where he
took up a claim and built a small shanty, in which he lived for six months. He then returned
to Cass county, this state, and bought a farm, to the cultivation of which he devoted his
time and energies until 191.'!. when, having accumulated a competcnc<>, he retired from active
life and removed to Embden, where he is now living. He is a republican in politics, but has
never sought ollicc and fraternally is a nuMuber of the Modern Woodnu-n of America. When
he came to North Dakota he had no money, but he possesseil energy and souml judgment and
he has gained a place among the substantial men of his county. He is an (dder of the Presby-
terian church, to which his wife also belongs. She was in her maidenhoood Miss Jane
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 275
Armour and was born in Canada. Tliey were married in 1877 in that country and they have
become tlie parents of five children, namely : Anna, now Mrs. Mallough ; Minnie, tlie wife of
Albert Hilkey; John; Ida, who is a graduate of the State Normal School at Valley City and
is now teaching; and William, at home.
Mr. and Mrs. Mallough are the parents of two children, Lloyd C. and Lila Maj'. Mr. Mal-
lough is an adherent of the republican party and has served his district acceptably as school
director, but has never sought to figure prominently in politics. Fraternally he is connected
with the Masonic blue lodge at Cassclton and with the American' Yeomen at Casselton. Both
he and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian church, the work of which they seek
to further, and the sincerity of their faith is evidenced in the rectitude of their daily lives.
He is recognized as a man of foresight, energy and business acumen and has been a factor in
the commercial advancement of Embden as well as in the agricultural development of his
township.
HON. FRANK H. DICKINSON.
Hon. Frank H. Dickinson, formerly a member of the North Dakota legistature and an
active representative of farming interests on section 10, Ayr township, Cass county, was born
in Battle Cieek, Michigan, December 12, 1858, a son of .lohn W. and CVnthia Ann (Stiles)
Dickinson, both of whom were natives of New York. They were married in Michigan and
located on a farm four miles from Battle Creek, where they resided up to the time of Mr.
Dickinson's death.
The usual experiences of the farm lad were those that came to Frank H. Dickinson in
his boyhood and youth. He was educated in the district schools and at the Indiana Normal
School at Valparaiso. He taught for two winter terms in Michigan and in the spring of 1880
he arrived in North Dakota. During the first year of his residence in this state he was
employed as a clerk in a mercantile establishment at Fargo. In 1881 lie returned to Michigan
for his biide and when he returned to North Dakota following his marriage he located in
Tower City, where he began dealing in fruit. In 1883 he went to Ayr, becoming one of the
founders of the town, which he named. There he engaged in the mercantile business and
was the first postmaster of the town, holding the office for twenty years. He was also the
first station agent of Ajt and occupied that position for five years. He operated the first grain
elevator and he continued to engage in merchandising for twenty-one years. In the early
'90s he organized and incorporated the Ayr Stores Company, one of the important mercantile
enterprises of Cass county, but after eft'ecting its organization he sold his interest and has
since given his attention to the management and direction of his extensive land holdings,
owning at one time an equity in twenty-six quarter sections of land. He has been one of the
largest dealers in North Dakota farm lands, selling sixty-seven quarter sections in one sea-
son, which land was a part of the estate of ex-Governor Smith of Vermont. Mr. Dickinson
has engaged in farming since 1886, cultivating from ten to fifteen hundred acres, and he now
owns thirteen quarter sections or two thousand eighty acres. His jjossessions make him one
of the large landowners of the state and his agricultural interests are conducted along the
most progressive lines, embodying all the advanced methods of farming and the utilization
of the latest improved machinerj'.
As a companion and helpmate on the journey of life Mr. Dickinson chose Miss Ida V.
Cliilson, of Battle Cr.eek, Michigan, by whom he has three children, namely: Maud A., who is
the wife of A. L. Bayley, a banker of Alice. North Dakota ; Vern C. deputy sheriff of Cass
county, North Dakota; and Dean D., at home.
A republican in politics, for years Mr. Dickinson was an incumbent in various township
offices. , He was the first township clerk after the organization of his township and in 1902
he was chosen to represent his district in the state legislature. On the expiration of his
term he was renominated by acclamation in the republican contention and was elected and
served for a second term. He gave careful consideration to each question which came up for
settlement, studied closely the vital political problems of the day and his support of measures
resulted from a belief in their efficacy as factors in the welfare of the commonwealth. Frater-
276 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
nallj' he is identified with the Masons, belonging to the following branches: Iliiam Lodge, No.
'20, A. F. & A. il., of Page; Casselton Chapter, R. A. M.; Auburn Conimandery, K. T., of
Fargo; and El Zagal Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., of Fargo. His wife belongs to the Order of
the Eastern Star. Both are well known in Cass county and other parts of the state and Mr.
Dickinson is accorded a very prominent position in political and agricultural circles.
JIELVIN N. MALLORY.
Melvin N. Mallory, cashier of the First National Bank of Page, Cas.s county, has been
connected with this institution since 1912. His residence in the state, however, covers the
intervening years from 1903. He was born in Plainview, Minnesota, November 10, 1877, a
son of Julius W. and Ellen E. (Wedge) Mallory. The father was born in St. Lawrence
county. New York, and the mother's birthplace was probably Waupun, Wisconsin, where
they were married. In 1864 they removed to Plainview, Minnesota, and Mr. JIallory was
engaged in farming for a number of years, his life's labors being ended in death in 1902. His
widow is still residing in Plainview.
Melvin N. Mallory was reared under tlir parental roof mid acquired his education in
the Plainview high school. He also attended Hamline University at St. Paul, Minnesota,
from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1900, winning the degree of Ph. B.
In 1903 he arrived in North Dakota and engaged in the drug business, with which he was
identified in Plainview, Lisbon and Hope until the spring of 1912, when he removed to Page
and entered the First National Bank as assistant cashier. In the spring of 1914 he was
advanced to the position of cashier and is now serving in tliat capacity, making an excellent
record through his capability, lojalty and enterprise. He is a stockholder in tlie institution
and is a member of its board of directors.
In 1908 Mr. Mallorj- was united in marriage to Miss Violet Morrisli, of .Mayvillc, North
Dakota, by whom he has a son, Howard Byron. The parents are members of the Jlethodist
Episcopal church and are interested in all that pertains to the welfare and upbuilding of
the city in which they make their home. In politics Mr. Mallory is a republican and fra-
ternally is connected with Occidental Lodge, F. & A. M., of Hope, North Dakota. He has
made continuous progress since starting out in the business world on his own account and
each forward step has brought him a broa<lcr outlook and wider opportunities. There has
been nothing spectacular in his career and nothing esoteric. lie has worked on along the
well defined lines of labor and his close application, perseverance and enterprise' liave been
the means of winning for him advancement.
RICHARD S. TVLKR.
Richard S. Tyler, who died on the Stli of .lanuary, 1903, was one of thi- leading and
dominant figures in the upbuilding of Fargo and eastern North Dakota. He was born In
Tompkins county, New York, on the 3d of December. 1848, the youngest son of Oliver and
Harriet (l>ampman) Tyler, who were natives of the Empire state and descendants of old
New England families. The mother was of Huguenot ancestry, while several members of
the Tyler family served in the Revolutionary war both as private aiul officer. Oliver Tyler,
the father, was a farmer by occupation and during the boyhood of his son Richard moved,
with his family, to Sterling, Illinois, wlicre there seemed a fine prospect in the then rapidly
developing state of Illinois. Richard, the son, was too young to apjireciate the conditions
and opportunitii's, and not liking the new country returned to his native county of Tomp-
kins and secured a clerkship in a general store, at Drydeii. New York, .\fter several years
of clerkship there, he beeanu' connect<'d with a wholesale grocery housi' in .'Syracuse, New
York, and later still with a larger one in the same line in New York city.
From the latter Mr. Tyler came to Fargo during what was known as the "Boom Days"
of 1881 and took up his residence here. From the first he foresaw the developments of the
RICHARD S. TYLER
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 279
state, and believed in the future of his newly adopted city. He became a heavy investor
in botli business and residence property, platted the addition to the city northwest of town
known as Tyler's addition and occupied himself in buying and selling real estate. Later
he became interested in. and was one of the promoters of the Fargo Southern Railroad, now
merged into the Milwaukee Railroad, and acquired extensive holdings in lands and town
sites along the route of the new railroad, from Fargo, to Ortonville, Minnesota. In Wahpeton,
North Dakota, he platted an addition of his holdings under the name of the R. S. Tyler
Addition, and also joined the late N. K. Hubbard, who was interested with him there in
another large tract in the platting of the Hubbard and Tyler Addition to the southern por-
tion of that city.
His great activities were, however, expended in the development and upbuilding of
Fargo, where he has left the impress of his individuality upon many lines of activity which
have contributed toward its progress and welfare. He became one of the chief factors in
the organization of the Fargo Commercial Club and was its first president. As such he
did much to secure favorable freight rates to the end of making Fargo a wholesale center
and distributing point for the state, a position which he hoped to see her occupy. In every
movement for the advancement and upbuilding of the city he was a conspicuous figure and his
labors were directly beneficial and resultant. After the fire of 1893 which swept away the
business portion of the town Jlr. Tyler erected the present Tyler building at 21 Broadway,
in which he established the oflice of R. S. Tyler & Company. Here he conducted successfully
the mortgage and loan, as well as real estate business which is still continued by his Avidow
under the firm name of R. S. Tyler Company, Incorporated.
In 1887 Mr. Tyler married Miss Annie A. Dwight, daughter of Jeremiah W. and Rebecca
A. (Cady) Dwight. She is descended in the paternal line from an old Massachusetts family,
which, as well as the Cadys, came from England and did active service in colonial times.
Mrs. Tyler's father came in 1879 to North Dakota seeking investments, purchased large
tracts of farm lands in Richland and Steele counties and organized, under the laws of the
State of Xew York the Dwight Farm & Land Company of North Dakota. In this company
^Ir. Tyler was a stockholder and director up to the time of his death, and assisted in its
management by bis wise counsel and sound judgment.
In 1893 Mr. Tyler was appointed a world's fair commissioner from this state but resigned,
owing to a pressure of private business which made it impossible for him to give the work
due attention. He was a Mason of high rank, iiaving attained the thirty-second degree of
the Scottish Rite, and his life was an exemplification of the basic principles of that fraternity.
His career was characterized by farsighted judgment, integrity of purpose, judgment and
honest dealings, great enterprise and unrelaxing efl'ort. A man of well balanced powers and
capacities in business afi'airs, his was the record of a strenuous life and of a strong individu-
ality, sure of itself, stable in purpose, quick and keen in perception, swift in decision, energetic
and persistent in action, upright, honest, honorable and loyal in all relations, a prominent
figure and factor in tlie early development of both city and state. ,
WILLIAM HALTER.
William Halter is an independent grain dealer owning and operating a grain elevator at
Ayr. He was born in Sheldon, Iowa, January 31, 1886, a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Kanes)
Halter, who were natives of France and Germany respectively. They came to the United
States with their parents, who were pioneer settlers of the state of Iowa, and it was at
Sheldon, Iowa, that Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Halter were married. In 1896 they removed to
Moody county. South Dakota, where they still reside.
William Halter was reared under the parental roof and the common .schools aff'orded him
his educational privileges. At the age of nineteen years he became connected with the grain
trade, entering the employ of Frank Mead of Flandreau, South Dakota, with whom he re-
mained for three and one-half years, during which time he gained broad experience in the
business. He next took charge of an elevator at Bryant, South Dakota, in the employ of
F. C. Smith, with whom he was thus connected for two years. He afterward entered the
280 HISTORY OF XORIII DAKO'IA
employ uf tlic ISemu'tt liraiii Cimi|)iiMy uf Flanilrrau. Soiitli Dakota, and I'm iiuc i ith was
at EdKciton. Minnesota, after wliich he took eliar{;e of an elevator for the lirni at Airlie,
Minnesota. A year later, or in 1911, he came to North Dakota and took ehar^e of the ele-
vator at Flasher for the Oeeidental Elevator t'oni])any. with wliieh he was thus eonneited
until ]!)13. At that date he organized the Flaslier Urain Company, of which he was made
manager, secretary and treasurer. When a year had passed that elevator was sold to farmers
of the vicinity and Mr. Halter removed to Almont, North Dakota, where he had charge of an
elevator for tlie Farmers Union Mercantile Company. On the lOtli of .Inly. I'.llj, he pur-
chased tlie elevator of the Winter, Truesdell & Ames Company at Ayr and is now operating
the business indei)endently. His long experience in connection with the grain trade has well
(pialified liiui for his undertaking. He is familiar with every jihase of the grain business
and his interests are wisely and cajjably directed, bringing to him success. In addition to his
other interests lie owns an eipiity in a tract of land tif one linmlri'd and si.\ty acres near
Flasher.
On the 1st of February, 1913, Mr. Halter was united in marriage to Miss Maud Leonard,
of Flasher. F'raternally he is indentified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, be-
longing to .Mandan Lodge No. 1256. Located during his business career at various points, he
lias become one of the well known grain buyers of Nortli Dakota and has gained higli respect
by reason of the integrity and enterprise of his methods.
WILLIAM LKLCK DUL'GLAS.
The specific and distinctive office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest
estimate of himself and his accomplishments, but rather to leave the perpetual record estab-
lishing his character by the consensus of opinion on the part of his fellowmen. Throughout
F'argo and wherever known in North Dakota, Mi-. Douglas was spoken of in terms of admira-
tion and respect. His life was so thorough in its activit.v, so honorable in its piuposcs, so
far-reaching and beneficial in its effects that it became an integral part of the history of the
city of Fargo. In no sense a man in public life, he nevertheless exerted an immeasurable
influence on the place of his residence because of his professional ability and his public spirit
and when he passed away his death was the occasion of deep and wide spread regret.
Mr. Douglas was born at Lockport, New York, on the 29th of .lune, 1849, the only child
of Asa and Mary (Bruce) Douglas, who spent their entire lives in the Empire state. He was
a lineal descendant of Robert Bruce, the noted Scottish chief, and was justly proud of his
noble line of ancestry. He displayed many of the sterling traits which characterize the
people of the land of hills and heather. He began his education in the common schools of
New York and afterward became a student in Dartmouth College, from which in due course
of time he was graduated. He began operations in the west, when in 1881 he made his way
to Fargo and from that time until his demise he was one of its most prominent citizens,
contributing in very largo and substantial measure to tlu' dcxclnpTucnt and upbuilding of
the city. He entered at once ujion the active practice of law as well as upon real estate
operations and he had large farming interests in Cass county and other ])arts of the state,
lie proved his faith in the future of I'argo by erecting twenty-one houses on what is now-
known as Douglas Terrace. This was a large tract of land adjoining the city which he ]datted
as one of the sub-divisions of Fargo. Into still another field he extended his labors, organiz-
ing the Northwestern Mutual Savings and Loan Association, of which he remained the attor-
ney imtil his death.
In 1878 Mr. Douglas was united in marriage to Miss Flora R. Newhall, a native of Mil-
waukee, Wisconsin, and a daughter of Daniel and Malissa (Tenny) Newhall, who were natives
of Massachusetts and Vermont respectively. In early life they removed to the luidille west,
settling in Wisconsin, where their remaining days «-ere passed. Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Ix-came
parents of one child, a daughter. Maic Bruci-, who was born March 0, 18T9, and in January,
100.1. became the wife of Dr. J. H. Rindlaub, by whom she has three sons, Bruce Douglas,
.John Douglas and Newhall Douglas.
It was on the ,10th of January, l!ii:;. tlmt William Itni.c Douglas was called to his final
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 281
rest, after wliieli his remains were interred in Riverside cemetery. There was a deep feeling
of regret throughout the eomnuinity when the news of his demisje was circulated for he had
become firmly entrenched in public regard. He was a prominent and well known Mason,
retaining his membership in the York and Scottish Rite bodies in Lockport, Xcw York, while
of Kl Zagal Temple, A. A. O. X. M. S. of Fargo he was a member. He also belonged to the
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and he lived up to the teachings of both societies. He was
a colonel in the Xew York State National Guard and held membership in the Sons of the
American Revol;ition, being a lineal descendant of Captain William Douglas who fought in
the battle of Bennington. The fraternal spirit was strong within him and he had great
appri'ciation for the social amenities of life. Moreover, he was known as a farsighted, saga-
cious and enterprising business man and his activities were ever of a character that contri-
buted to public progress and prosperity as well as to individual success. He came to Fargo
in the early days of the city's development and remained one of its valued and honored resi-
dents until his life's labors were ended.
AUGirST SJOQUIST.
August Sjoijuist, a successful merchant of Dwight, was born in Sweden on the yth of
Alay. 1ST2, a son of Carl and ilary Sjoquist, also natives of that country, who later followed
him here. In 1802 he emigrated to the United States and. making his way to Richland county,
Xortli Dakota, settled in Dwight township.
He received his education in the public schools of Dwight, which he attended during the
winter months, and during the summer vacations worked on farms. He took up a quarter
section as a homestead in what is now Ibson township, but in 1902 sold that place. He had
previously engaged in the mercantile business in Dwight in connection with his brother. Oscar
Sjoquist, under the style of Sjoquist Brothers. In 1904 he bought the interest of his brother
and has since been sole proprietor of the business. He has erected a large brick business
block, in wliich his store is located and which would be a credit to a town much larger than
Dwight. He began as a poor boy, but through industry and good management has built up a
large and profitable business. He carries an excellent and varied stock of general merchan-
dise, including seeds, and his reasonable prices and fair dealing commend him to the continued
patronage of the public. Being interested in the welfare of the community he is an avowed
advocate of diversified farming and improvements of farming facilities.
In Ma\'. 1902, ilr. Sjoquist was united in marriage to Miss Gena Carlson, who was born
in Dwight and is a daughter of Clement Carlson, of Danish descent, an early farmer of Rich-
land county. To this union have been born three children: Evelyn, Carleton and Grace.
Carleton died at the age of ten years, February 7, 1916. from malignant heart disease and
his death is deeply mourned by his parents.
Mr. Sjoquist is a republican and takes a keen interest in the aflFairs of local government.
He has served as postmaster of Dwight since 1906 and has discharged his duties in that
capacity with accuracy and dispatch. Fraternally he is connected with the Woodmen. He
devotes the greater part of his time to his mercantile business and ranks as a leading citizen
of Richland countv.
WILLIAir E. CHISMAX.
For more than thirteen years William E. Chisman has engaged in the real estate busi-
ness in Ransom county and is numbered among the enterprising and progressive citizens of
Lisbon. He was born in Iowa, January 31, 1875, a son of Simon K. Chisman, whose birth
occurred in Wilmington, Dearborn county, Indiana, in 1854. The father became a farmer,
following that occupation for many years in Iowa, to which state he was taken in 1857. It
was in .January, 1874. that he married Fidelia Forsyth, who was born in Iowa on the 6th of
April, ISoO. They became the parents of nine children, of whom William E. is the eldest, and
282 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
eight of the number arc yet living. The father is to some extent leading a retired life in
Blakesburg but deals in re^l estate. The mother also survives.
William E. Chisman pursued his education in the district schools of Iowa and also liad
a business course in Ottumwa. He then taught school for two terms in Iowa and subse-
quently came to North Dakota, immediately settling in Lisbon. Here he has made liis home
continuously since 1903 and throughout the entire period has been engaged in the real estate
business. Ambition and energy have been the salient features in his business caieer and from
the first he has met with success. He knows every phase of the real estate business and is
familiar with the property that is upon the market, so that he has been able to negotiate
many important realty transfers.
On the nth of January, 1909, ilr. Chisman was united in marriage to iliss lieulah K.
Armacost, who was born in Union City, Indiana, in 1880, her parents being Allen K. and I'^va
(Bryan) Armacost. Five children were born to her jiarents, of whom Mrs. Chisman was the
youngest, and by her marriage she has become the mother of tlirec children, but the (irstborn
died in infancy. The others are: Uarda, who was born in Lislxm, ilarcli 4. 1913; and
Lyman K., born January 26, 1915.
In his political views Mr. Chisman has always been a stalwart republican and fraternally
he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America, the Ancient Order of United Work-
men and the Royal Neighbors of America. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian
church and their influence is always on the side of progress and moral ujjlift. Mr, Chisman
lieartily cooperates in all plans and measures for the general good and his ell'orts have been
far-reaching and beneficial.
MARTIN N. OLSON.
Martin X. Olson, a druggist of Fingal, was born in \\'au|iun, Wisconsin, in .lanuary,
1858, a son of Ole Olson, a native of Norway, who soon after liis marriage came to the United
States, establisSiing the family home in Waupun, where he lived for two years. He then
turned his attention to agricultural pursuits and spent his remaining days upon tlie lionie
farm, passing away at the age of si.\ty-five years. To him and his wife were born eight
ohildren, of whom Martin N. is the third in order of birth.
After acquiring his education in the schools of Waupun Martin N. Olson devoted consider-
able time to assisting in the work of the home farm. At the age of eighteen years he began
clerking and was employed in that capacity until 1S89, when he came to North Dakota and
established a drug store at Buffalo, where he eontinueil in business for four years. In 1893
he ri'moved to Fingal and opened the lirst drug store in the town, since which time he has
continued in the business, having now a modern establishment, while the line of goods which
he carries represents the best tliat the market allm-ds in his line.
In 1882 Mr. Olson was united in marriage to Miss Lena Hanson, a native of Iowa. Tliey
were married, however, in Minnesota, where Mr. Olson spent a few years before coming to
North Dakota. Jlrs. Olson passed away in 1885, leaving two sons, Oscar and Clarence. The
latter is now a farmer of Barnes county, while the former is engaged in the drug business in
.Minnewaukan, having learned tlie business under the direction of liis father. Having lost his
first wife, Mr. Olson was married in June, 1893, to Miss Ada F.. Miller, a native of Ontario,
Canada, and a daughter of Edward and Helen (MeCleavei Miller. They were natives of
Ontario, but came to the United States about 188f>, locating at Buffalo, North Dakota. Mr.
Miller passed away in 1891 and the mother now resides at Balfour. North Dakota. There
were seven diildrcn born to their union all of whom are living. To Mr. and Mrs. Olson has
been born a daughter, .\lma, who is now a student in the University of North Dakota.
Mr. Olson has always avoided public office, yet has served as clerk of the school board for
ten years and is a stalwart champion of the cause of education. His wife was appointed
postmistress of Fingal in 1901, succeeding her husband, who had held the position for four
vears and who resigned in her favor, so tliat she lias now filled the jiosition for fifteen years.
Mr. Olson is a Royal Arch Mason and also bcdongs to the Ancient Order of United Work-
men, the -Modern Woodmen of America, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Veo-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 283
men. Realizing that a new country offers opportunities to the man wlio is quick to recognize
and utilize advantages, Martin N. Olson came to North Dakota and found here the business
chances which he sought. He has steadily worked his way upward and Fingal coimts him as
one of its progressive business men.
HON. A. L. PEART.
Hon. A. L. Peart, the owner of a general store at Chaffee, is an important factor in the
business life of his community and has also been prominent in public affairs, having served
for two terms as a member of the state legislature. He was born in New York on the Ifith
of September, 1S52, and his parents were Thomas and Charlotte (Ray) Peart. The father
was a native of England and the mother of the north of Ireland, but both came to the United
States when children and grew to maturity in New York state, where they were married. In
1857 they removed westward, locating at Mankato, Minnesota, where both died. To them
were born ten children, of whom four are deceased.
A. L. Peart remained with his parents until he attained his majority and received a high
school education. On leaving home he began working with the civil engineer of a railroad
company and was so employed for eight years. In 1888 he came to North Dakota and settled
in Cass county, where for twenty-three years he engaged in the grain business. In 1900,
however, he tvirned his attention to general merchandising and for the last nine years has
conducted a store in Chaffee. He carries a well selected line of general merchandise of high
quality, and his reasonable prices and constant efforts to please his patrons have resulted in
building up a large and lucrative patronage.
In 1888 Mr. Peart was united in marriage to Miss Mary Dwyer, who died in 1890. Five
years later he married Miss Alice Hill, a native of the Empire state, and they have become
the parents of three children, Leslie .]., Ralph R. and Edith R., all of whom are at home.
Mr. Peart is a stanch republican and is recognized as a leader in his party. In 1906 and
1908 he represented his district in the state legislature and made an excellent record in that
connection, supporting measures which have proved of public benefit. He is now serving as
clerk of the school board and takes a keen interest in the welfare of the schools. Fraternally
he belongs to the Yocmcn, the Maccabees, the ^Modern Woodmen of America and the Masonic
order. He holds membership in the blue lodge at Buffalo, this state, and also belongs to the
Scottish Rite bodies and has had the honor of conferring upon candidates all of the degrees
up to the thirty-second degree. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian
church and their lives are guided by high standards of morality.
JOHN L. GUNKEL.
.John L. Gunkcl, th? oldest banker in Casselton and the cashier of the Cass County
National Bank, is recognized as a leader in financial circles in Cass county, and his ability and
integrity are generally acknowledged. He was born in Germany on the 11th of January. 1858,
a son of Carl and Therese (Diethe) Gunkel, both likewise natives of that country. The father
was born in 1820 and died in 1885, while the mother was born in 1821 and passed away in
1896. The paternal grandparents of our subject removed from Hanover to Saxony, where the
fatl'.er of ovn- subject was born, and came to the United States many years ago, and the
maternal grandparents were Saxons. Carl and Therese Gunkel were married in Germany
and continued to reside there until 1870, when they emigrated to the United States. They
made their way to the middle west and settled upon a farm in Racine county, \Visconsin,
where they resided until the father purchased land in Milwaukee county, Wisconsin. They
made their home there until 1880, in which year they came to North Dakota and took up a
liomestead in Cass county. Mr. Gunkel passed the remainder of his life there and became
one of the leaders in public affairs. His high standing among his fellow citizens is indicated
by the fact that Gunkel township was named in his honor. Although he had but little money
284 HISTORY OF XOKTII DAKOTA
when hv laiiu' to tlie rnitcd States, liis ciieijry ami llie wise iiianagcmeiit of liis affairs
enabled him to win linaiicial suecess and he became the owner of four hundred and eighty
acres of land. His political belief was that of the republican party, and he was a member of
the Lutlieran eliurch. To him and his wife were born three children: Rose, the wife of Frank
Milker, a resident of California; Charlie, who owns a ranch in the western part of North
Dakota ami who also holds a state ollice in the department connected with school lands; ami
John L.
The last named attended the public schools of .Milwaukee and after finishing his educa-
tion worked as a clerk for a few years. In 1S79, when twenty-one years of age, he came to
Xorth Dakota and engaged in banking. He was one of the organizers of the First National
Bank of Casselton and for fifteen years served as cashier of that institution. Subsequently
he accepted the position of cashier of the Cass County National Bank, in which capacity he
has since served. He is also a director in the institution, which is capitalized for twenty-
live thousand dollars, has a surplus and undivided ])rof!ts of thirty-one thousand live liundrcd
dollars, and average deposits of from three hundred and fifty to four hundred thousand
dollars. Its policy, which is largely directed by Mr. Gunkel, has been one of progressiveness,
combined with that conservatism which is necessary to safeguard the interests of stock-
holders and depositors, and its business has grown steadily, as it has the confidence of the
general public. Mr. Gunkel has also dealt extensively in farm loans for a number of years
and represents many important eastern concerns.
In 1883 occurred the marriage of Mr. Gunkel and Miss Mary A. Goodyear, who was born
in Pennsylvania. They have had three children, two of whom are living, namely: (ieorge,
w-ho is engaged in the real estate business in Casselton; and Mabel, the wife of Dr. II. W.
Miller, of Casselton.
Mr. Gunkel is a democrat and for the last two decades has been city treasurer, his long
retention in tlie ofTice proving the acceptability of his services. He holds membership in the
Episcopal church and fraternally is connected with the Knights of Pythias, in which he has
held the office of keeper of the records and seal for ten years. He is a self-made man, as he
had no capital when he began his independent career and as he has always depended solely
upon his own enterprise and good judgment, and the success which he has gained is proof of
his abilitv and energy.
EAEL B. WEIBLE, M. D.
Dr. Earl B. Weible, actively and successfully engaged in the practice of medicine and
surgery at Bcrthold, was born at .Tamestown, New York, December 7, 1SS2, a son of James S.
and Mary (Sniflin) Weible. The father, who was born near Titusville, Pennsylvania, in 1843,
w^as engaged in the oil business in that state in early life, but about ISSfi removed to North
Dakota and became owner of a farm of five sections four miles north of Hunter. He made
frequent trips back to Jamestown, New York, until he removed his family to North Dakota
after he had been a resident of the state for six years. He continued upon the farm for abo\it
twenty-six years, carefully, ably and successfully managing his agi-icultural interests until,
feeling that his capital was sufficient to enable him to retire, he took up his abode in Fargo,
where he now resides. He is a veteran of the Civil war, having served as a gunner on a gun-
boat of the United States navy throughoiit the entire period of hostilities. Although he was
in several engagements, he was never wounded or in the hospital . He has never been ambitious
to hold political oHice and in fact has frequently refused to become a candidate. His worth
as a citizen, however, has been widely acknowledged in the communitii's in which he has lived,
and Weible Station in North Dakota was named in his honor.
Dr. Weible is the youngest of a family of five sons and in his youthful days attcndeil
school at Jamestown, New York, while later he became a student in the district schools near
his father's farm in North Dakota and in the high school at Fargo. He next entered the
University of Minnesota, where he completed his more specifically literary course and then,
in preparation for a professional career, entered the Baltimore College of Medicine, from which
he was graduated with the class of 1910. His studies, liowever, were not pursued con-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 285
tinuously, for about the time that he left the high school he secured a position as reporter on
the Minneapolis Journal and was employed in that capacity and in the art department of the
paper in connection with the cartoonist for about three years. It was subsequent to this
time that he pursued his university course and prepared for medical practice. After winning
his professional degree »he spent one year in the General Hospital at Fargo, Xorth Dakota.
For a year he resided in Heaton and then came to Berthold, where he has since engaged in
the general practice of medicine and surgery, making steady progress in his profession, to
which he devotes his entire time, his capability being widely recognized. He is very careful
in diagnosing his eases, keeps in touch with the latest scientific investigations and discoveries
and belongs to the Ward County Medical Society.
Dr. Weible is a member of the Odd Fellows lodge at Berthold and in politics maintains
an independent course, voting according to the dictates of his judgment and never seeking
office. He is a rommunicant of the Episcopal church, but attends other churches in Berthold.
His fellow townsmen speak of him in terms of high regard as a man, as a citizen and as a
physician.
F. J. PHILLIPS.
K. J. Phillips, who owns a well patronized meat market in Chaffee and is one of the
town's substantial business men, is a native of New York, born on the 15th of June, 1S53.
He is a son of Daniel and Almeda (Cook) Phillips, who passed their entire lives in the
Empire state. They were the parents of tliree children, all of whom are still living.
F. J. Phillips received a common school education, but when sixteen years of age began
his independent career. He was variously employed in the east until 1878 but in that year
removed to Cass county, North Dakota, and took up a homestead near Amenia. He operated
his farm successfully until 1891, when he sold the place and removed to Casselton, where he
engaged in the butcher business for two years. He then sold out and in 1899 removed to
Chaffee, where he has since owned a meat market. He conducts the place in strict accordance
with the rules of sanitation and as his meat is of excellent quality and his business deal-
i))gs are above question he has built up a large and profitable business. He owns the building
in which his market is located and also holds title to his comfortable residence.
Mr. Phillips was married in 1886 to Miss Elizabeth Smith, a native of Canada, by whom
he has four children : C. A., who is now holding the office of postmaster at Chaffee ; Myrtle,
the wife of Thomas MoUand; Adelaide, a graduate of the Valley City Normal School and
now principal of the school at Chaffee; and Clinton F., who is attending college at Fargo.
Mr. Phillips is a stanch republican in politics and in 1904 was appointed postmaster by
President Roosevelt and held that office for ten years, proving capable and systematic in
the discharge of his duties. He has also served as school director. He belongs to Casselton
Lodge, No. 3, A F. & A. M., of Casselton, and also holds membership in the Scottish Rite
bodies and in the Mystic Shrine at Fargo. He is likewise identified with the Modern Wood-
men of America and with the Modern Brotherhood and these fraternal associations indicate
much of the character of the rules tliat govern his conduct. His wife holds membership
in the Cliristian church.
FREDERICK LEONARD ANDERSON.
Frederick Leonard Anderson, postmaster of Minot. to which position he was appointed
by President Wilson, Augiist 1. 1916, was born in New Rockford. Eddy county, North Dakota,
May 8, 1889, a son of Hans E. and Stina (Blid) Anderson. The father was horn in the town
of Amal, Sweden, and was there reared and educated, becoming a farmer. In 1881 he arrived
in America and cast in his lot with the pioneer settlers of Eddy county, North Dakota, where
he entered government land. He at once began the development of that hitherto wild tract,
converting the raw prairie into productive fields which he continued to cultivate until 1915,
286 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
vhcn ho retired from farm life ami removed to ilinot, wliile his sons now operate the old
home place. To him and his wife were horn four children: Gus E. and Emma, who were born
ere the emigration of the parents from Sweden: and Carl Adolph an<l Frederick, natives of
Eddy county.
It was in that county that the last named spent the days of his boyhood and youth,
supplementing his district school education by high school training and by further study in
the Phillips Academy at New Rockford, North Dakota. Subsequently he entered the Farmers
& Merchants Bank at that place and afterward was employed by Armour & Company at
Fargo. Still later lie removed to Washburn, North Dakota, and in 1910 became a resident of
Minot, where he entered into the abstract business as manager of the ^^■ard County Abstract
Company and later became title examiner for the Brush, McWilliams Company, continuing
in this business until 1916. In 1915 he was appointed a director of the First International
Bank of Minot and thus entered into active connection with the managenuMit of financial
interests in his city. On the 1st of August, 1916, he was appointed by Tresident Wilson post-
master at Minot, being the youngest man in the United States to have charge of a first class
office, entering upon his duties on the 1st of September.
At Minot, on the 2d of August, 19i:i, Mr. Anderson was married to Miss Clara M. Olson,
who was born at Aneta, North Dakota, a daughter of Martin Olson, of Ancta, who was born
in Norway and became one of the early settlers of Nelson county. North Dakota, where he
has long followed the occupation of farming. Fraternally Mr. Anderson is connected with
the Knights of Pythias lodge at Minot, but joined the order at Washburn, North Dakota, in
190S, He belongs to the Lutheran church and his present position indicates his political
affiliation. He is one of the progressive young business men of his city, popular among his
fellow townsmen, capable in business, and there is no fear but what he will prove an excel-
lent officer in the position to which he has so recently been called.
Hr.y. JOSEPH .1. PAITH.
Rev. Joseph J. Raith, pastor of St. Leo's Roman Catholic church at Minot, was bom
in Teisnach, Niederbaycrn, Bavaria, Germany, October 12, 187.'), a son of Mathias and Anna
Mary (Vogel) Raith. The father was a native of the same place and there was reared and
educated. He learned the cloth weaving trade, which he followed for a number of years
but in the later part of his life turned his attention to farming, his death occurring in
Bavaria, November 20, 190.5. His wife's birth occurred at Lam. in Niederbaycrn Bavaria,
where she grew to womanhood, was educated and married. She survived her husband for
two years, passing away November 27. 1907.
In his native town Rev. Joseph J. Kaitli pursued his studies to flu' age of liftcen years
and then came to the new worlil, making his way to Mount Calvary. Wisconsin, where he
entered St. Lawrence College, in which he pursued a classical course, being graduated in
1894. For his philosophy course he matriculated at St. Viateur's College at Bourbonnais,
Kankakee county, Illinois, where he completed his work in ])hilosophy and also devoted a
year to the study of theology. He next entered St. Paul's Theological Semimiry at St. Paul,
Minnesota, and there com])leting his pieparation for the priesthood, was ordained at Fargo,
Noith Dakota, .Iiinuary 29, 1901, by the Ut. Kev. John Shanley. From the 2-lth of February
until the 28th of May of the same year he was on duty at St. Mary's Cathedral in Fargo
and afterward was a])pointed rector of St. loco's church at Minot, where he has continued
from May, 1901, until the present time. At the time of his arrival there was a little church
edifice fifty by thirty feet. The parish, however, owned some jnoperty and l-'ather Raith
bought more ground and built thereon a new church and parish house, the church being
erected at a cost of over fifty thousand dollars, while the property is valiu'd altogether at
eighty-five thousand dollars. He has done good work among his people here, greatly
U[)building the church, and he is also active in Minot Council, No. 11.50, K. ('., of which he
is the chaplain. He is gi-eatlj' loved by his peojile and is often called upon to act as their
adviser in material as well as spiritual things, for his people have come to know him as a
man of broad sympathy and marked heli)fulnes8 of spirit. The building of a school is
REV. JOSEPH J. EAITH
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 289
under contemplation and the land is purchased and the plans drawn. The zeal with which
he has labored in Minot is indicated in the fact that he has secured for his parish the
handsomest church edifice of the city and one of the finest in all the state.
HOLLAND FROST.
Holland Frost has devoted his life to agricultural pursuits and now owns an excellent
farm in Hill township, Cass county. His birth occurred in New York on the 7th of May,
1845, and he is a son of Orlando and Abigail B. (Robbins) Frost, both likewise natives of
that state, Avhence in 1882 they removed to North Dakota, where both passed away. They
were the parents of iive children, of whom three are still living.
Holland Frost was educated in the public schools and remained at home until he attained
his majority. He then began farming in New York and so continued until 1881, when he
removed to Cass county. North Dakota, settling on a part of his present farm on section 28,
Hill township. He took up a homestead, to which he has since added by purchase, his holdings
now comprising seven hundred and twenty acres, all of which is under cultivation. He has
erected a number of good buildings, has planted a fine grove and takes justifiable pride in the
attractive appearance of his place. He carries on general farming and his well directed labors
secure him a good income. He is also a stockholder in the Farmers elevator at Tower City.
Mr. Frost was married May 28, 1879, to Miss Abigail H. Case also a native of the Empire
state. They have become the parents of five children, namely: Leon H., a resident of Montana;
Mabel A., deceased; Alma J., the wife of E. Sproul, who lives in Montana; Ella A., who
married W. C. Maloney; and Marian, at home.
Mr. Frost votes the republican ticket and has taken quite an active part in public affairs.
He has served for twelve years as supervisor and for thirty years has been clerk of the school
board. He is a self-made man as he began his career without capital and has gained his suc-
cess entirely through his own efforts.
ERNA D. WALLACE.
Erna D. Wallace, a resident farmer of Cass county living on section 3, Rich township,
was born in Cass county, Michigan, on the 3d of September, 1869, a son of Victor Wallace,
of whom mention is made elsewhere in this work. He was a youth of fourteen years on the
removal of the family to North Dakota. His education was largely acquired in the common
schools of ilichigan and in the school of experience he has also learned many valuable lessons.
He was early trained to the work of the fields through the assistance which he gave
his father in the development of the home farm and in 1891, on attaining his majority, he
began farming for himself. During the first year he cultivated all of section 35, Rochester
township. The following year he purchased a half section comprising his present home
farm, on which he has since resided. To that purchase, however, he has added until he
now owns an entire section and his six hundred and forty acre tract of valuable and productive
land constitutes one of the fine farms of Cass county. One half of this is situated in Page
township and the remaining three hundred and twenty acres in Rich township. He also culti-
vates two hundred and forty acres besides his own holdings, so that he is one of the extensive
farmers of this part of the state.
In 1891 Mr. Wallace was married to Miss Emma Burman of Clarksville, Ohio. Of their
five children four survive as follows: Clarence N., who was assistant manager of the Farmers
Elevator at Page, North Dakota, but is now farming in Rich township, Cass county; and
Ralph v., Florence E. and Ellen .J., all at home.
Politically Mr. Wallace is a republican, earnest in his advocacy of the principles of the
party. He served as a member of the township board for several years and for the past
eight or ten years has been township assessor. He is interested in all that pertains to public
progress and cooperates in many measures for the general good. His wife is a member of
290 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
the Baptist church and they are among the well known citizens of Cass county, where they
have many friends. Aside from his other interests ^Mr. Wallace is a stockholder in the Page
Farmers Elevator & Lumber Company. In business affairs his judgment is sound, his dis-
crimination keen and his enterprise unfaltering and thus he is steadily progressing along the
path of success.
EINEE WOLD.
Einer Wold, who is successfully engaged in merchandising in Galehiitt, Richland county,
was born in Norway on the 3d of August, 1857. His parents, Ola and Anna (Eagen) Wold,
■who were likewise natives of that country, emigrated with their family to the United States
in 1876. They at once came to North Dakota and settled on a homestead in Richland county.
The father had but seven hundred dollars when he came to this state but as the years passed
his circumstances improved and he became one of the substantial citizens of his locality. He
was a republican in politics, and his religious faith was that of the Lutheran church. To him
and his wife were born three children, two of whom are living: Lars, who is farming in Rich-
land county; and Einer.
The latter received the greater part of his education in Norway, but after his arrival in
North Dakota attended school for three months in Richland county, thus perfecting himself
in the English language. He became familiar with farm work as a boy and on beginning his
independent career began farming on his own account, but after devoting ten years to that
occupation he removed to Galchutt in 1892 and established a general store which he has
since conducted. He carries goods of high quality and this fact combined with his liberal busi-
ness policy and reasonable prices has enabled him to build up a gratifying trade. He also
owns a farm.
In 1882 Mr. Wold was married to Miss Liv Reine, who was born in Norway and is a
daughter of Knuto Reine. She accompanied her father to the United States in her girlhood.
Mr. and Mrs. Wold have become the parents of eight children: Christina, the wife of Charles
Johnson, a farmer residing near Charlesville, Minnesota; Olga, who works in her father's
store; Lillie, the wife of .John .Jacobson, a railroad man residing at Breckenridge. ^Minnesota;
Lora, the wife of Ted Jacobson of Galchutt; Oscar, a dispatcher residing at Dclworfli, ilinne-
sota; Clarence, who is farming; Sylvia, who is employed in the hotel at Galchutt; and Elnora.
Mr. Wold supports the republican party at the polls and for ten years held the office of
justice of the peace. He is a communicant of the Lutheran church and in all of the relations
of life measures up to high standards of manhood.
LARS RYGG.
Lars Rygg, who is a member of the well known firm of Peterson, Rygg & Company,
general merchants of Clifford, is resourceful and enterprising in the management of his busi-
ness interests. A native of Norway, he was born on the 19th of .June, 1871, a son of Absalom
and Kristi Rygg, both also natives of that country, where they passed their entire lives. Of
their fifteen children thirteen survive.
Lars Rygg was reared at home and attended tlii' public schools of Norway in the acquire-
ment of his education. When fifteen years old he put aside his text books and began clerking
in a general store, where he remained for fifteen years, gaining during that time a tliorough
knowledge of retail merchandising. In 1902 he emigrated to America and came to Traill
county. North Dakota. After a few months he secured a position as a clerk in a store in Clif-
ford and in 1906 he joined Atley A. Peterson, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work,
in the formation of the firm of Peterson, Rygg & Company. They carry a large and well
selected line of general merchandise and are accorded a liberal and representative patronage.
Their store is conducted along the most up-to-date lines and they follow a liberal business
])()licy, seeking always to improve their service to their customers.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 291
Mr. Rygg vias married on the 1st of February, 1906, to Miss Carrie Flolo, who was born
in Norway and by whom he has four children: Minnie, whose birth occurred on the 13th of
November, 1906; Alice, who was born April 16, 1908; and Alfred and Jennie, twins, born
March 14, 1909.
Mr. Kygg is an advocate of republican principles and supports the policies and candi-
dates of that party at the polls. Both he and his wife are identified with the Lutheran church
and their lives are guided by high standards of ethics. He has never regretted having come
to this country, for he has gained a large measure of prosperity and is now one of the leading
merchants of his town although when he emigrated here he was practically empty-handed.
He owns a fine residence in Clifford and the firm is also a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator.
He has thoroughly identified his interests with those of his town and county and is always
ready to cooperate with others in securing the general advancement. He is widely known
ami has many personal friends.
HENRY T. LEE.
Henry T. Lee, county commissioner of Barnes county and a farmer who resides two miles
west of Fingal, was born in Dane county, Wisconsin, September 27, 1873, a son of T. J. Lee,
who was a native of Kongsberg, Norway, and came to America in 1SG9. In 1878 he brought
his family to North Dakota, establishing his home on his present farm, seven miles west of
Fingal, where he still carries on general agricultural pursuits. A sketch of his life appears
elsewhere in this work. His family numbered nine children, of whom Henry T. is the eldest.
Henry T. Lee spent his youthful days upon his father's farm, mastering the branches of
learning taught in the district schools and afterward becoming a student in the State Agri-
cultural College at Fargo, where he remained for three years. In 1899 he purchased his
present farm property, situated two and a half miles west of Fingal, upon which he has planted
a large grove of trees and has also set out an extensive orchard containing apple, plum and
cherry trees. He likewise raises raspberries and gooseberries and his farm comprises three
hundred and twenty acres of rich land, mostly given over to giain raising. He usually has
also about forty head of stock upon his place.
In 1899 Mr. Lee was united in marriage to Miss Clara Koos, a native of Slinnesota and a
daughter of Dr. Carl Koos, a dentist and one of the pioneer settlers of Clay county, North
Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Lee hold membership in the Lutheran church and he belongs also to
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Modern Woodmen of America and the
Brotherhood of American Yeomen. His political allegiance is given to the republican party.
He has been road overseer of his township, also town clerk for the past nine years, and in 1914
he was elected county commissioner of Barnes county, which position he is still filling. He is
a good citizen and an honest, intelligent county oSicial. His home constitutes one of the
attractive features of the landscape, for he has a fine place, his trees forming a square which
encloses ten acres. He is progressive and prosperous and ranks with North Dakota's repre-
sentative men.
WILLIAM T. SPKAKE. D. D. S.
Dr. AYilliam T. Sprake has gained a large practice in Casselton and the surrounding
country and stands high in professional circles in Cass county. His biith occurred in Minne-
sota on the 14th of December, 1863, and he is a son of Oliver and Rowena (Thomas) Sprake.
The father was born in New Hampshire and the mother in Vermont, but in 1855 they removed
to Minnesota, from which state the father enlisted in the Union army at the outbreak of
the Civil war. He served for three years and his company was among those assigned to put
down the Indian uprising in ilinnesota in 1863. He continued to reside in that state until
his demise, beinr; em])loyed as general agent for the Singer Sewing Machine Company. His
wife is still living and makes her home in California.
292 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Dr. William T. Sprake is one of a family of four cliildron, of whom throe are still living
He received the greater part of his ediieation in Minnesota, graduating from the high school
at Ked Wing, that state, but subsequently attended California College in California, where he
took a dental course. lie began the practice of his profession there in 1SS6, but after a year
located at Fargo, North Dakota. In 1888 he took up his residence in Casselton, where he
has since remained and where he has gained a gratifying success in his chosen work. He
understands the scientific principles which underlie the practice of dentistry, is skillful in the
use of the various dental instruments and is recognized as one of the most able representa-
tives of his profession in tlie county. He has prospered financially and has invested in city
property.
Dr. Sprake was married in 1S9C to Zoe Watson, by whom he has had three children:
Tyler W., Rowena A., deceased, and J. Marshal. The Doctor is a republican in politics and
has taken an active part in city affairs, having served for four years as mayor of Casselton
and having also held the offices of alderman and city auditor. Fraternally he belongs to Colfax
Lodge, No. 7, I. 0. O. F., of Casselton, to the Knights of Pythias, in which he has tilled all of
the chairs, and to the Modern Woodmen of America and the Yeomen. Both he and his wife
are members of the Presbyterian church, and their many excellent qualities have gained them
the esteem of all who have come in contact with them.
SIMOX V. TfOAn.
Simon V. Hoag is a retired farmer now living in Fargo. For a long period he was actively
identified with agricultural interests, but he has now passed the eighty-third milestone on life's
journey and is enjoying a period of rest. This seems to be the course which nature intended,
for in vouth and earlj' manhood an individual is possessed of energy, courage and ambition,
to which in matiue years he adds sound jvidgment and enterprise. These qualities, if well
directed, bring the measure of success that enables one in the evening of life to rest from
furtlier labor. ]\[r. Hoag was born in ilontgoniery county. New York, September 8, 1833, his
parents being Stephen and Elizabeth (Veeder) Hoag, who were also natives of the Empire
state, but removed to Ohio, settling on a farm near Toledo, where they resided until called
to the home beyond. They had a family of seven children, of whom two are living.
Simon V. Hoag remained in his native state to the age of twenty years and then went
with his parents to Ohio, where he resided until 1856, when he removed to a farm in White-
side county, Illinois. In 1861 he responded to his country's call for aid. enlisting as a member
of Company C. Eighth Illinois Cavalry, w ith which he served until the close of the war. He
was promoted to the rank of sergeant and took part in various hotly contested engagements.
He was tlie first man that rode into Gettysburg when the advance guard entered that city
just before the battle. During all his service he was never wounded, although his hat was
shot tlu-ough and he had other narrow escapes. With the close of hostilities he was nuistered
out at St. Louis, Missouri.
Mr. Hoag then returned to Whiteside county, Illinois, where he engaged in farming until
IS-n, after which he removed to Yankton. South Dakota. There he took up a preemp-
tion claim upon which he remained for a year, and at the end of that time he went to Cass
county. North Dakota, arriving in May, 1871. He sccvired a claim situated on section 34, Har-
wood township, and with characteristic energy began its development and improvement. He
and his son now own four hundred and eighty acres of Ian<l all splendidly improved, and for
a long period he was one of the successful agriculturists of the community.
Mr. Hoag has been married twice. In 1861 he wedded Miss :Martha A. Bradley, a native
of Ohio, who passed away in 1866 and whose remains were interred in a cemetery in Fulton
county, Ohio. In 1876 Mr. Hoag was again married, his second union being with Miss S.
Lizzie Leverett, a native of New Hampshire. To them were born ten children, seven of whom
still survive, as follows: Stephen H.. who lives on the home farm; Gertrude E., who resides
at home and is principal of a school at Fargo: Phebe C. Vowles, of Edgeley; Mary J., who
is engaged at Morris. Minnesota: Nellie, at home: Cora, a college stiidcnt: and Bender, who
is vet on the old homestead farm.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 293
Mr. Hoag now occupies a fine home in Fargo and is enjoying well earned rest. He lias
filled all of the township offices and has ever been loyal in his citizenship. He was also
one of the first county commissioners of Cass county and has ever given his political allegi-
ance to the republican party. Fraternally he is connected with the Masonic lodge at Fargo
and with the Grand Army post, of which he was one of the organizers. He thus comes in
close relation with his old army comrades and their reminiscences are most interesting to
him. All through his life he has had that deep attachment for the stars and stripes which
he manifested when he followed the nation's banner upon the battlefields of the south.
ALEXANDER McDONALD.
Alexander McDonald, who is manager of the Lynchburg Farmers Elevator Company at
Lynchburg North Dakota, and also has charge of the Amenia Elevator Company's lumber-
yards, has had many years' experience in the grain business and is recognized as one of the
most able men in that line of activity in the state. He was born in Ontario, Canada, on the
18th of January, 1870, and is a son of Alexander and Christie (Stewart) McDonald, the former
a native of Scotland and the latter of Ontario. The father emigrated to Canada in his young
manhood and continued to reside there until his death. He was a farmer by occupation and
was well known and highly respected in his community.
Alexander McDonald remained in Canada until he was eighteen years of age and received
his education in tl\p public schools. In 1889 he came to the States, settling at Crary, Ramsey
county. North Dakota, where he worked as a farm hand for two years. He then accepted a
position as second man in the old Minneapolis & Northern elevator at Crary, which has
since gone out of existence. He remained in the employ of that firm for sixteen years and
during two years of that time was their manager at Levant, North Dakota, and for
twelve j^ears had charge of their interests at Willow City. In 1910 he became manager
of the Occident elevator at Clyde, but in 1914 he resigned that position in
order to accept his present place in the employ of the Lynchburg Farmers Elevator Com-
pany. He has charge of two elevators owned by that concern and is also manager of the
Amenia Elevator Company's lumberyards. He understands every phase of the grain business
and is so conducting the elevators under his charge that they yield a good profit to their
owners.
In 1903 occurred the marriage of Mr. McDonald and Miss Margaret Campbell, also a
native of Ontario, by whom he has three children: Sarah Christina; Ada Alexandria and Glen
Eoy.
Mr. McDonald supports the republican part}' at the polls and fraternally is identified with
Willow City Lodge, No. 47, A. F. & A. M.; and Oyde Lodge, No. 70, K. P. Both he and his
wife hold membership in the Presbyterian church and can be counted upon to support move-
ments seeking the moral advancement of their community. Mr. McDonald's dominant
characteristics are determination, enterprise and honesty, traits which seldom fail to lead to
success, and he is respected by all who come in contact with him.
HON. WILLIAM E. PURCELL.
Hon. William E. Purcell, former United States senator from North Dakota, is one of the
most prominent men in the southeastern part of the state. He is now engaged in the practice
of law at Wahpeton and is recognized as the most able attorney in the state. He also has
important business interests which connect him with the material development of North
Dakota and at all times he is willing to aid in any project calculated to promote its advance-
ment.
Mr. Purcell was born in Flemington, New Jersey, on the 3d of August, 1856, the tenth
of eleven children whose parents were Joseph and Johanna (Dugan) Purcell, both natives of
Ireland. The father, who was born in 1810, died in 1894, and the mother, whose birth
294 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
oecuned in 1S32, passed away in 1880. Tliey were married in Ireland and continued to reside
tlierc for a considerable period thereafter, but in 1851 emigrated to the United States with
their eight children, one of whom, however, died on the ocean. The family home was estab-
lished at Flemington, New Jersey, where the father worked as a laborer. Tliree children
were added to the family after the removal to this country. Seven are deceased. Those living
are as follows: James served in the Union Army throughout the Civil war and was incarcerated
for three months in a Confederate prison. He was captured three times at the battle of
Winchester and was also wounded in that engagement. Following the close of hostilities he
turned his attention to farming and to the hotel business and as he managed his affairs well
he accumulated a competence which now enables him to live retired. He makes his home
in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Maggie, now Mrs. Michael Slattery, resides in Flemington, New
Jersey. Richard R. is a prominent lawyer of Helena, Montana, and is now serving as mayor of
that city; William E., of Wahpeton, completes the family. The parents were members of
the Roman Catholic church, and the father gave his political allegiance to the democratic
party. The paternal grandfather, John Purcell, was a small farmer who passed his entire
life in Ireland. He reached a very advanced age and was highly esteemed bj' all who knew
him. To him and his wife were born fourteen children. The maternal grandfather, Dennis
Dugan, who also engaged in farming on a small scale in Ireland, likewise continued to reside
in that country until called by death. He had two daughters, both of whom are deceased.
William E. Purcell attended the public schools of his native town and when a boy was
compelled to help provide for his own support. He was for a time a hired hand on a farm,
was subsequently employed in a pottery and for a short period worked as a laborer.
He attended night school, thus supplementing the education which he had previously acquired.
Believing that the legal profession offered excellent opportunities, he took up the study of
law and in February, 1880, was admitted to the bar of New Jersey. He still has his certifi-
cate of admission, which was signed by Governor George B. McClelland. Mr. Purcell practiced
in that state for a year but at the end of that time decided to remove to the west, which he
believed had a great future in store. He located at Wahpeton, Richland county, North Dakota,
■where he at once opened an office for practice. It was not long before his thorougli legal
knowledge, his keen insight and convincing logic won recognition and for years he has held
a foremost place among the lawyers of the state. He has built up a clientage remarkable
both for its extent and its importance, and he is without a doubt the best known attorney
in North Dakota. He practices in all of the courts in North Dakota and in South Dakota and
Minnesota as well.
Mr. Purcell has invested heavily in land in this state and personally oversees his fanning
interests, which are extensive. He is also vice president of the Peoples Bank and of the
First National Bank of Hankinson, and in the management of his business affairs he displays
foresight and sound judgment.
Mr. Purcell has not confined his attention to professional and business interests but for
years has taken a very active part in public affairs. Since age conferred upon him the right
of franchise he has been a stanch adherent of the democratic party and is influential in the
state organization. He was a delegate to the national convention at Baltimore in 1912 and
also to the convention which nominated Grover Cleveland for a second term, and for two
years he served as a member of the democratic national committee. He has held a number
of offices of public trust. He served as state's attorney for Richland county and as United
States attorney, to which office he was appointed by President Cleveland on the 5th of
April, 1888, and which he held until July, 1889, when ho became a member of the state con-
stitutional convention. He was also a member of the joint committee that apportioned the
indebtedness of the territory between the two states of North and South Dakota. For one
term he served as state senator and later still higher honor was given him, as he was ap-
pointed by Governor John Burke United States senator to fill a vacancy caused by resignation
of Fountain L. Thompson. He represented this state in the upper house of congress for
about fourteen months and made an excellent record, manifesting a thorough knowledge
of conditions in the country and insight as to the probable effect of proposed measures. In
1914 he was a candidate for senator but was defeated.
Mr. Purcell was married on the 3d of April. 1889, to Miss Myra E. Stevens, who was
born in Lake City, Minnesota, and is a daughter of Mott T. Stevens, who is now engaged in
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 295
the hardware business at Wahpeton. She is a consistent member of the Jlethodist Episcopal
church, and Mr. Purcell is a communicant of the Roman Catholic church and is also identified
with the Knights of Columbus. He is public-spirited to a marked degree and uses his influ-
ence for and gives his time and thought to the advancement of his community and state. His
interest in the public schools has found expression in able service as a school director, and the
moral, civic and material progress of Wahpeton has been furthered by his cooperation in
various plans for improvement. As a lawyer he has gained distinction, as a business man he
has been successful and as a public official he has ever proved loyal to the trust reposed in
him and capable in the discharge of his duties.
T. A. THOMPSON.
T. A. Thompson, who is serving as cashier of the Farmers State Bank at Page, Cass
county, aided in organizing that institution and has been largely^responsible for its continued
growth and prosperity. He is a native son of Cass county and his natal day was the 17th
of May, 1883. His parents, W. J. and Isabella (Beattie) Thompson, were natives respect-
ively of Scotland and of Canada, and in 1879 they removed with their family to Cass county,
North Dakota, where the father homesteaded land. The family circle includes eight children.
T. A. Thompson was reared in this county and after completing his general education
attended a commercial college, thus fitting himself to enter business circles. For six years
he was connected with merchandising in Page but at the end of that time was appointed
cashier of the Farmers State Bank, which he helped organize in 1905. The policy which he
pursues is one of progressiveness, tempered by sufficient conservatism to amply safeguard
the interests of stockholders and depositors, and the institution has gained the confidence
of the public. He has invested in North Dakota land and owns a half section in Cass and
Barnes counties, from which he derives a substantial addition to his income.
Mr. Thompson is a republican and is now serving as treasurer of Page, in which capac-
ity he is proving capable and efficient. He holds membership in the Modern Brotherhood of
America and has many friends within and without that organization. He is always willing
to cooperate in movements seeking the advancement of his community and is recognized
as a valued citizen of his fown and county.
ISAAC T. BARNETT.
Isaac T. Barnett is acceptablj' filling the office of postmaster of Ayr and is also con-
ducting a confectionery and stationery store there. His birth occurred in Columbus, Ohio, on
the 16th of November. 1853, and he is a son of Isaac and Alice (Bolton) Barnett, both of
whom were natives of England but came to America in 1849. The father followed railroad-
ing during the greater part of his life and for twenty-seven y^ars was a locomotive engineer.
In 1856 he removed to Kentucky, whence he later went to Vincennes, Indiana, where both
he and his wife passed away.
Isaac T. Barnett remained at home until he attained his majority and in addition to
attending the common schools he took a course in a business college. In 1876 he went to
Minnesota, where he lived until 1879, when he became a resident of Cass county, North
Dakota, and began farming land which lie took up as a claim. He lived there for three years
and then sold that place and purchased another farm in Eldred township, which he disposed
of after living on it for two years. He next went to the vicinitj- of Buffalo and in 1897
removed to Ayr and engaged in the restaurant business for eight years. He is now, however,
the owner of a confectionery and stationery store and is meeting with gratifying success in
the conduct of his interests. He is also postmaster of Ayr, which office he has held since
1907, and the systematic way in which he discharges his duties has won him the commenda-
tion of his fellow citizens.
296 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Mr. Barnett was married in 1883 to Miss Eliza M. Boston, who was born in Pennsylvania
of the marriage of Christopher and Hannah A. (Jlead) Boston, both natives of the Keystone
state. The father served in the Union army during the Civil war and died while at the
front. The mother subsequently remarried, becoming the wife of William Smith, and re-
moved with her husband successively to Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin and Tennessee, where her
demise occurred. Mr. and Mrs. Barnett are the parents of four children, namely: Alice, the
wife of Frank Young, a resident of Mordcn, Manitoba; Bertha I., who died on the 30th of
May, 1906, and was laid to rest in the Buffalo cemetery; Chester A., who was married June
1, 1916, to Miss Margaret Alice Collins, of Mandan, North Dakota, and is now engaged in
the grain business at Harmon, this state; and Ida L., who died June 13, 1906, and was
buried in the Buffalo cemetery.
Mr. Barnett is a stanch republican and for a quarter of a century has served his district
as a member of the school board. Fraternally he belongs to Colfax Lodge, No. 7, I. O. O. F.,
at Casselton, and the Modern Woodmen of America, in which he has filled all of the chairs.
He and his family attend the Presbyterian church, and his wife takes part in the various
activities of that organization. Mr. Barnett had practically nothing when he came to North
Dakota but he was not afraid to work hard and gave much thought to the management of
his affairs and as the years have passed his capital has increased until he is now in com-
fortable circumstances.
WILLIAM STREHLOW.
William Strelilow. who since 1913 has ably filled the office of postmaster of Casselton,
Cass county, was born in Germany on the 30th of April, 1844, a son of Fredrick and Mary
(Menge) Strehlow, both natives of that country, the former born in 1817 and the latter in
1819. The paternal grandfather, August Strehlow, was a farmer and passed his entire life
in Germany, where he died in 1849. The parents of our subject were married in their native
land but in 1850 emigrated to the United States, settling near Watertown, Wisconsin, where
the fatlier purchased land. He remained there until 1864 and then removed to Winona
county, Minnesota, where he became a landowner, continuing to reside there until his death
in 1886. He had survived his wife since August, 1881. His political belief was that of the
democratic party, and he held a number of township offices. His religious affiliation was
with the Moravian church and in its teachings were found the guiding principles of his life.
Although he came to this country with very little capital, he gained gratifying success and
won financial independence. To him and his wife were born eight children, three of whom
survive: August, who is living retired in Winona. Minnesota; Mrs. Ferdinand Piper, a
widow living in Fargo, North Dakota; and William.
The last named received his education in Wisconsin and during his boyhood and
youth also gained a thorough knowledge of farm work. In October, 1861, when but seven-
teen years of age, he enlisted in the Third Wisconsin Cavalry for service in the Civil war and
remained with his command until he was mustered out on the 14th of February, 1865. Dur-
ing the greater part of the time he was on scout duty, but he participated in the battles of
Pea Ridge, Prairie Grove and Van Buren and in the siege of Fort Smith, Arkansas. He was
thrice wounded, twice by bayonets and once by bullet but was never in the hospital.
Mr. Strehlow first came to North Dakota in 1877, in which year he filed a claim on a
soldier's warrant and in the following year, 1878, took up his permanent residence here.
He proved up on his claim but, although ho owned it for a number of years, he did not make
his home there after 1879, in which year he removed to the city of Casselton, where he has
since resided. He had only five hundred dollars when he came to North Dakota but is now
one of the substantial men of Cass county, owning a section of excellent land and also hav-
ing other interests in Casselton. On the 30th of June, 1913, he was appointed postmaster
of Casselton and now devotes his entire time to his duties in that office. He is systematic
in his management of the work and is proving an active and efficient postmaster.
Mr. Strehlow was married in 1869 to Miss Marie Buchholz, also a native of Germany, and
to their union have been born seven children: W. F., assistant cashier of the First National
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 297
Bank of Casselton; E. H., a druggist of Casselton; H. F., who is engaged in the drug business
in McHenry, this state; Regina, the wife of Rev. Arthur Meileeke, of Grand Rapids, Wiscon-
sin; Delia and Mary, both at home; and Emma, the wife of J. R. Bishop, who is engaged in
the real estate business in Casselton.
Jlr. Strehlow is a prominent democrat and has held a number of local offices. For two
terms he was county commissioner and for two terms he served as mayor of Casselton, while
for a number of terms he was on the town council. He has always given the strictest atten-
tion to the discharge of his official duties and has brought the same close attention and
thought to bear upon the direction of public affairs that he has given to the management of
his private interests. His religious faith is that of the Moravian church. During the many
j'ears that he has resided in Cass county he has become widely known and those who have
been most intimately associated with him are his stanchest friends, which indicates his
genuine worth.
EDMOND C. LEWIS.
Edmond C. Lewis, of Jlilnor, is engaged in the real estate business and is also inter-
ested in farming and the qualities of a substantial, enterprising business man are his.
He was born in Ashland, New York, October 19, 1877, and is a son of Daniel L. and Fidelia
Lewis, the former a native of Sunside and the latter of Ashland, New York. They continued
their residence in the Empire state throughout their entire lives and there reared their
family.
Edmond C. Lewis acquired his education in the schools of New York and continued his
residence there until 1900, when, at the age of twenty-three, he determined to try his fortune
west of the Mississippi river and went to Minnesota, settling in Grant county, where he
remained for two years. In 1902 he arrived in Milnor, North Dakota, where he established
a land office, and through the intervening period to the present, covering fourteen years,
he has been continuously engaged in the real estate business and is thoroughly familiar with
property values throughout the southeastern section of the state. Moreover, he has nego-
tiated many important realty transfers and has thus contributed to the material develop-
ment, settlement and upbuilding of Sargent county. He is likewise interesed in farming,
owning land in this county, and his well managed agricultural interests are one of the
sources of his growing success.
In June. 1907, Mr. Lewis was united in marriage to Miss HaiTiet I. WoodrufiF, a native
of Minneapolis. They have become the parents of three children, Fidelia, Eleanor and Winni-
fred. The parents hold membership in the Presbyterian church and Mr. Lewis is identified
with Anchor Lodge, No. 27, A. F. & A. M., and with the Yeomen. His political endorsement
is given to the republican party and wide reading has kept him in touch with the vital and
significant issues and problems of the day, but he does not seek nor desire office, preferring
to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs. He does everything possible for the
development and welfare of his section of the state, however, and his devotion to the general
good is widely recognized.
H. A. ]\L4LCH0SE.
H. A. Malchose, who has made an excellent record as cashier of the Ayr State Bank,
was born at Sabin, Minnesota, on the 10th of December, 1SS6. His father, H. A. Malchose,
was born in Germany but came to the United States in early manhood and for a time resided
in Wisconsin, where he married Miss Mary Schmidt, a native of that state. They at length
removed to Minnesota, where he followed the blacksmith's trade, which he had learned in
his native land and where he passed away in 1887. His wife survives and still lives in
Minnesota.
H. A. Malchose, who is one of a family of five children, of whom four survive, received
298 HISTORY OF XORTM DAKOTA
his gciirral education in tlie common schools and in-Lpared for l)usiness lite by talcing a
course in a commercial college at Fargo. He remained at home until he was of age and then
began clerking in a store. In 1910 lie removed to Aj'r, North Dakota, and became a sales-
man in a store, which position he filled until 1911. lie was then made assistant cashier of
the State Bank of Ayr and two years later his ability was recognized by election to the
position of cashier, which he has since held. He has given careful study to the principles of
finance which underlie all successful banking, is thoroughly familiar with the minutiae of
banking practice and seeks to make the institution a factor in the development of local
business enterprises and at the same time pursues a conservative policy that protects the
interests of stockholders and depositors.
In 1913 Mr. Malchose was united in marriage to Agnes Punton, a native of Ayr and a
daughter of Thor and Elizabeth (Bell) Tunton, both natives of Scotland, who came to
America about ISSO. They at once located on a farm in Cass county. North Dakota, and
have since resided here. Mr. and Mrs. Jlalchose have two sons, Kenneth, whose natal day
was the 29th of August, 1913; and Hubert A. born December 17, 1915.
Mr. Malchose gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has served ably
as justice of the peace of Ayr. Fraternally he belongs to Harrison Lodge, No. 101, A. F.
& A. M., and to the Modern Woodmen of America, in which he is now serving as clerk. Both
he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church, whose activities are furthered by
their support and helpful interest. He is recognized as one of the most enterprising young
business men of the county and his continued success seems assured.
BUDD WILLIAM COONS.
Budd William Coons, a veterinary surgeon and farmer residing at Lisbon, was born
in Lac qui Parle county, Minnesota, on the 12th of June, 1883, his parents being William and
Mary (Dodge) Coons, who have been lifelong residents of Lac qui Parle county save for a
period of five years when they resided near the southern boundary line in Ransom county,
North Dakota. The wife and mother passed away in 1914 but the father is still living.
Budd W. Coons acquired a common school education in Dawson, Minnesota, and after-
ward went to work for his father, who was a veterinary surgeon and under whose direction
he largely acquainted himself with the practical phases of the profession. He also studied
for several years and entered the Chicago Veterinary College, from which he was graduated
with the class of 1915, thus getting in close touch with the most advanced scientific methods.
Prior to his college days he practiced veterinary surgery at Ivanhoe, Minnesota, for three
years and upon completing his collegiate course he located in Li.sbon, where he opened an
oflice and has since been actively engaged. A liberal practice is now accorded him, making
constant demands upon his time -and energies. He also owns a quarter section of land in
Sargent county, which he is farming.
Dr. Coons belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp at Canby, Minnesota, and to the
Knights of Pythias lodge at Lisbon, while his religious faith is manifest in his membership
in the Presbyterian church. In politics he is a republican, but while he keeps well informed
on the questions and issues of the day, he has never sought nor desired public ofTice, prefer-
ring to give his undivided attention to his business affairs, his success resulting from care-
ful iircparatioii and close application.
EVAN C. SALVERSON.
Evan C. Salverson, active in the business circles of Bcrthold, where since 1913 he has
conducted a general store that is bringing to him substantial profit, was born in Ada, Nor-
man county. Minnesota, April 23, 1882, a son of Nels T. and Bessie (Lomen) Salverson, the
former a native of Chicago, Illinois, and the latter of Decorah, Iowa. At the present time
the father is engaged in farming. He came to the Red River valley in 1878 and has resided
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 299
at various places now making his home at Conrad, Minnesota, where he is living practically-
retired. He served on the police force at Ada, Minnesota, for a number of years. His wife
died in 1888.
Evan C. Salverson was the third in order of birth in a family of five children. He
attended the schools of Ada, Minnesota, becoming a high school pupil there, and when six-
teen j-ears of age he secured a clerkship in a general store in that place. He continued to
reside with his parents until twenty-eight years of age, when he went to Minneapolis, where
he was in the employ of others as clerk and salesman until 1913, when he removed to
Berthold and engaged in merchandising on his own account. He has since continued actively
in business, conducting a general store which includes a good line of clothing, shoes, dry
goods, groceries and in fact everything to be found in a fh-st class establishment of this
character. By close attention to business, enterprise and honorable dealing he has built
up a trade that is now gratifying.
In January, 1909, Mr. Salverson was married to Miss Libbie Strebelow, who was born
at Herscher, Illinois, a daughter of Adolph and Christine Strebelow, both of whom were
natives of Sweden, although the former was of German descent. They are now living retired
at Kankakee, Illinois. To Mr. and Mrs. Salverson has been born a son, Farrell, whose natal
day was January 10, 1910.
The parents are members of the Lutheran church and Mr. Salverson maintains an inde-
pendent course in politics, voting according to the dictates of his judgment without regard
to party ties. His business success is attributable entirely to his enterprise and determina-
tion, for he has depended entirely upon his own resoiu'ces, working his way steadily upward
along the well defined lines of labor.
CHRISTEN WESTEKGAARD.
Christen Westergaard, who has gained well deserved success as a farmer in Hill town-
ship, Cass county, was born in Denmark on the 11th of February, 1848, and is a son of
Christen and Anna Marie Raunsmed Westergaard, who spent their entire lives in that
countrj'. Five of the nine children born to their union survive.
Christen Westergaard grew to manhood in Denmark and there received his education.
For four years before his emigration to America he was emploj'ed as a gardener and horti-
culturist in that country, having previously acquired an excellent knowledge of that busi-
ness. In 1873 he came to the United States and first located at Chicago, Illinois, but later
went to Wisconsin, where he engaged in gardening for one season, after which he returned
to Chicago and lived there for three years. He then went to Sherburne county, Minnesota,
but in the spring of 1878 he removed to Cass county. North Dakota, locating upon the farm
which is still in his possession. It comprises three hundred and twenty acres on section
14, Hill township, and is well improved with substantial and commodioiis buildings. He
has always been very much interested in horticulture, and has met with marked success
in that line, especially with evergreen trees. He raises both grain and stock and so man-
ages his affairs that he receives a good financial return from his labor. He is also one of
the stockholders in the Farmers elevator at Buffalo, Cass county.
Jlr. Westergaard was married July 33, 1873, to Miss Marie Anderson, a native of Den-
mark, who came to America on the same boat as did her future husband. They were married
in Cliicago and have become the parents of four children : Christen, who is engaged in chicken
raising in the state of Washington; Maren, deceased; Louise, at home; and one who died in
infancy.
Mr. Westergaard casts his ballot in support of the men and measures of the democratic
party and since 1884 has served continuously as clerk of the township board. For years
he held the office of treasurer of the school board, his repeated election to offices of trust indi-
cating the confidence which is placed in his integrity and ability. He was formerly a mem-
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows but is not now affiliated with that organization.
Although he now devotes his entire time to his farm work, for several years after his arrival
in this state he printed a monthly Danish paper which was known as the Day of Light.
300 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
lie is 11 great ri'inlir and possesses quite an extensive libiarj-. He has taken a deep Interest
in [iit'serving historical data and has a very fine collection of old magazines, papers, etc.,
which he intends to present to the State Historical Society. The measure of success which
is now his is doubly creditable in that he is a self-ni:ule man, having depended upon his own
ellorts alone since beginning his independent career.
JACOB WESTERGAARD.
.Jacob Westergaard, a prosperous and energetic farmer of Hill township, owns four
hundred acres of fine land on sections 15, 23 and 23, and concentrates his energies upon its
cultivation. He was born in Denmark on the 25th of May, 1852, of the marriage of Christen
and Anna Marie Westergaard, also natives of that country, where they lived until called by
death. Five of their nine children still survive.
Jacob Westergaard grew to manhood under the parental roof and received his educa-
tion in the public schools of his native land. On emigrating to America in 1879 he made his
way to Cass county, North Dakota, and settled on his present farm in Hill township. He
understands practical methods of agriculture, is enterprising and alert, and he has added
to his holdings from time to time until he now owns four hundred acres on sections 15, 22
and 23. He has erected fine buildings and has planted a grove which now adds apppreciably
to the value and attractiveness of his farm. He derives a good income from his land and
is also interested financially in the Farmers elevator at Buffalo, Cass county.
Mr. Westergaard was married in 1882 to Miss Christina Anderson, by whom he had
two sons, Waldemar, who is now living in California; and Edward, at home. In 1908 Mr.
Westergaard was again married, Mrs. Anna Wagley becoming his wife. She was born in
Norway and in 1881 came to the United States. Her death occurred May 9, 1916.
Mr. Westergaard supports the democratic party at the polls and has held a number
of local offices, including that of school treasurer, in which capacity he has served for years.
He has made all that he has since coming to America and has never regretted his emigration
to this country, for here he has found excellent opportunities and also congenial conditions
of life.
OLI^^ER B. GORDER.
Oliver B. Gorder, a lumber merchant of Berthold, belongs to that class of representative
and alert young business men who are the real builders of the northwest. He was born in
Pope county, Minnesota, September 20. 1887, a son of Jacob and Annie (Holton) Gorder,
who are natives of Norway, born in 1861 and 1864 respectively. Both came to America in
childhood days and were reared and married in Minnesota. The father devoted his life to
agriculttnal pursuits, became a landowner and continued to engage in general farming in
Minnesota up to the time of his retirement from active business life. He and his wife now
reside at Starbuck, Pope county. It was upon the old homestead in that county that they
reared their family of eight children.
Oliver B. Gorder, who was the fourth in order of birth, attended the high school at
Glenwood, Minnesota, and spent a year as a student in a business college at Minneapolis.
When eighteen years of age he entered a bank at Elbow Lake, Minnesota, in the capacity of
bookkeeper and the following year was advanced to the position of cashier of the Citizens
State Bank at Barrett. A year later he removed to Drake, North Dakota, to accept the
position of cashier of the Merchants State Bank, in which connection he continued for two
years and then became cashier of the First National Bank nt Kramer, North Dakota, where
he remained for a little more than one year. He next came to Berthold and was cashier of
the Bank of Berthold for about two years, subsequent to which time he spent eighteen
months as cashier of the State Bank at Nashua, Montana. On the expiration of that period
h(! returned to Berthold and engaged in the lumber business, opening a yard inider the
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 301
name of the Gorder Lumber Company. He carries a large and complete line of lumber, sash,
doors and building material and has won a liberal patronage, his business having assumed
large and gratifying proportions. He is also the owner of farm lands in this state but
devotes the greater part of his attention to the lumber business.
On the 14th of May, 1913, Mr.' Gorder was married to Miss MatUda Sampson, who
was born at Rio, Wisconsin, a daughter of Samuel and Esther (Jurgeson) Sampson, both
of whom are natives of Norway. The father has made farming his life work and still
occupies the old homestead near Rio. Jlr. and Mrs. Gorder have become parents of an
interesting little daughter, Thelma Elaine. The parents are members of the Synod Lutheran
church of Berthold and Mr. Gorder gives his political allegiance to the republican party.
He served as a member of the city council while at Kramer and also occupied the position
of school treasurer. He stands for those things which are most worth while in the public
life of city and state, workiilg ever for public welfare along the lines of material, social,
political, intellectual and moral progress.
HON. MARTIN THORESON.
Hon. Martin Xhoreson, serving for the second term as a member of tlie state senate,
following three terms in the house of representatives, has thus been prominently identified
witTi the work of framing the legislative measures of the state through the past decade. In
private life he is known as a representative farmer of Barnes county and as a capable
financier, being president of the Fanners State Bank at Kathryn. He was born near
Christiania, Norway, February 12, 185(5. and his father, Thor Olson, was also a native of
Christiania. In that country he engaged in farming to the time of his death, which occurred
when he was sixty-eight years of age.
Martin Thoreson spent his boyhood in Norway and after his school days were over
he went to Christiania, at the age of fifteen and there learned the baker's trade, with which
he became thoroughly familiar. He afterward embarked in the business on his own account
and seven years later he determined to try his fortune in America, for favorable reports
reached him concerning the opportunities and advantages afforded in the new world. In 1883
he arrived in North Dakota, making his way at once to Barnes county, where he filed on
eighty acres of land, the greater part of the land which was open to homesteading having
then been taken up. He farmed there for a few years and then traded that place for other
property, to which he has added by purchase until he is now the owner of two sections or
twelve hundred and eighty acres. He is regarded as one of the representative agriculturists
of his county, carrying on his farm work along most progressive lines. He closely studies
the condition of the soil and understands thoroughly what will produce the best crops. He
has erected a fine residence and has planted a splendid grove which furnishes protection on
the north and west to a tract of about thirteen acres. In addition to the production of
grain lie also raises some cattle and horses and his business affairs are most wisely conducted,
his work being thoroughly systematized, while his efforts are put forth at all times so as
to produce the best possible results. He has also become president and one of the large
stockliolders of the Farmers State Bank at Kathryn.
In .Tanuar,y, 1876, Mr. Thoreson was united in marriage to Miss Caroline Olson, also a
native of Christiania, Norway, and their children are: John M., who is now conducting a gen-
eral store at Kathryn; James Gustav, who for several years was a teacher but is now farm-
ing near his father's place; O. W. and Arthur M., both at home; and three deceased. Two
of these were named Ragua and the other Tor.
Mr. Thoreson has ever been deeply interested in the welfare and progress of the com-
munity in which lie resides and for a quarter of a century has served as clerk of his school
district. He has been a close student of the signs of the times in relation to public affairs
and his influence and aid have ever been given on the side of advancement and upbuilding
of public interests. The recognition of his progressive citizenship on the part of his fel-
lowmen was indicated when in 1904 he was elected on the republican ticket to the state
legislature, and so excellent a record did he make during his first term that he was reelected
302 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
in 190G and again in 1908. Wliile a niomber of the house he introduced the first bill to
regulate automobile traffic in the state. Tn 1910 he was chosen to represent his district
in the state senate and was again elected in 1914, so that his present term will continue
until 191S. He lias been connected with much important constructive legislation and gives
the most tlioughtl'ul and earnest consideration to the vital questions which come up for
settlement affecting the welfare of the commonwealth and in so doing not only considers
present expediency but also future good. Fraternally he is connected with the Ancient
Order of United Workmen, while in religious faith he and his wife are connected with the
Lutheran church. Tie is withal a modest man, but the consensus of opinion places him
among the most prominent and representative citizens of his section of the state and in
the house of representatives and senate he has ever been regarded as the peer of many of
the ablest members of the general assembly.
HENRY B. THOMPSON.
Henry B. Thompson, an attorney at Milnor, has been successfully engaged in the
practice of law in Sargent county since 1903. Advancement at the bar is proverbially slow
and yet he has made substantial progress, gaining a clientage that many an older lawyer
mi"ht well envy. His home has never been far from the place of his present residence, for
he was born just across the line in Minnesota at Fergus Falls on the 36th of May, 187S,
his parents being Bernt and Inger (Guldseth) Thompson, who were born, reared and mar-
ried in Norway. It was in the year 1867 that they bade adieu to friends and native land
and sailed for the new world making their way to Minnesota. They settled in Ottertail
county, near Fergus Falls, and there resided until called to their final rest, the death of
the father occurring in 1902, while the mother survived for two years, passing away in
1904. Tliey had a family of eleven children, five of whom have passed away. Of the six
surviving there is one daughter and of the five sons who are yet living three are lawyers
and two are farmers.
Henry B. Thomjison is the youn^jest of this family. Liberal educational opportunities
were accorded him, of which he made good use. He supplemented his public school training
by study in the Park Region College at Fergus Falls and in the :Minneapolis Academy, being
graduated from the latter institution. He then determined to make the practice of law
his life work and with tha't end in view matriculated in the State University of North
Dakota at Grand Forks, entering the law department, in which he completed his course
in 1904. The following year he came to Sargent county and opened an office in Milnor,
where he has since gained a large and distinctively representative clientage. He handles
his legal interests with ability, carefully i)reparing his cases and presenting his cause
with clearness and force. His ability in this direction is now widely recognized and he has
been called to the office of city attorney.
In his political views Mr. Thompson is a democrat, believing fuinly in the principles
of the party, and his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Lutheran church
at Fergus Falls. His entire life has been passed in the district in which he still makes
his home an<l among his stanch friends are those who have known him from his boyhood
to the present, a fact which indicates that his entire life has been honorable and straight-
forward.
FRANK L. STANLEY.
Among the progressive and successful merchants of Casselton, Cass county, is Frank
L. Stanley, who was born in Kalamazoo county, Michigan, December 19, 1853. a son of
Lc Ro>- and Harriett (Wigeley) Stanley. The father, who was born in the state of New
Y'ork in 1821, died in 1872. while the mother, whose birth occurred in 1830, passed away in
1854 in earlv womanhood. Her father, ^Villiam Wigeley. died in the state of New York
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 303
in 1876, when more than ninety years of age. The parents of our subject were married in
Mieliigan, where both had remoVed in youth, and began their married life upon a farm.
Subsequently the father purchased his father's old homestead and continued to reside there
until called by death. He was a democrat and held a number of local offices, proving a
trustworthy and efficient official. Following the death of his first wife he married a widow,
Mrs. Dennis, bj' whom he had one daughter, now deceased. Two sons were born to his first
union, but the brother of our subject, Adelmer, died in 1S82.
Frank L. Stanley received his education in southern Jlichigan and during his boyhood
also became familiar with farm work through assisting his father. On beginning his inde-
pendent career he engaged in the pump business at Galesburg, Michigan, where he remained
for two years, but in 1880 he removed to North Dakota and took up both homestead and
tree claims in Cass county, proving up on his land, where he resided for a number of years.
Subsequently he engaged in the ice business in Casselton but after eight years sold that
business and established a flour and feed store, which he conducted for four years. In 1901
he became interested in a general store conducted under the style of the Knight, Stanley
& Finney Company »nd in March, 1904, he sold his interest therein and in connection with
his son, George H. Stanley, established a grocery store in that same month. ' They have
gained a gratifying patronage and custom once gained is usually retained as they carry
nn excellent stock of goods and as their policy is to give the greatest value possible for
the money received. Mr. Stanley is ranked among the substantial business men of his
town, and his success is especially noteworthy in that he had but five hundred dollars when
he reached North Dakota.
In 1879 Mr. Stanley was united in marriage to Miss Emily Holmes, a native of
Lagrange, Indiana, by whom he has three sons. George H. was educated in the Casselton
high school and in a commercial college at Fargo and is now his father's partner in busi-
ness. He has taken an active part in public afiairs and is at present serving capably as
mayor of Casselton. Le Eoy, who was graduated from the Casselton high school, sub-
sequently attended business college at Minneapolis and is now a resident of Fresno, California,
and manager of the California Pine Box & Lumber Companj'. Adelmer also prepared for
business life by taking a commercial course in IMinneapolis and is now connected with a
wholesale hardware company' in that city.
Frank L. Stanley is a democrat but has never taken a very active part in politics. Fra-
ternally he is connected with the Yeomen and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and
in the latter organization has passed through all of the chairs. Although his business
requires the greater part of his time and attention he recognizes the demands which the
public welfare makes upon every citizen and is willing to cooperate with others in seeking
the advancement of his commimitv.
SPERO MANSON.
Spero ilanson is a partner in the firm of Manson Brothers, who have established and
are conducting the leading confectionery and ice cream business in Minot, having an estab-
lishment that is not surpassed west of Minneapolis. He comes of a race that is famed for
their productions in confectionery and ice cream, being a native of Zante, Greece, where his
birth occurred September 32, 18S4. His parents, Tashis and Andriana (Roukanas) Man-
son, were also natives of that beautiful land of art and history and were there reared and
educated. The father was an oil expert and refiner and his exporting business extended
all over Europe. He died in Greece in 1899 and his widow still resides in her native land.
Spero Manson acquired his education in the schools of his native country and in 1903
came to the new world, making his way to Montreal, Canada. After nine months he re-
moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1903 and there engaged in the grocery business, while
subsequently he became a resident of Syracuse, New York, where he conducted a candy
and ice cream establishment for two years. He afterward returned to St. Louis, where he
opened a grocery store in partnership with his brother. He was afterward employed by the
Great Northern Railroad as supervisor of labor for the Minot and Dakota division, with
304 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
headquarters at Minot. wliither he came in l',)00. For about two years he occupied that
position and on the 21st of August. I'JIO, he and his two brothers, Harry and Angelo, estab-
lished the Manson Brothers confectionery and ice cream store on Main street in the Waverley
Hotel building. Their store is thoroughly modern in its equipment and appointment.
Their business is the finest of the kind in Xorth Dakota and indeed is recognized as the
best place of this character west of Minneapolis. They manufacture all their confectionery
and do a large wholesale jobbing business. They base the upbuilding of their trade
iipon the excellence of the product wliich they handle and this is bringing to them a con-
stantly fjrowing patronage. They also own and operate a place on Main street equipped
with billiard tables and bowling alleys and have a large patronage. Moreover the brothers
have three hundred and twenty acres of land in Kadvilh^, Saskatchewan, Canada, which
they devote to the raising of wheat.
Mr. Manson is a member of the Greek Orthodox church and his political allegiance is
given to the republican party. He was the first of his family to come to America and
his brothers followed. He is of a very progressive type of business man, watchful of all
opportunities pointing to success, and his spirit of enterprise is indicated in his member-
ship in the Association of Commerce and his hearty cooperation with its plans and move-
ments for the benefit of Minot. He is a member of the Elks Lodge, No. 1089, at Minot,
the Knights of Pythias and the United Commercial Travelers. He ha.s won the high regard
of his contemporaries in the business circles of tlic city, wlio recognize him as a valuable
addition to its commercial interests.
.JOHX H. WKRXr.R.
.John H. Werner, cashier of the Cerman-American State Bank of Burlington and also
prominently identified with business interests of tlie town in other connections, was born in
Hesse, Germany, July 21, 187.j. a son of .John and Martha (Arnhart) Werner. The father
devoted his life to farming and mining and died in Germany about IBO."). while tlie mother
still resides in that country.
John H. Werner is the eldest of the family of four children and the only one who came
to the United States. He attended school in his native country and when a youth of
fifteen bade adieu to friends and native land preparatory to coming to the new world.
Crossing the Atlantic, he located in Floyd county, Iowa, at wliich time he could not even
speak the Enfilish language, and his financial resoiuces were extremely limited, in fact he
was practically penniless. For two years he worked on farms and afterward removed to
Washington county. Minnesota, where he was employed at farm labor for a similar period.
In the spring of 18U6 he removed to Valley City, North Dakota, and for a year was
employed at farm labor in that vicinity, but, ambitious to engage in business on his own
account, he then leased land. In 1900 he came to Burlington and homesteaded in Ward
county, after which he concentrated his efforts upon the development and improvement of
his place until 1909, when he took up his abode in Burlington and became the first cashier
of the (ierman-American .State Bank, which he had assisted in orfianizing. He still continues
in that connection and is one of the stockholders of the institution, the success of which is
attributable in no small measure to his business discernment, close applicatioTi and pro-
gressive methods. He is a courteous and obliging official and is ever willing to extend the
aid of the bank to its patrons to a point that will not jeopardize the stability of the
institution. He is also the secretary and treasurer of the Olson-Werner Grain Company
and he is the owner of considerable land in Ward county but devotes practically his
entire time to the management and control of the bank.
In Febriiary, 1903, Mr. Werner was married to Miss Helen Wittenberg, who was born
at Valley City, North Dakota, and who passed away March 12, 1909, leaving three children:
Robert C, born December 9. 1904: Martha ('.. born .lanuary 27, 1900; and Elmer, born May
13, 1907. In July, 1911, Mr. Werner wedded Miss Minnie C. Wittenlj<>rg, a sister of his
first wife and also a native of Valley City. North Dakota. There are two children of this
marriage: Ralph, born December 9, 1912; and Melvin, born January 30, 1914.
JOHN H. WERNER
tlLU
• HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 307
Fraternally Mr. Werner is connected with the Modern Woodmen camp at Burlington,
of which he is clerk, and with the Elks Lodge, No. 1089, at Minot. In politics he is an
independent republican, for while his views are usually in accord with republican principles,
he does not feel bound to support the candidates of the party if his judgment dictates a
diiferent course. He is now treasurer of the Burlington school district and also treasui-er
of Burlington township, and he was director of the Botz school district before coming to
Burlington and was a member of the town board for several years, or during all the time
lie lived in the district. He is one of the five republican candidates for presidential electors
tor the state of North Dakota in the election in 1916. Mr. Werner is numbered among
those who have been active in developing this section of the state and transforming it from
a pioneer district into a region pervaded by an air of progress and prosperity. His work
has been directly resultant along lines of general improvement and at the same time he
lias substantially promoted his private business interests.
CHARLEY A. WALLOCH.
Charley A. AValloch, proprietor of the onl}' implement business at Forman, was born
at Yankton, South Dakota, in 1S79, a son of Joseph and Mary (Serulech) Walloch. The
father, a native of Germany, came to the United States in 1864 and settled first in Milwau-
kee, Wisconsin, where he remained for five years. He afterward removed to South Dakota,
where he still makes his home, devoting his time and energies to the occupation of farming.
His wife, who was born in Prussia, Germany, passed away in 1898.
Charley A. Walloch was the third in oider of birth in a family of seven children. He
pursued his education in the schools of Y'ankton and of St. Paul, Minnesota, and after
his textbooks were put aside he was employed for a short time on the roalroad and after-
ward entered the employ of a St. Paul land company, with which he continued for four
years. He was ambitious, however, to engage in business on his own account and care-
fully saved his earnings until the sum was sufficient to enable him to start in business for
himself. He then established a hardware store in Forman in the year 1909 and he bought
out an implement business in F'orman, to which he added a complete line of hardware. The
trade has grown gradually from the beginning, and owing to the enterprise and resource-
fulness of the owner, the undertaking has become an assured success. In addition to capably
managing his mercantile interests Mr. Walloch also acts as manager of the Forman electric
light plant, of which he is half owner. He is the only implement dealer of his town and
aside from his other interests he is a stockliolder in the First National Bank of Forman.
For seven years he has been most actively identified with the business life of the com-
munity and his well directed efforts constitute a strong element in his increasing prosperity.
In his political views Mr. Walloch is a republican and his religious faith is evidenced
in his membership in the Catholic church, of which he is one of the trustees. Recently he
has been appointed a member of the Forman school board and he is willing at all times to
aid and cooperate in any measure that he deems beneficial to the community.
THOMAS GILBERTSON.
Thomas Gilbertson, now living retired at Lisbon, having put aside the activities of
business life, was born in Norway on the 15th of June, 1860, a son of Gilbert and Carrie
(Olson) Gilbertson, who were also natives of the land of the midnight sun and who in
the year 1866 came to the United States, settling at Spring Grove, Houston county, Min-
nesota, where the father engaged in farming. In 1886 he removed with his family to Lisbon,
where the mother passed away the following year, and since that time Gilbert Gilbert -
son has made his home with his son Thomas, having now reached the very advanced age
of ninety-two years.
When a little lad of but six summers Tliomas Gilbertson was brought by his parents
308 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
to the new world and his education was acquired in the common schools of Minnesota.
Througli the period of his boyhood and youth he assisted in the operation of the home
farm and continued to aid his father until the removal to Lisbon. Soon afterward he was
appointed deputy sheriff of Ransom county, in wliich position he served from 1886 until
1SS9 inclusive. lie was afterward employed by .1. C. Holt of Lisbon in his merchandise
and imiilement store for three years, at the end of which time he accepted a position as
road collector for the State Bank of Lisbon, in which capacity he served for seven years.
In 1899 he formed a partnership with E. Billing, and under the firm style of Billing &
Gilbertson they conducted an extensive business in farm machinery for seven years. In
1906, however, Mr. Gilbertson sold his interest and since that date has given his attention
to looking after his investments. He was at one time a heavy holder of farm lands, but
now owns only three quarter sections. He has, however, important investments along other
lines, being one of the stockholders of the Citizens Bank of Lisbon, where he is recognized
as a most prominent resident.
In 1SS8 Mr. Gilbertson was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Knudson, a native of
Fillmore county, Minnesota, by whom be has six children, as follows: Cora, who is the wife
of Dr. T. C. Vangsens, of Beresford, South Dakota; Mina, a teacher in the Lisbon high
school; and Gida, Bertha, Elida and Alice, all at home.
In his political views Mr. Gilbertson is an earnest republican and has served as a
member of the board of county commissioners for six years and for a similar period as a
member of the board of aldermen in Lisbon, in both of which connections he has exercised
liis oflicial prerogatives in a manner that has greatly furthered the public welfare and
upheld piiblic interests. His life exemplifies the beneficent spirit which forms the basic
principle of the various fraternal organizations in which he holds membership. He belongs
to Sheycnne Valley Lodge, No. 12, A. F. & A. M.; Valley City Lodge, No. 1011, B. P. O. E.;
Lisbon Lodge, No. 69, K. P.; Lisbon Camp, No. 1916, M. W. A.; and the Homesteaders.
He and his wife are consistent members of the Lutheran church, to the support of which
they contribute generously. In a wor"d, their influence has always been on the side of
progi-ess and improvement and their worth in the community has been widely acknowledged,
Mr. Gilbertson having made a most creditable record as a public official and business man,
while in social circles he has gained the warm regard of many.
JOSEPH ROACH.
.Joseph Roach was one of the makers of North Dakota, prominently connected with
its agricultural, commercial and financial development, while upon its political history he
left his impress as legislator and public official. His marked ability kept him prominently
before the people and enabled him to so utilize his time, talents and opportunities that he
became one of the foremost factors in the development of the state. He was born in Wash-
ington county, New York, June 11, 184.'), a son of Pliineas and .lolianna (Woodward) Roach,
the former of Irish birth, while the latter was of American parentage. Phineas Roach
became a farmer of New York and when bis son Joseph was ten years of age removed
with his family to Northfield, Minnesota In that state the son spent forty-one years of
liis life, completing his education in Hamline University. He was reared to the occupation
of farming and turned to that pursuit as a life work, developing and improving a farm
near Castle Rock, Dakota County.
Joseph Roach was a lad of but sixteen years at the time of the outbreak of the Civil
war and in 1863, when but eighteen years of age, he responded to the country's call for
troops, enlisting as a member of Company F, Second Minnesota Cavalry, with which he
served until the close of hostilities and then returned home with a most creditable military
record. His attention was given to farming in Dakota county until 1884 and in 1882 he
was elected county commissioner, in which position he made a mo.st excellent record. After
two years' incumbency, however, he resigned and removed to Northfield, Rice county, Minne-
sota, where, he engaged in the live stock business and at the same time carried on farming at
Castle Rock until 1896, when he came to North Dakota, establishing his home in .Mincif. He
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 309
was prominently and extensively engaged in laneliing for some time, handling live stock in
large numbers and winning success through the capable management of his busiiiess interests.
As a pioneer citizen and capable business man he did much toward developing his section
of the northwest. He owned and controlled large interests in the western part of the state
and in the early days had thousands of cattle running on the plains. Later he turned his
attention to the banking business at Minot, although tliis was not his initial experience
in that field, for previously he had been vice president of the Citizens Bank of Northfield,
Minnesota, and he went to Minot in 1896 to become receiver for the First National Bank,
which position he resigned a year later. Subsequently he reentered the financial field,
organizing the Great Northern Bank of Minot in 1897. This section of the state was with-
out a banking institution after the First National Bank of Minot had become defunct,
and a number of the prominent pioneer settlers induced Mr. Roach to organize the Great
Northern Bank, which was capitalized for fifteen thousand dollars and which under the
management of Mr. Eoach enjoyed a remarkable growth. In 1902 it was reorganized and
nationalized, becoming the Second National Bank, at which time the capital stock was
increased to twenty-five thousand dollars. A leXv years later this was further increased to
fifty thousand dollars and in 1910 its capital was doubled, becoming one hundred thousand
dollars. The bank is today one of the strongest financial institutions in the state. Mr.
■Roach became the first president of the Second National Bank at Minot, remaining its
chi§f executive officer and directing head until his death, which occurred on the 31st of
October, 1913, his demise resulting from injuries received when a runaway team crashed
into his carriage a few days before. He had become one of the large landowners of Ward
county, having made judicious investments in property from time to time, and thus he left
his family in very comfortable financial circumstances.
It was on the 30th of May, 1867, that Mr. Roach was united in marriage to Miss
Kleanor S. Clague, who was born on the Isle of Man, and their children were as follows:
Philip A., who is engaged in the meat business in Minot: Lizzie Luella, the wife of A. H.
Roise, proprietor of a clothing and men's furnishing goods store in Minot; and Frank
W., who is vice president of the Second National Bank of Minot and is mentioned elsewhere
in this work.
Mr. Roach gave his political allegiance to the democratic party and was elected on
its ticket to the Minnesota legislature, in which he served for two terms. He was not,
however, in sympathy with Bryan and his free silver policy and thus became a republican,
remaining for years as a strong political force in his section of North Dakota. For an
extended period he was chairman of the republican central committee and led his party
through a series of successes. Later he was elected chairman of the republican state cen-
tral committee and left the impress of his individuality and ability upon the political annals
of North Dakota. In 1902 he was elected mayor of Minot and gave to the city a splendid
administration, characterized by practical, progressive and businesslike metliods, which
constituted the real foundation for the growth of the "magic city of Minot."
Mr. Roach's life was ever guided by the highest principles and North Dakota has had
no citizen more worthy of the respect of his fellowmen. He was a devoted member of the
Episcopal church and an exemplary representative of the Masonic fraternitj', in which he
attained high rank. He belonged to the blue lodge and chapter at Northfield, Minnesota, to
De Molay Commandery, K. T., at Minot, and to Kem Temple of the Mystic Shrine at
Grand Forks, and when he passed away in 1913 at the age of sixty-eight years, four months
and twenty days, his remains lay in state in the Masonic Temple at Minot and were
buried in Northfield, Minnesota, Avith Masonic honors. The whole northwest sorrowed over
his demise, the news of which brought a sense of personal bereavement to hundreds. He
was loved and respected by young and old, rich and poor, and his circle of friends included
some of the humblest and some of the highest of the land. The late James J. Hill, rail-
road magnate, was one of his closest associates. They were boys together and the empire
builder of the northwest had complete confidence in the integrity and ability of the Minot
banker. Thus Mr. Roach was able to do much for his city through the aid of his old friend,
IWr. Hill, and at all times he was most loyal to the interests of city, county and state.
A few days after the death of Mr. Roach Mr. Hill visited Minot, expressing great sorrow
over the demise of his friend. \Vherever he was known deep regret was felt. His success
310 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
in business in no way affected liis attitude toward those less fortunate and to his friends
he was always "Joe." There are many who have reason to thank him for his timely
assistance, many who received from him the start that led to their success, for he never
turned anyone away whom he regarded as worthy. He was a splendid reader of human
nature and his business judgment was excellent and thus he was able to assist many by
advice as well as by material aid. His life was indeed characterized by "many little un-
numbered acts of kindness and of love." He held to high ideals ni business, in citizenship
and in his social relations. He was devoted to his family and counted it his greatest hap-
piness to contribute to their welfare. He remained throughout his life a strong man— strong
in his ability to plan and perform, strong in his honor and his good name. Life was to
him purposeful and out of the struggle with small opportunities he came finally into a
field broad and active in its usefulness, his business ever balancing up with the principles
of truth and honor. His public-spirited citizenship led him to become an active worker
for the general good and he remained for many years the strong center of the community
in which he lived.
PATRICK: M. CASEY.
Farming interests of Ransom county find a worthy representative in Patrick M. Casey,
who owns and cultivates the south half of section 8, Tuller township. He was born in
Outagamie county, Wisconsin, March 2, 18S0, a son of John Casey, whose birth occurred
in Ireland in 1835 and who came to the United States about 1862, settling in Wisconsin,
where he took up the occupation of farming. He bought land in Outagamie county and
continued its cultivation throughout his remaining days, his death occurring in 1901. He
married Elizabeth O'Brien, who was born in Ireland in 1841 and came to the Ignited States
in 1870, giving her hand in marriage to Mr. Casey in the following year. They had a
family of six children: John and James, twins, born in 1873, the former now a farmer
of Island Park township, Ransom county, while the latter follows farming in Wisconsin;
Mary, who was born in 1874 and is now living in Lisbon, North Dakota; Anna, who was
born in 1876 and is now a member of the Dominican Order of Catholic Sisters stationed in
Chicago: Catherine, who was born in 1877 and is now residing in Lisbon; and Patrick M.
The mother of these children passed away in 1912.
Patrick M. Casey is indebted to the district school system of Wisconsin for the edu-
cational privileges which he enjoyed in his youthful days. He worked with his father upon
the home farm until the lattcr's death and then took over the management of the home-
stead, which he cultivated until 1909. His brother James had already settled in this state
and after visiting at his brother's home Patrick M. Casey determined to become a resident
of North Dakota. He lived with his brother for about three years and then purchased the
southwest quarter of section 4, Island Park township, Ransom county. Later he piuchased
the southwest quarter of section 19, Elliott township, but disposed of that tract in 1914
and bought the south half of section 8, Tuller township, constituting his present home farm.
This is a valuable property, highly improved and carefully cultivated and managed. He
carries on general agricultural pursuits and is engaged in the raising of Duroc-Jersey hogs
and shorthorn cattle. His home, which is situated on the south half of section 19, Tuller
township, is the oldest residence in the county, and the farm which he occupies was one of
the first to be developed. In addition to further cultivating and improving this place Mr.
Casey has become the president of the Farmers Equity Elevator of Lisbon, so serving for
the past three years, and lie is also the vice president of the Nortli Dakota Union, a farmers'
organization.
On the 28th of January, 191."), Mr. Casey was married to Miss Elizabeth Cooper, wlin
was born in Worthington, Minnesota, in 189.5, a daughter of Samuel and Catherine (Wald-
helm) Cooper, who were pioneer residents of Minnesota, in which state the father is now
livin". For many years he devoted his attention to farming but has retired from business.
The mother died when her daughter Elizabeth was but five years of age. ilr. and Mrs.
Casey have one daughter, Dorothy Lucille, born July 11, 1916.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 311
In liis political views Mr. Casey is a democrat and has served as assessor of Island
Park township and in other local offices, including that of school trustee. He has long
been recognized as a prominent leader and active worker in democratic circles and at the
present writing is the nominee of his party for the office of state treasurer, the nomination
coming to him without opposition. He belongs to the Catholic church of Lisbon, of which
his wife is also a communicant, and he is a member of Fargo Lodge, No. 782, K. C. He is a
very energetic man, alert and enterprising, ready to meet any emergency and ready to
respond to any call of duty. He is leaving the impress of his capability and individuality
upon the agiicultural development and the political history of the state.
MARCUS M. BEIGHLE.
ilarcus ^I. Beighle, a retired farmer now living at Sawyer, has long been identified
with the interests of Ward county, where he located in pioneer times, becoming the teacher
of the first school in Willis township. He was born at Roberts, Ford countj', Illinois, Feb-
ruary 2, 1878, a son of Elias B. and Catherine (Wallace) Beighle, mentioned in connection
wdth the sketch of 0. S. Beighle, which appears elsewhere in this work. He pursued his early
education in the district schools of his native county and afterward attended a seminary
at Onarga, Illinois. When not busy with his textbooks he worked upon the home farm,
where he remained until he reached the age of twenty-two years, when in 1900 he left
Illinois and came to North Dakota. He took up a homestead of one hundred and sixty
acres on section 26, Willis township, and through the intervening period until 1913 was
actively and successfully engaged in general farming. At that date he removed to Sawyer
but later in the year went to California and spent some time in travel. In 1915 he returned
to Sawyer, where he purchased town lots and is now erecting a residence, while his home-
stead property he rents, deriving a good income from his farm, which comprises four hun-
dred acres in Willis township. He also owns other real estate in Sawyer.
It was in Willis township on the 18th of June, 1905, that Jlr. Beighle was united in
marriage to iliss Clara Putney, who was born in Minnesota and afterward lived in Nebraska
and Kansas before coming to North Dakota. She is a daughter of William and Eliza-
beth Putney, who in 1900 horaesteaded in Willis township, Wai'd county. Mr. and Mrs.
Beighle have a son, Clarence Elias, who was born November 6, 190fi, on the home farm
in Willis township.
The parents are members of the Congregational church and Mr. Beighle gives his politi-
cal allegiance to the republican party, while fraternally he is connected with the Modern
Woodmen of America, having been one of the original members of the camp at Sawyer.
He assisted in organizing the Farmers Telephone Company of Willis township and he taught
the fiist school there, having previously taught in Ford county, Illinois, for a year before
coming to North Dakota. He assisted in organizing district No. 64 and was the first treas-
urer of the school board. He has also been township treasurer and was township assessor
and he has been an active and helpful supporter of many plans and movements for the
general good.
THOMAS J. McCULLY.
Thomas .J. McCully, postmaster of Sheldon and a retired farmer of Ransom county,
is of Canadian birth and of Irish lineage. He Avas born in Ontario. March 1, 1861, a son
of James McCully, whose birth occurred near Londonderry, Ireland, in 1S32. He came to
the United States in 1880, settling in Cass county, Michigan. He followed farming while in
Canada but at the present time is living retired, spending his time among his children.
His wife, who bore the maiden name of Susanna Kyle, was born in Ontario in 1840 and
passed away in 1873. They had but two children, the elder being a daughter, Jerusha, who
became the wife of .James Eothwell, of Seattle, Washington, and died in February, 1913.
312 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Thomas J. JNIeCuUy, the only son, ])Uisueil liis education in the schools of Ontario and
worked with his father upon tlie lionie farm until his removal to Michigan. He estab-
lished a home of his own by his marriage on the 3d of February, 18S5, to Miss Belle Broday,
who was horn in Michigan in ISG-i, a daughter of Hugh and Anna (.Jones) Broday, who
were pioneer settlers of Michigan, where the father followed the occupation of farming.
He died in the year 1875, while his wife passed away in 1902, having survived him for
more than a quarter of a century. Their daughter Belle was the fourth in order of birth
in a family of seven children. To Mr. and Mrs. McCuUy have been born six children, as
follows: Jfae, who was born December 21, 1885, and is the wife of J^ee Vale, of Courtenay,
North Dakota; Cecil, who was born March 19, 1888, and is at home; Harold V., whose birth
occurred September 26, 1893, and who resides in Sheldon; Don C, who was born August IS,
1898, and is at home; Hubert, whose natal day was February 3, 1905; atul Kenneth, born
November 2, 1910.
Mr. McCuIly was a resident of Michigan from 18S0 until the spring of 188G and through
that period engaged in general farming. On the 31st of March of the latter year he came
to North Dakota, settling on a farm on section 19, township 136, range 54, in Eansom
county. There he remained for ten year's, his time being devoted to general farming, after
which he purchased four hundred and eighty acres of land in Shenford township, continuing
his residence thereon until 1909. At that time he went to Sheldon in order to give his
children the benefits of the educational opportunities offered in the schools of the city. It
was his purpose to live retired after his removal to Sheldon but on the 3d of February,
1915, he accepted the appointment of postmaster. Indolence and idleness are utterly foreign
to his nature and he felt that ho would be better content with some business interest or
regular duties. In the fall of 1880 he had taken out his first naturalization papers in Michi-
gan and the second papers were taken out in Lisbon in 1888. He has always given his
political allegiance to the democratic party and keeps well informed on the questions and
issues of the day. He is quite active and well known in connection with public interests
and is prominent in fraternal circles. In 1890 he joined Sheldon Lodge, A. 0. U. W., and
he is also connected with the Masons, having membership in the blue lodge at Sheldon,
in the Scottish Eite bodies at Fargo and in Kl Zagal Temple of the Jlystic Shrine at Fargo.
For four years he served as treasurer of his lodge and is now its steward. He is a charter
member of the Homesteaders at Sheldon, which organization was formed in 1908, and
throughout the intervening period he has been its vice president. Both he and his wife arc
consistent and faithful members of the Presbyterian church, of which Mr. McCully is one of
the trustees. He takes an active and helpful interest in all that pertains to the public wel-
fare along political, intellectual and moral lines and his cooperation can ever be counted
upon to further plan.s and measures for tlie general good.
MRS. ANNIE SEELIG.
Mrs. Annie Seclig is occupying an attractive home at Leonard, Cass county, which
she has recently erected. She was born in Scott county, Minnesota, June 25, 1872, a daugh-
ter of Henry and Johnette (Enguld) Ilime, both of whom were natives of Germany. In early
life they came to the United States and made their way to Minnesota, where they were
married. The father followed the occupation of farming in that state for a number of
years and in 1S78 came to Dakota, taking up his abode at Leonard, Cass county, where
he resided until his death. His wife survives and yet makes her home in Leonard.
Of their family of nine children Mrs. Seelig is the eldest. She was a little ipaiden of
but si.v years when the family became residents of Cass county and there she pursued her
education in the public schools, remaining at home up to the time of her marriage. It was
on the 9th of November, 1900, that she became the wife of Herman H. Seelig, who was
born in Winona, Minnesota, September 10, 1871, and came to Dakota with his parents,
Ernest and .lohanna (Pesch) Seelig, who settled in Cass county, near Leonard. It was in
that locality that he obtained his education and there resided up to the time of his mar-
riage. He afterward took up his abode upon a farm in Cass county, which he cultivated for
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 313
two years. On the expiration of that period Mr. and Mrs. Seelig removed to Leonard
and purchased a hotel, which they conducted under the name of the Seelig Hotel, remaining
the proprietors thereof for ten years. They then sold out and removed to Eureka Springs,
Arkansas, where they remained for a few months. Subsequently they returned to North
i)akota and Mr. Seelig purchased a general store in Anselm, conducting business at this
place until his death, which occurred December 21, 1915. He was a progressive and enter-
prising business man, alert and energetic, and he won a substantial measure of success
which was the merited reward of his labors.
Mr. and Mrs. Seelig became the parents of four children: Mamie, Ruby, Elsie and
Henry. Mr. Seelig held membership in the Lutheran church and fraternally was connected
witli the Modern Woodmen of America, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the
Brotherhood of American Yeomen. His life was upright and honorable and wherever he
went he made friends by reason of his many excellent traits of character. Since her hus-
band's death Mrs. Seelig has returned to Leonard, where she has erected a comfortable
residence, which she now occupies. She is still interested in farming at Medina, North
Dakota, and her property there returns to her a good income.
CHARLES H. NEWTON.
Charles H. Newton has passed the seventy-sixth milestone on life's journey and now
resides upon a farm in Cass county, near Harwood. He is a veteran of the Civil war and
the same spirit of loyalty that prompted his active defense of the Union has been manifest
throughout the days of peace. He was born at Windsor, Vermont, December 15, 1839,
his parents being Daniel and Rosalind (McFall) Newton, natives of Vermont and Ireland
respecti^■ely. They were married in the Green Mountain state and there continued to
reside until called to their final rest. They had a family of t;wo sons, the elder being
Martin, who is still living in Vermont.
The younger son, Charles H. Newton, was reared and educated in Vermont and
when a young man of twenty-one years responded to the call for troops following the out-
break of the Civil war. He joined Company G, Fourth Vermont Infantry, as a private
and held all the non-commissioned offices and later advanced to the rank of first lieutenant.
He served throughout the entire period of the struggle and was in many important engage-
ments, including the battles of the Peninsula, Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Savage
Station, Malvern Hill, the second battle of Bull Run, Antietam, the first and second engage-
ments at Fredericksburg, the battle of Gettysburg and a number of others of less importance.
At the Battle of the Wilderness he was four times wounded, one bullet piercing his left lung,
and he lay on the field for seven days before his wounds received attention. At the close
of the war he was mustered out at Halls Hill, Virginia, and returned to his home with a
most creditable military record, having been most faithful in his support of the Union, his
valor and loyalty being displayed on many a southern battlefield.
On again reaching Vermont Mr. Newton turned his attention to farming. He had been
married in 1864 to Miss Prudence Jane Smith, a native of Vermont and a daughter of
Ira and Hannali (Jacobs) Smith, who were born in the states of Connecticut and Vermont
respectively. Both passed away in the Green Mountain state. Mr. and Mrs. Newton re-
mained in New England until 1883, when he came to North Dakota and secured a half
section of land in Steele county upon which they established their home, living there for five
years, during which time he added many improvements to the property. In 1888 he
removed to Cass county and became superintendent of the farm of H. F. Miller, comprising
three thousand acres. Of this he was superintendent for eight years, at the end of which
time he removed to the farm upon whicli he now resides near Harwood.
Mr. and Mrs. Newton had no children of their own but reared an adopted daughter
from the time she was sixteen months old. Mrs. Newton passed away December 11, 1913,
and was laid to rest in the Oak Grove cemetery at Harwood. She was a consistent member
of the Universalist church, to which Mr. Newton has belonged for forty years, always
taking an active part in the church work. In politics he is an earnest republican, unfalter-
314 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
iiig in his allegiance to the party, and lie has served as assessor, justice of the peace and as
county commissioner of Cass county for five years, discharging his duties with marked
capability and fidelity. He belongs to the Grand Army post at Fargo and greatly enjoys
meeting with the "boys in blue" and recounting incidents that occurred during the Civil
war. He is today one of the esteemed and honored residents of Cass county, well meriting
the uniform regard which is tendered him.
WILLIAM .1. TURNBULL.
William J. Turnbull, a representative farmer of Cass county, was born in Ontario,
Canada, May 21, 1856, a son of Alex and Nancy (Moore) Turnbull. the former a native
of New York and the latter of Ireland. Th'ey were married in Canada and in that country
the mother passed away in the year 1909, but the father is still living. In their family were
six children, five of whom survive.
William .T. Turnbull was reared and educated in Canada and in 1882 crossed the border
into the United States. He traveled over the country to a considerable extent for three
years and in 1885 came to North Dakota, settling on the farm which he now owns and
occupies, comprising two hundred and eighty-five acres of valuable land on the banks of the
Sheyenne river in Harwood township. This is known as the Elmwood Farm and i« a val-
uable property, splendidly improved and all in a high state of cultivation.
In 1895 Mr. Turnbull was united in marriage to Miss Mabel E. Smith, who is a native
of Vermont and was adopted by Cliarlcs H. Newton and his wife when sixteen months old.
By her marriage she has become the mother of two children, namely: Agnes Newton, a
graduate of the high school; and Sybil Anna.
Mr. Turnbull was reared in the Presbyterian faith and his wife in the Universalist.
His political support is given the republican party and he has filled some local offices. He
served as assessor for four years, was road supervisor for nine years and is now president
of the school board in his district. He is also one of the directors of the Farmers Elevator
of Harwood and is a member of the Yeomen lodge. He and his wife are well known
in this locality and have a large and growing circle of friends.
J. P. HARDY.
Association has been the watchword of the age — a recognition of the fact that results
are accomplished by united effort. This spirit has led to the formation throughout the
country of commercial clubs planned to further the development and upbuilding of the
sections in which they are located. J. P. Hardy is now secretary of the Fargo Commercial
Club and under his direction good work has been accomplished for the city in the extension
of its trade relations, in the improvement of its public interests and in the development of
those activities which are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride.
Mr. Hardy is a native of Ijondon, Kngland. He was born September 28, 1862, of the
marriage of J. P. and Mary (Hardy) Hardy, both of whom died in England. There the
subject of this review was reared and he completed his more specifically literary course by
study in St. Paul's College at Stony Stratford. Later he became a student in the medical
department of I^ondon University — King's College — and in 1883 he came to the United States,
landing at New York on the 17th of March. From the eastern metropolis he made his way
westward and took up his abode upon a farm in Dane county, Wisconsin, where he spent
three years, after which he removed to Fargo, North Dakota, JIarch 15, 1886, and soon
afterward found employment with the firm of X\igent & Brown, printers and bookbinders,
with whom he remained until the fall of 1887. He then went to Minneapolis. Minnesota,
and for six months was in the emidoy of the James H. Bishop Paper Company. At the end
of that time he became connected with the house of A. C. Bansman, printer and binder, and
in the spring of 1889 he returned to Fargo, where for six months he was employed by E. A.
J. p. HARDY
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 317
Webb in the printing business. He tlicn again entered the service of Nugent & Brown in the
capacity of traveling salesman, representing them upon the road until the summer of 1891,
when he became traveling representative for the firm of Walker Brothers, with whom he
remained in that capacity until 1895, when he was admitted to a partnership and was made
general manager of the business, continuing in that capacity until 1913. He then sold his
interest and accepted the secretaryship of the Fargo Commercial Club, in which capacity he
has since ably served, doing effective ■work for the benefit of the city, his efforts being a
tangible element in its business progress.
In 1891 Mr. Hardy was united in marriage to Miss Camille Parker, of Fargo, but a
native of Lincoln, Nebraska. To this union has been born one son, John P., whose natal day
was June 7, 1907.
Mr. Hardy is well known in Masonic circles, belonging to Shiloh Lodge, No. 1, F. & A. M.;
Enoch Lodge of Perfection; Dakota Consistory, No. 1, A. & A. S. E.; and El Zagal Temple,
No. 1, A. A. 0. N. M. S. He also has membership with Fargo Lodge, No. 260, B. P. O. E.;
Fargo Lodge, No. 3; Fargo Lodge, A. 0. U. W.; and Fargo Council U. C. T. He served for
two terms as chancellor commander of the Knights of Pythias, is stage director of the
Scottish Eite bodies and is high priest and prophet of the Mystic Shrine. He was president
of the Fargo Commercial Club in 1911-12 and is the present president of the State Federation
of Commercial Clubs and is the secretary of the National Parks Transcontinental Highway
Association. He belongs to the Rea Country Club, the Automobile Club, of which he was the
president in 1912, and to the Town Criers Club. He also belongs to the Manufacturers
Association, of which he is the secretary and he is the secretary of the Fargo-Morehead
Baseball Club. He is a jury commissioner of the federal courts of the district of North
Dakota and a member of the park board of Fargo. His religious faith is indicated by his
membership in the Episcopal church. In politics he is independent. He finds outlet for his
activities along many other lines and he votes according to the dictates of his judgment
rather than because he is bound by party ties. His interests are wide and varied, touching
every phase of business and social life and covering the great economic problems of the
country. He ultilizes practical effort in work toward high ideals and his labors are far-
reaching and resultant.
T. S. HUNT.
Banking institutions are largely the heart of the commercial body, indicating the health-
fulness of trade. It is certainly true that a safe, reliable banking concern will do more
than any other business interest to establish public confidence in times of panic or financial
depression, and the bank that is most worthy of credit is that which most carefully and
surely safeguards the interests of its depositors. Such an institution is the Farmers
National Bank of La Moure, of which T. S. Hunt is the cashier. He was born in Martins-
ville, Illinois, on the 30th of July, 1866, and is a; son of Laurentio G. and Henrietta S. (Hill)
Hunt. The father is a native of Vermont and represents an old New England family, his
ancestors having come to the United States from England prior to the Eevolutionary war.
In the maternal line T. S. Hunt comes from Holland Dutch stock, but the family was also
founded in America during the colonial epoch in the history of this country by ancestors
who settled in the Mohawk valley in New York. Both the Hunt and Hill families in 1837
removed westward to Michigan and Laurentio G. Hunt became one of the teachers on the
frontier, the lady who afterward became his wife being one of his pupils. They were mar-
ried in Michigan and two of their children were born in that state. Subsequently Mr. Hunt
removed with his family to Illinois and there enlisted in the Union army, serving through-
out the entire period of the Civil war. He then returned to his Illinois home but in 1869
again went to Michigan, where he engaged in farming. Both he and his wife are still living
at an advanced age.
T. S. Hunt supplemented a public school education by study in the normal school at St.
Cloud, Minnesota, where his parents resided for seven or eight years. In 1888 he left St.
Cloud and came to North Dakota, establishing his home in Sherbrooke, Steele county, where
318 HISTORY OF XORTH DAKOTA
he took up educational work, teaching in tlie district schools for three years. At the end
of that period he purchased the Steele County Tribune, a weekly paper published in Sher-
brooke. He edited the journal until 1895, when he sold that plant and bou^'ht the Fessendcn
Advertiser of Fessenden, Wells county. North Dakota, continuing to publish the latter paper
for two and one-half years. In 1898 he leturncd to Steele county and the following fall
was elected county auditor, in which capacity he was continued by reelection for two terms.
In 1902 he became one of the organizers of the Sharon State Bank and was tendered and
accepted the position of cashier of the new institution, continuing in that important con-
nection until 1908, when he was oflfered the cashiership of the Farmers State Bank at La
Moure. This institution was nationalized in 1910 as the Farmers Xationall Bank, Mr. Uunt
remaining as the cashier. He is a popular and obliging olTicial, doing everything in his
power to further the interests of the institution and at the same time assisting and favoring
its patrons as much as possible without hazarding the stability of the bank.
In 1895 Mr. Hunt was united in marriage to Miss Eva Pope, of Hope, North Dakota,
by whom he has a daughter, Ruth, who is now attending Jamestown College at Jamestown,
North Dakota. In politics a progressive republican, ilr. Hunt has served for several years
as a member of the city council of La Moure, exercising his official prerogatives in support
of various well devised plans for promoting the city's progress and upholding those interests
which are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride. 'Fraternally he is connected with Mackay
Lodge, No. 18, F. & A. M.; Lisbon Chapter, No. 30, R. A. M.; the Ancient Order of United
Workmen; the Modern Woodmen of America; and the Sons of Veterans.
Mr. Hunt is a typical representative of the spirit of upbuilding which lias dominated
the northwest. He has back of him a worthy ancestry and his hues of life have been cast
in harmony therewith. As they aided in the settlement and development of New England,
so is he furthering the upbuilding of a great empire in the north, neglecting no duty or
opportunity that comes to him to advance public welfare.
JUDGE EVAN BENSON GOSS.
Judge Evan Benson Goss, serving on the supreme court bench of North Dakota, is a
son of Benson Oliver and' Hope (Nutter) Goss, the former a native of St. Lawrence county,
New York, born in 1845, while the latter is a native of Wrmont. Thoy arc ninv residents
of Michigan.
Judge Goss was born near Rockford, Michigan, December 8, 1872. Spending his boy-
hood days under the parental roof he determine.] upon the practice of law as a life work and
prepared for his profession at the Michigan State University at Ann Arbor. His advance-
ment at the bar has been continuous. Following his admission he engaged in practice at
Grand Rapids, Michigan, from which place he removed t9 Bottineau, North Dakota, in
December, 1895. No dreary novitiate aw^aited him, for although advancement at the bar
is proverbially slow, his ability soon won him recognition that gained him a liberal clientage.
He was elected states attorney for Bottineau county and was reelected for a second term.
Still higher oflicial honors aw^aited him. for in June, 1905, he qualified as district judge of
the eighth judicial district and was reelected in 1908. In November, 1910, he was elected
a member of the supreme court of North Dakota. After entering upon the work of his
chosen calling it was soon recognized that his is a natural discrimination as to legal ethics
and that he is thoro\ighly well read in the minutiae of the law, being able to base his argu-
ments upon rare knowledge of and familiarity with precedents and to present a case upon
its merits. He never failed to recognize the main point at issue and never neglected to
make a thorough preparation. His jjleas were characterized by a terse and decisive logic
and a lucid presentation rather than by flights of oratory and his power was the greater
before court or jury from the fact that he ever made it his aim to secure justice and not to
enshroud the cause in a sentimental garb or illusion that would thwart the principles of
right and equitj' involved.
On the 24th of November, 1898, Judge Goss was united in marriage, in Willow City,
North Dakota, to Miss Louisa Wright, and they have one daughter, Marion Eleanor. .Tudge
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 319
and Mrs. Goss are members of the Methodist Episcopal ohurc)i and in his fraternal relations
he is a Mason and an Elk, in the former organization taking the degrees of the York Rite
and afterward of the Mystic Shrine. His political allegiance has always been given to the
republican party and upon its ticket he was elected to the supreme court bench in 1910.
His decisions indicate strong mentality, careful analysis, a thorough knowledge of the law
and an unbiased judgment. The judge on the bench fails more frequently, perhaps, from a
deficiency in that broad-mindedness which not only comprehends the details of a situation
quickly but also insures a complete self-control under even the most exasperating condi-
tions than from any other cause; and the judge who makes a success in the discharge of his
multitudinous delicate duties is a man of well rounded character, finely balanced mind
and splendid intellectual attainment?. That Judge Goss is regarded as such a jurist is a
uniformly accepted fact.
TELVIN P. KINNEBEKG.
Telvin P. Ivinneberg, cashier of the Fort Eansom State Bank, is a well known repre-
sentative of financial interests in Fort Ransom, where he has made an e.xcellent record as
an enterprising young business man. He was born at Spring Grove, Houston county, Minne-
sota, .January 14, 1S95, and is a son of Peter and Matilda (Glasrud) Kinneberg, the former
a native of Xorway. They were married, however, at Spring Grove, Minnesota, where the
father still makes his home, but the mother passed away in 1902. They had a family of
four children, of whom Telvin is the eldest.
In the public schools of Spring Grove, Telvin P. Kinneberg began his education, which
he supplemented by a commercial course in the Wisconsin Business College at La Crosse,
Wisconsin, from which he was graduated with the class of 1914. He had been reared to
the occupation of farming and during the summer following his graduation assisted his
father in the further cultivation of the old home place. In the fall of that year he attended
college again but only remained for a few months. He then went to Hickson, North Dakota,
where he accepted a position in a bank in order to get the training. After four months he
secured the position of assistant cashier in the Fort Ransom State Bank and so continued
until March 3, 1916, when he was made cashier and is now acting in that capacity. This
bank was organized in 190T with a capital stock of ten thousand dollars, at which time
A. K. Tweto was elected president, 0. X. Hatlie vice president, and Gill .Jacobson cashier.
The present officers are: Ingval Johnson, president; Lena Jacobson, vice president; and T.
P. Kinneberg, cashier. In his relations with the public the cashier is always courteous
and obliging and willing to extend any favor that will not jeopardize the stability of the
bank, regarding it as the first duty of a bank official to safeguard the interests of the
depositors.
In his political views Mr. Kinneberg is a republican and keeps well informed on the
questions and issues of the day but does not seek office. Fraternally he is connected with
Lisbon Lodge, No. 14, I. 0. 0. F., and his religious faith is that of the Norwegian Lutheran
church. Already in business circles he has attained a position which many a man of twice
his years might well envy and his friends, knowing his salient qualities and characteristics,
predict that his future will be a successful one.
RAY H. FARMER.
Financial interests in Burke county have a representative in Ray H. Farmer, presi-
dent of the Bank of Flaxton. He was born in Chamberlain, Brule county, South Dakota,
June 21, 1882, a son of W. J. and Anna B. (Middaw) Farmer. The father, a native of
Indiana, is largely a self-educated as well as a self-made man. He became a pioneer
settler of South Dakota, arriving in an early day at Chamberlain, where he engaged in the
practice of law. He became a prominent and influential citizen of that locality and filled
320 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
various county offices, wliile upon puljlic thought and opinion he exerted a beneficial and
widely felt influence. He has now retired from active practice and makes his home in
Chamberlain. His wife is a native of Indiana but was reared, educated and married
in Iowa.
Ray H. Farmer obtained his education in the public schools of his native city anil
after leaving the high school entered the Dakota Wesleyan University at Mitchell, South
Dakota, after which he made his initial step in the business world as au employe in tiic
National Bank of Huron at Huron, South Dakota, with which he was connected for nine
years. He started in as office boy and worked his way upward to the position of assistant
cashier, which position he resigned in 1913 to become president of the First Bank of
Flaxton. in which capacity he still continues, actively directing the interests and develop-
ment of that institution.
On the 10th of March, 1914, Mr. Farmer was married to Miss Carrie A. Morrison,
of Pine River, ilinnesota, who was born at Pierre, South Dakota, and educated at Miller,
that state. She afterward taught school at Miller and at Brookings, South Dakota, and
following her marriage came with her husband to Flaxton, where she passed away February
22, 1916, her death being deeply regretted by many friends.
In his political views Mr. Farmer is an earnest republican. He has served as a member
of the town board of Flaxton and in the spring of 1916 was elected mayor, which position
he is now acceptably filling. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp of Flaxton and
the Brotherhood of American Yeomen and he is au active and prominent member of the
Presbyterian church, in which he is serving on the board of managers. His has been
an active and well spent life characterized by liigh principles and a ready recognition
of the rights of others at all times.
CHARLES E. JONES.
Cliarles E. Jones is the secretary of the Jones Lumber & Implement Company of Lisbon
and is well known in commercial circles in the state, having been a traveling salesman in
North Dakota ere entering upon his present business connection. He was born in Hudson,
Wisconsin, May 31, 1871, a son of J. B. and LeVene Marie (Egbert) Jones. The father was
general agent for the International Harvester Company throughout the entire period of his
active business life and is now vice president of the Jones Lumber and Implement Company
of Lisbon. His wife died in 1907. They were the parents of six children: Albert E.; Jesse,
deceased; Charles E.; Myra; Freeman; and Bertha, deceased.
C. E. Jones spent the days of his boyhood and youth in his native city and after
completing a course in the high school there attended Hamline University for two years,
thus being well equipped for life's practical and responsible duties. He came west to
North Dakota in 1890, when a young man of nineteen years, and, establishing his head-
quarters at Fargo, began traveling for the Aultman-Miller Company of Akron. Ohio,
which he represented in this state for two years. He was afterward general agent for the
Van Brunt Manufacturing Company, located at Horicon, Wisconsin, until 1898, and in the
latter year he began traveling for the Deere & Webber Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota,
which he represented until Jaiuuvry 1, 1905. In that year, in connection with his two
brothers and his father, he incorporated the Jones Lumber & Implement Company of Lis-
bon, the business being capitalized for twenty thousand dollars, with A. E. Jones as
president; J. B. Jones, vice president; C. E. Jones, secretary; and Freeman Jones, treasurer.
They opened business with a large stock of lumber and building materials as well as farm
implements and from the beginning their trade has constantly and steadily increased, making
theirs one of the important commercial enterprises of Lisbon and the southeastern part
of the state.
On the 8th of May, 1895, Mr. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Harri.'t E. Camp-
bell, by whom he had two children, namely: Ernest S.. who is deceased; and Dorothy
E., born August 17, 1902. In his political views C. E. Jones is a stalwart republican,
believing firmly in the princil)les of the party, and he is now serving as a member of the
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 321
city council of Lisbon, in which connection he exercises his ofBcial prerogatives in support
of raanj' plans and measures for the general good. He is very prominent in fraternal circles,
belonging to the Masonic lodge and chapter at Lisbon and the Scottish Rite Lodge of
Perfection in Minneapolis. He is also identified with the Elks, the Woodmen, the Work-
men, and the United Commercial Travelers and in these organizations has many friends who
are appreciative of his sterling worth, his genial nature and his unfeigned cordiality. He
has gained high regard wherever known and most of all where he is best known.
rUEEMAN JONES.
Freeman Jones, the treasurer of the Jones Lumber & Implement Company of Lisbon,
was born January 15, 1879, in Hudson, Wisconsin, and there, in pursuit of his education,
passed through consecutive grades to the high school. He dates his residence in North Dakota
from 1897, in which year he made his waj- to Fargo and entered the emploj' of the Fargo
Mercantile Companj-, which he represented upon the road until 1903. He afterward
traveled for the Ferris & Grady Cigar Company for one year and in the fall of 1904
removed to Lisbon and became active in the organization of the Jones Lumber &
Implement Company. He remained in connection with the business until 1910, when he
sold out and went to Minneapolis, where he was employed by the Deere & Webber
Company until ]March 15, 1914. He then returned to Lisbon and again purchased an
interest in the Jones Lumber & Implement Company, with which he is now identified in the
capacity of treasurer, bending every effort and energy to the upbuilding and development of
tlie business, which long since has assumed profitable proportions.
Freeman Jones is loyal to the teachings of the various fraternities to which he belongs.
He is a Eoyal Arch Mason, identified with the chapter at Lisbon, and he is also connected with
tlie Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the United Commercial
Travelers, while in politics he is an independent republican, not feeling himself bound
by party ties. He stands for that which is progressive in citizenship but has never been an
aspirant for office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business interests.
MKS. SARAH KIENENBEEC4ER.
Mrs. Sarah Kicncnberger is the owner of an excellent farm on section 13, Elliott
township. Ransom county, and displays good business ability in the management of her
interests. She is the widow of William Kienenberger who was born in Peru, Illinois, June
15, 1858, and was the son of George and Katherine (Sinner) Kienenberger, who were natives
of France and Germany respectively. In early life they became residents of Illinois, where
they were married.
AMlliam Kienenberger was reared and educated in his native state and when a young man
went to Iowa, where he established his home. He there married Sarah Belzer, who was
bom in Black Hawk county, Iowa, July 10, 1861, the daughter of Lewis and Mary (Krebbs)
Belzer, the latter a daughter of Martin Krebbs, a soldier of the Revolutionary war. Lewis
Belzer was born at Gunsheim-on-the-Rhine, Germany, and tliere lived until twelve years
of age, when he came with his parents to the L^nited States, the family home being
established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The father purchased land and lived thereon during
the boyhood years of Lewis Belzer. After some time the parents, Ludwig and Elizabeth
(Drant) Belzer, went to Black Hawk county, Iowa, and purchased land. Their son Lewis
also had a farm in that state and continued its cultivation until 1868, when he removed
to Franklin county, Iowa, where he resided until 1890. He then went to Colorado but after
eleven years returned to Ackley, Franklin county, Iowa, where his wife passed away. The
death of Mr. Belzer occurred in Charles City, Iowa. In their family were twelve children,
of whom five died in infancy, the others being: Mrs. Kienenberger; Frank; Luella, the wife of
John Yenter living in Stanton, Nebraska; Edward, a resident of Colorado; Mary, the wife
322 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
of Abe Uunsbeigcr of Nebraska; Fred A. who is living in New Mexico; and Frieda A., a twin
sister of F'red and the wife of Amos Fry, of Canada.
3Irs. Kienenbergcr pursued her education in the public schools of Franklin county, Iowa,
and on the lirst of January, 1884, was married. They lived in Iowa for nineteen years
thereafter and she removed to North Dakota, purchasing the southwest quarter of section
14 and the southeast quarter of section 15 in Alleghany township, Kansom county in 1904.
After residing upon that place for a number of years she sold o>it and purchased the
southwest quarter of section 13, which farm continued to he her home for some years
when it was sold and she removed to her present home property, which is the southeast
quarter of section 12, Elliott township. Mr. Kienenbergcr passed away in Iowa, July 13,
1903. Mrs. Kienenbergcr manages the faiiii and is thoroughly familiar with the most pro-
gressive agricultural methods, carefully directing the work incident to the development of
the fields and the sale of the crops. She came to North Dakota with her seven children and
iias provided for them a good home and has surrounded them with many of the comforts
of life. Aside from her farming interests she holds stock in the Farmer's Elevator at Elliott.
Mrs. Kienenbergcr had a family of eight children, of whom one died in infancy, the others
being Cora, the wife of C. E. Wagoner, of Washington; Estella, the wife of J. W. Allen,
of Canada; Gertrude A., the wife of William Zink, of Elliott township; Frank B., a resi-
dent farmer of Elliott township; Walter C, living in Montana; and Ezra W. and Chester
L., who are both living at home and are active in the work on the farm. Mrs. Kienen-
berger provided her family with good educational opportunities. She is a member of the
Evangelical Church and has guided her life by its teachings. During the twelve years of her
residence in Ransom county she has become widely known and has gained many friends by
reason of her personal worth as well as her ability in other connections.
FRANK LYNCH.
Frank Lynch, of Casselton, is recognized as one of the foremost citizens of North
Dakota, as he is not only one of the largest capitalists of the state but is also prominently
identified with its development along moral and educational lines. He was horn in Coshoc-
ton, Ohio, December 19, 1853, a son of James and Sarah (Piatt) Lynch, natives respectively of
Ireland and New Jersey. The paternal grandfather, Hugh Lynch, was a well-to-do merchant
in Ireland and following his emigration to this country retired from active life. He
lived to the advanced age of ninety-three years. James Lynch settled near Coshocton, Ohio,
upon emigrating to this country and there engaged in farming although he had followed the
stonemason's trade while living in Ireland. In 1854 he removed to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin,
and ten years later went to Plainview, Minnesota, where he passed the remainder of his life.
He gained a gratifying measure of success and was highly esteemed in his community.
In politics he suppported the republican party and his fellow citizens called him to a
number of minor offices. Fraternally lie was a Mason and both he and his wife belonged to
the Methodist Episcopal church. To thoir union were born seven children, three of whom
besides our subject survive, as follows. Thomas J., who is living retired in San Diego, Cali-
fornia, served for four and a half years in the Civil war as a member of the First
Wisconsin Cavalry. Among other engagements he participated in the battle of Chickamauga
and while at the front sustained a wound in the leg. Samuel P. is now living retired in
New York state: J. A., who is a resident of North Yakima, Washington, was for eighteen
years United States government agent for the Yakima Indians. He has the title of major.
Frank Lynch received his education in the public schools of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin,
and Plainview, Minnesota, and on beginning his independent career engaged in farming in
Minnesota. Subsequently he turned his attention to the farm implement business, conducting
a store at Plainview for five years, but in 1882 he removed to Casselton, North Dakota,
and established an implement business there. He still conducts the business, which
has grown to large proportions and is one of the most important enterprises of Cass
county. He also negotiates many farm loans and mortgages and aside from the interests in
North Dakota already mentioned he owns ten sections of land in the state. He owns a
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 323
two-thirds interest in and is president of the Benson Lumber Company of San Diego,
California, the Benson Timber Company of Oregon and the Clatskanie-Nehalem Railway
Company, which together are capitalized at three million dollars. The Benson Timber
Company of Oregon owns seventeen thousand acres of timber land and does a large
lumbering and logging business, being an important factor in the industrial development
of the Pacific coast. It has had a prosperous year although conditions in general have been
hud and its mills have been busy when others were closed down. The Benson Lumber
Company of San Diego, California, contracts with the Jlerchants & Shipowners Tug Boat
Company of San Francisco for the use of the tug Hercules during the summer seasons
and tows five enormous ocean log rafts from Wallace slough, Oregon, to San Diego, where
the rafts are sawed into lumber. Each raft is about nine hundred feet long, fifty-eight
feet wide and draws about twenty-six feet of water, or as much as the largest trans-
Atlantic liners. It requires about one hundred and thirty-five tons of steel chain to bind
each raft together as it contains approximately five million feet of logs, or enough lumber
to build two hundred eight-room houses. Some rafts carry a deck load of three hundred
thousand cedar poles, or enough to build a power line many miles, and it takes ten men
two months to build one raft. The logs in these rafts are sufficient to keep the company's
sawmill in San Diego running for a year. The large shipment of logs attracts wide
attention in the lumber world, being reported in detail in the American Lumberman. The
activities of the Benson Lumber Company of San Diego, California, and of the Benson
Lumber Compan}' of Oregon were also mentioned at length in the Scientific American.
Mr. Lynch was president of the Amenia-Sharon Land Company for two years and during
that time built a railroad from Addison to Chafl'ee, a distance of twelve miles, to enable the
company to market its wheat. At that time the concern owned more cultivated land than
any other company in the state. Mr. Lynch has the power to recognize opportunities that
others fail to see and also the ability to plan large things, these faculties combined with his
excellent administrative ability, have enabled him to plan and carry to successful comple-
tion enterprises affecting the development of large sections of the countrj-.
Sir. Lynch has always taken a great interest in the general welfare and has given
freely of his time to the public service. He is president of the board of trustees of
Wesley College at Grand Forks, which is affiliated with the State University. He is also a
member of the executive committee of the North Dakota Law Enforcement League, of which
he was president for a number of years, and he has done a great deal of work in behalf of
prohibition. He has spent considerable money in the enforcement of the law and has been
largely instrumental in keeping the state dry. It is needless to state that he is known
throughout the state and that he has the entire confidence of the people, a fact which
was demonstrated when he was urged to accept the nomination on the republican ticket for
governor at the last election. However, he refused the honor on account of his vast business
interests.
In 1878 Mr. Lynch was united in marriage to Miss Georgia A. Allen, of Plainview,
Minnesota. For two terms he served as mayor of Casselton, bringing to bear his astuteness
and business ability in directing the afi'airs of the municipality. Fraternally he is a
Scottish Rite Mason and a member of the Mystic Shrine and both he and his wife hold
membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, in whose work they take a deep interest. He
owns a beautiful home in San Diego, California, and spends considerable time there.
BENJAMIN PORTER.
Benjamin Porter, of Ellendale, agent for the Baldwin estate and practicing at the bar
of Dickey coimty, was bom in Livingston county. New York, October 15, 1851, a son of
Samuel and Belinda (Stewart) Porter, both of whom were natives of the Empire state,
where the mother died, after which the father came to North Dakota in 1883 and made
his home with his son Benjamin to the time of his demise.
Benjamin Porter supplemented his public school education by study in the Genesee
Wcsleyan Seminary at Lima, New York, in the Dansville Academy at Dansville, New York,
324 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
and in the Haverling Union School at Bath, New York, thus being liberally trained for life's
practical and responsible duties. After completing his education he devoted his attention
to farming until he reached his twenty-iifth year, wlien he turned from agriculture to a pro-
fessional career, entering upon the study of law in the oflice of Daniel HoUiday at Canaseraga,
New York, who directed his reading for three years, after which he was admitted to the New
York bar. In 1S79 he came to the west and, settling in Grand Rapids, Jlichigan, was for
two and one-half years identified with the law film of Stewart & Sweet, the junior partner
being now assistant secretary of commerce. In 1SS2 Mr. Porter arrived in North Dakota
and settled on unsurveyed government land on the section which constitutes the present
site of Fullerton. He subsequently entered as a homestead the southwest quarter of that
section and thus came into possession of some of the rich farming land of the district. From
the beginning of his residence in Dickey county he has been prominently connected with
its public affairs and for four years filled the office of clerk of the courts, while for two years
he was states attorney. He now makes his home in Ellendale for the purpose of educating
his children. Aside from the time he devotes to law practice he has been for the past four-
teen years agent for the Baldwin estate in North Dakota. In his law practice he specializes
to a large extent in probate work and has administered many estates, his well known fair-
ness and probity well qualifying him for the business. He has made judicious investment
in farm lands in Dickey county, where he owns between five and six hundred acres of land.
In 1890 Mr. Porter was married to Miss Mary Herbert, of Lowell, Michigan, who at
that time was a teacher in the schools of Dickey county. They have become parents of six
children: Edward F., who received the Rhodes scholarship in December, 1912, and is now
attending Oxford University; Amyas Leigh, a student in the State University at Grand
F'orks; Herbert Preston, who is a teacher in the Grafton State Institute for Feeble Minded;
Hector, a graduate of the State Normal and Industrial School at Ellendale; Jacob Benjamin,
attending the State Normal and Industrial School; and John Ruskin, a pupil in the Ellen-
dale high school.
Politically Mr. Porter is a democrat but has had no ambition to hold oftlce outside the
strict path of his profession. His religious faith is evidenced in his membership in the
Presbyterian church, while his wife is a member of the Episcopal church. From pioneer times
he has been a resident of Dickey county, his connection with its interests covering more
than a third of a century, and throughout the entire period, while carefully managing his
individual interests, he has at the same time cooperated in all the movements planned for
the upbuilding and betterment of the district and thus contributed to the progress of the
state.
EMIL A. MOVIUS.
That North Dakota offers excellent opportunities to the young man of ambition and
energy but without capital has been proven by the record of Emil A. Movius, who was one
of the leading capitalists of Lidgerwood and Ricliland county. He was president of the
First National Bank of Lidgerwood and of the Movius Land & Loan Company, which is
capitalized for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. A native of Germany, he was born
on the 5th of May, 1858, and was a son of John W. and Henriette (Bratz) Movius, also
natives of that country, tlie former born in Burow. On emigrating to the United States
tlie fatlier settled at Glenwood, Minnesota, where he purchased land and also took up a
Iiomcslead. Ho was a physician and practiced his profession successfully in Minnesota for
a number of years. He passed away at New Ulm, that state. A more extended genealogy
of the Movius family appears in tlie sketch of .Tohn H. Movius on another page of this
volume.
Emil A. Movius accompanied his jiarents to this country, in ISGT and completed his
education, which had been begun in Germany, in the schools of Ortonville. Minnesota, and
Big Stone City, South Dakota. During his bnyliood he gainpil valuable knowledge of
farming through assisting with the work of tlic liome jilace and after completing his
education he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, ."subsequently he engaged in the
o
o
<
a
GO
g
o
w
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 327
implement business at Big Stone City for three years but in 1887 came to North Dakota and
took up his residence in Lidgerwood, wliere he continued to reside throughout the remainder
of his life. For a considerable period he was engaged in the implement, furniture, livery
and real estate business in connection with his brother, John H. Movius but later established
a general mercantile business, to the conduct of which he devoted his time until he was
burned out. He then concentrated his energies upon his real estate and banking interests,
in which business he operated on a large scale. A number of years previously, or in 1888,
he organized the Movius State Bank and in 1901 he established the First National Bank,
which has larger deposits than any other bank in Richland county. In 1913 the institution
erected a beautiful building, which it occupies, and its business is steadily growing. It is
capitalized for fifty thousand dollars, has a surplus and undivided profits of over twenty-five
thousand dollars and its deposits total over five hundred and sixty-five thousand dollars.
In addition to its regular banking business the First National writes fire, hail and tornado
insurance and does considerable business in those lines. Mr. Movius was also president of
the German State Bank of Mott, North Dakota, and the Farmers State Bank of Great Bend,
North Dakota.
Although he gave careful attention to the management of the banks of which he was
president, he devoted much of his time to the direction of the affairs of the Movius Land &
Loan Company, of which he was the president and which is capitalized for two hundred
and fifty thousand dollars. The concern buys and sells land and makes loans on land and
is one of the largest companies of the kind in North Dakota. It has a surplus of fifty
thousand dollars and pays excellent dividends to its stockholders, all of whom are members
of the Movius familj'.
Mr. Movius was married in 1881 to Miss Addie Waring, who was born in ^'irginia but
reared in Missovui, and they became the parents of two children: John W., who is connected
with the First National Bank of Lidgerwood; and George W., who is a giaduate of Shattuck
School at Faribault, Minnesota, and is now attending the State University of Minnesota at
Minneapolis.
The republican party had in Mr. Movius a stanch adherent and he did much to secure
its victory at the polls in his county. Recognition of his ability to think in terms of the
general welfare and of his sound judgment led to his election to the state legislature. He not
only served acceptably in the house of representatives but was also for four terms a
member of the state senate, and whether in the lower or upper house he proved an able and
discriminating lawmaker, supporting those measures calculated to promote the welfare of
the state and opposing those which were ill advised. He was a loyal and consistent Mason
and was identified with the blue lodge, the Royal Arch chapter, the Scottish Rite and the
Mystic Shrine. His religious faith was indicated by the fact that he was a communicant of
the Protestant Episcopal church, in which he took an active part. Although he was perhaps
most intimately connected with the business and financial life of his community, he was at
all times willing to support movements seeking its civic and moral advancement, and he
was recognized as a broad-minded man of many interests and of unusual public spirit.
His death, which occurred July 6, 1916, removed from Lidgerwood one of its foremost and
honored citizens, who commanded the love and respect of all who knew him.
.JOHN H. MOVIUS.
John H. Movius, of Lidgerwood, president and manager of the Movius Land & Loan
Company, devotes the greater part of his time to looking after the land business of the
concern, which is one of the largest of its kind in the state, and he also has a number of
other important interests in Richland county. A native of Germany, he was born on the
24th of .Tune, 1860, a son of John W. and Henriette (Bratz) Movius, who were born in
that country on the 23d of July, 1821, and the 30th of November, 1822, respectively. The
genealogy of the family is traced back to Rambau von der Movius, who is said to have
owned a castle at Wartislaf, near Stettin, in Pommerania, in 1463. The grandfather of
our subject, Johann Friedrich Movius, was born January 28, 1789, and became head forester
Vol. II— IS
328 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
for a nobleman at Golnow, Germany. He married Charlotte Zahl and lived to an advanced
age, passing away on the 31st of February, 1873. The maternal grandparents were August
and Wilhelmina (Erdmann) Bratz, born respectively on the 24th of July, 1798, and on the
27th of April, 1796. The grandfather died on the 10th of October, 1863, and the grand-
motlier passed away at Odessa, ilinncsota, on tlic 30th of April, 1870.
John W. Movius was educated for the medical profession in Germany and after remov-
ing to this country practiced in Glenwood, Sleepy Eye and New Ulm, Minnesota, gaining
an enviable reputation as a physician. At that time he was quite well off but lost heavily
by an investment in a mill and also from the grasshopper plague. He was well informed
on all questions of general interest and was a public speaker of more than usual ability,
making his points clearly and forcefully. He was appointed one of the first supervisors of
Bigstone county, Minnesota, and was recognized as a leader in local republican circles.
He was a man of strong character and one of his salient traits was his loyalty and devo-
tion to his friends. The motive force of his life was his Christian faith and for years he
was a devout member of the Lutheran church, later becoming identified with the Evangelical
Association. He was married on the 23d of October, 1840, and passed away on the 21st of
October, 1877, at New Ulm, Minnesota. His widow survived for almost thirty years, dying
in Lidgerwood, North Dakota, on the 22d of August, 1907. To their union were born eleven
children, five of whom are still living. A sketch of William R. appears elsewhere in this
work. Ernest F. is a retired minister of the Evangelical Association, residing in Lidger-
wood. He was educated in Germany and was accounted one of the ablest ministers of his
denomination in the Dakotas. He had charge of churches in both North and South Dakota
and also served as presiding elder in both states. A sketch of E. A., dcce:useii, ii|ipcars
elsewhere in this work. Anna married Emil Sellin, who is engaged in the machine and
automobile business in Odessa, Minnesota, and who has large farm holdings. John H. is
the next in order of birth. Mary <). is now president of the First National Ba.iik of
Lidgerwood.
John H. Movius received his education in the public schools of New Ulm, Minnesota,
and in a private school conducted by Professor Campbell. After finishing his education he
engaged in the machine business in Bigstone City, South Dakota, with his brother,
E. A. Movius, remaining in that connection from 1883 until 1887. In the latter year they
arrived in Lidgerw-ood and establislicd a machine business there. Subsequently they began
dealing in furniture, became the owners of livery and sales stables and also established ft
general store. They also turned their attention to banking and subsequently organized the
Movius Land & Loan Company. They started in business in debt but the firm is now among
the most important factors in the business life of that part of the state. In 1902 they suf-
fered a fire loss of thirty thousand dollars on their store and after allowing for this loss
their year's profit totaled forty-two thousand dollars. The land company is capitalized
for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and does an enormous business, buying and
selling land outright and loaning money on land as security. Our subject concentrates his
energies largely upon this phase of his business interests and is recognized as an authority
on lands and farm loans. He is also vice president of the First National Bank of Lidgerwood
and of tlie Farmers State Bank at Great Bend and president of the First National Bank of
Veblen, South Dakota.
On New I'ear's day, 1895, Mj'. ilovius was united in marriage to Miss Margaret \V.
Wagner, a daughter of Giarles Wagner, and to this union have been born live children.
Eva graduated from the high school and later took a preparatory course at Pchighkecpsie,
New York. Slie is now studying in a school of e,\pres8i<m and music at Los Angeles, Cali-
fornia. Carl E. has completed the regular course in the Galahad School for Boys at Hudson,
Wisconsin, and is now a student at Princeton College in Princeton, New Jersey. II. Gretchen
was the youngest student graduated from the Lidgerwood high scliool, completing the
course there when not yet fourteen years of age. She subsequently took furthei preparatory
work at Poughkeepsie, New York, and then entered Vassar College. Although she was
line of the youngest students to enter that famous school she has made an excellent record,
especially in mathematics. Virginia and Gilbert Hurst are both attending high school at
Lidgerwood.
Mr. Movius is a republican in politics and has Iicimi president of the local school board
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 329
and trustee of the State Science School at Wahpeton. He holds membership in the Kvan-
gelieal Association, and his wife is a communicant of the Episcopal church. Fraternally
he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed through
the chairs; with the Eebekahs, in which he has served as noble grand; and with the Masonic
blue lodge, of which he lias been master; the Eoyal Arch Chapter; the consistory; and the
Shrine. Although he has given the strictest attention to his business affairs and has
become one of the wealthy men of his county, he has never forgotten that there are other
interests in life than the material ones and has given freely of his time and energy to the
promotion of the educational, civic and moral advancement of his community.
A. P. LIES.
The business interests of Cathay have a worthy representative in A. P. Lies, a well
known merchant of that place. He was born near Fergus Falls, Minnesota, November 24,
1877, but his parents, Peter and Margaret Lies, were both natives of Germany. On their
emigration to the new world they located in Minnesota, whence they came to North Dakota
in 1892, settling about ten miles north of Cathay, where they continued to reside until life's
labors were ended. The father was a farmer by occupation and in Minnesota he acquired a
tract of government land, which he improved and cultivated until coming to this state.
A. P. Lies spent the first fifteen years of his life in his native state, attending school
and assisting in the work of the home farm. He accompanied his parents on their removal
to North Dakota and remained with them until he attained his majority. He then went to
McLean county, where he filed a claim and proved up on the same, remaining there about one
year. After selling his place he returned to Wells county and secured a position in the gen-
eral store of W. P. Wyard, at Cathay, by whom he was employed for about seven years.
During that time he obtained an excellent knowledge of merchandising and in 1905 purchased
a half interest in the business, which was then conducted imder the firm style of Wyard &
Company. In 1908 he bought out his partner, who had established the store in 1893, and
Mr. Lies has since been alone in business. He carries a large and well selected stock of gen-
eral merchandise and enjoys a liberal patronage which has come to him through fair and
honorable dealing. In 1914 he stariod a garage and auto sales business, handling the Maxwell
cars, of which he has sold a large niimber, and maintaining a service station for the Max-
wells. He is also interested in farming, operating land in McLean county.
In 1907 Mr. Lies married Miss Margaret Hammill, who was born in the province of
Ontario, Canada, and they have become the parents of five children: Margaret, Norman,
Howard, Delores and Jerome. They are communicants of the Catholic church of Sykeston
and Mr. Lies is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees at Cathay. He is a democrat in
jiolitics and has filled the office of justice of the peace in a most capable and satisfactorj'
manner. He possesses excellent business and executive ability and the success that he has
attained is certainly well merited, being the result of his own unaided efforts.
THOMAS K. MORK.
For nine years Thomas K. ilork has been prominently identified with the business
interests of Napoleon and is today president of the Merchants Bank of that city. He was
bom in Norway on the loth of September. 1858, a son of Kolben T. and Ingeborg Mork,
who came to the United States in 1882 and located in Yellow Medicine county, Minnesota.
Three years later they removed to Day county. South Dakota, where the father home
steaded one hundred and sixty acres of land, on which he resided until called to his
final rest in 1908. The mother is still living and now makes her home with a daughter
in Alberta, Canada.
Thomas K. Mork passed the days of his boyhood and youth in his native country,
where he attended the public schools. Later he entered the University of Christiania,
330 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Korway, from which he was gradiiati-il with the cUtss of 1879, the degree of pharmacy
being conferred upon him. In the fall after liis graduation, Mr. Mork crossed the Atlantic
and for two years made his home in Montevideo, Jlinnesota. At the end of that time he
removed to Cyrus, the same state, where he conducted a drug store for three years, and
then opened the first drug store in Wheaton, Minnesota, whieli was also one of the first
business enterprises of that then new village. He became prominently identified with the
development of the place and continued in business there for twenty-four years.
In 1907 ilr. Mork removed from Whcatou, Minnesota, to Napoleon, North Dakota,
where he established himself in the drug and general merchandise business, and in March,
1908, became one of the organizers of the Merchants Rank of Napoleon. Three years later,
having acquired the majority of the stock, he was made president of the bank, which
he has since served in that capacity. It is one of the substantial moneyed institutions of
that part of the state and is a credit to the men in control of its afiairs. In 1913 Mr. Mork
sold his mercantile interests and now gives his entire attention to the banking business.
Besides his town property he owns sixteen hundred and twenty acres of farm land in
Logan county and twelve hundred and eighty acres in Montana. He is a man of excellent
busiiu'ss and executive ability, who usually carries forward to successful completion what-
ever he undertakes.
Ml-. Mork was married in t yrus, Minnesota, in 1884, to Miss Margaret Sulvc, a native
of Wisconsin, and to them have been born three children, those still living being: Alma, the
wife of (;. V. Holset. cashier of the Merchants Bank of Napoleon; and Margaret, at home.
Mr. ilork is a democrat in politics and has served as county coroner for several years
both in Jlinnesota and North Pakota. He has also filled tlie office of city clerk and is never
remiss in duties of citizenship. He is a Knights Templar Mason and belongs to Travers
Lodge. No. 189, A. F. & A. M., of Wheaton. Jlinnesota, of which he was the organizer,
being the first Mason to locate in that place. He had jjreviously belonged to Sunset Lodge,
No. "109, of Montevideo. He is a member of Kodiah Chapter, K. A. M., of Browns Valley,
Minnesota: of Bismarck Lodge, No. 1199, li. V. 0. E.; of tlie Modern Woodmen of America;
and of the American Yeomen. Both he and his wife holil membership in the Lutheran
church and are |)eople of prominence in the community wliere they reside. Mr. ilork is a
very progressive and public-spirited citizen, taking a commendable interest in public atTairs
and ncvei- withholding his support from any enterprise which he believes will advance the
general welfare.
I;K\. .KlllX I'.AKKi:.
Rev. .Tolin linker, vicar general of the diocese with head<|iiaiters at \aUey City, was
born on the lOtli of February, 1S7S. in the grand duchy of Luxemburg, (iermany, a son
of Michael and Margaret (Thein) Baker, representatives of an old Luxemburg family
The father is a merchant and is still engaged in business in Luxemburg.
Rev. .Tohn Baker was the elder of two sons and in the attainment of his education
attended the College of Luxemburg and afterward entered the seminary attached to the
cathedral at that "place. Having pr.pared for the priesthood, he was ordained at the
cathedral on the 10th of August, 1902. and being assigned to duty in the I'nited States,
arrive.l in North Dakota in September. 190.'?. He was .sent to .Tamestown as assistant
priest and there remained until October, 1904, when he was made jiastor of the church
at Oakes and also had charge of nearby missions, his parish covering Dickey and a part
of Lamoure county. He was the lirst pastor of the parish and he had to build up the work
from the foundation. At the time of his arrival there were only eighteen Catholic families
in the i)arish. During the eleven years of his connection with the work there he was
instrumental in securing the erection of a fine church and rectory and in 1907 he had a
brick schoolhouse erecte'el. He had to buy the land upon which the church building was
erected. The membership has increased to ninety families, the efforts of Father Baker being
largely responsible for bringing in the greater number of these, most of whom are Ameri-
cans. In 19i:! he was provided with an assistant in order to take care of the needs of his
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 331
large parish, for there were churches established at La iloure, Dickey and Berlin, all
having substantial houses of worship. Father Baker was very popular in his first
parish and liis transfer to Valley City was the cause of much sadness and regret among
his early parishioners. Before his departure he was given a fine automobile, which was
purchased by popular subscription, people of all classes giving for this purpose.
On the 20th of November, 1915, Father Baker was assigned to duty at Valley City,
where at the j)resent time he is erecting a school building sixty-five feet by fitty-eight
feet, two stories in height, with a twelve foot basement. It is a brick structure with stone
trimmings, having four class rooms, and arrangements are being perfected whereby children
coming from a distance can be boarded. The school is strictly modern in its equipment and
was erected at a cost of twenty-five thousand dollars. The Franciscan Sisters of Kochester,
Minnesota, are in charge of the school. In August, 1910, Bishop O'Reilly appointed Father
Baker vicar general of the diocese, which embraces more than one-half of the state,
and in July, 1911, Bishop O'Eeilly made him inspector of the Catholic schools of the
diocese, necessitating his visiting the various schools and seeing that they are properly
supplied with teachers. He is thus very active in building up the work of the Catholic
church in its various branches and his influence in behalf of the church has been widely and
beneficially felt.
GUY GROVE.
Guy Grove, hotel proprietor of Crosby, was born in Cerro Gordo county, Iowa, about
eight miles east of Mason City, Marcli 31, 1871, a son of M. Z. and Sarah J. (Young)
Grove. The father was born in Union county, Pennsylvania, and in early childhood he was
taken to Winnebago county, Illinois, where he attended the district schools. He afterward
gave his attention to farming there until he reached early manhood, when he went to
Cerro Gordo county, Iowa, where he again carried on agricultural pursuits for a time.
Later he became proprietor of a general store at Algona, Iowa, where he remained until
1899, when he removed to Morris. Stevens county. Minnesota, where he engaged in the
real estate business, looking after the interests of his brother. John Grove, who is one of the
best known and most prominent dealers in farm lands in that state. M. Z. Grove, however,
is now engaged in the furniture business at Moms. His wife was born near Janesville,
Wisconsin, and was educated in the district and high schools. In young womanhood she
went to Iowa and taught school near Mitchell, that state. She was accompanied to Iowa
by her mother, who was then a widow, her father having died of fever at Vera Cruz,
Mexico, when a soldier in the Mexican war, a short time before the birth of Mrs. Grove.
It was in Charles City, Iowa, that M. Z. Grove and Sarah J. Young were married and they
are now highly respected residents of Morris, Jlinnesota, aged seventy-two and sixty-nine
years respectively.
Guy Grove attended school in Rockford, Iowa, while living on the home farm with his
parents and afterward was gi'aduated from the high school at Algona, Iowa. He started in
the business world as a clerk in a shoe and harness store in Algona, where he remained
for four years, and afterward engaged in the grocery business with his father for six years.
He then removed to Breckenridge, Minnesota, where he handled real estate operations for
his uncle, who was making his headquarters at Morris, Minnesota, and while in that connec-
tion Mr. Grove was largely instrumental in inducing many farmers to settle in the Red
River valley of Minnesota through his sale of farm lands. In 1901 he removed to St.
Paul, where he continued in the same business for his uncle, being thus engaged until
1906, when he entered the service of the Great Northern Railroad Company as town site
agent, representing the corporation in several states. In the fall of 1906 he visited the old
town site of Crosby, which was located a mile and a half from the present site. It was
the purpose of the Great Northern to join the Soo Line at a point a mile and a half east
of the nearest town, which was Crosby, and the railroad company laid out a town site at the
junction of these roads, sending Mr. Grove to buy the land for the new town and also for
other town sites that were to be laid out along the proposed line of the Great Northern.
332 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Visiting the old town of Crosby, ilr. Grove induced the people to move to the new town
site at the junction of the two railroads and therefore he was the founder and promoter of
the present progressive little city. He continued in the service of the railroad company in
connection with the establishment of town sites in North Dakota, Montana and Wash-
ington, selling lots and taking an active part in the establishment and development of
forty-eight towns in all. His work was a most important element in promoting the
growth and progress of the section of the country through which the railroad passed and
he remained with the company until 1910, when he resigned, purchasing from the
Great Northern all the lots which they had yet remaining in the town of Crosby.
He also bought eighty acres adjoining the town and took up his abode there. Plaiting a
part of his eighty acre tract, he sold the lots for residence purposes and also disposed of a
part of the tract as acreage property. In 1911 he built the Pilgrim Hotel on Main street,
a modern brick structure, and he also erected the Grove Auditorium adjoining the hotel.
He thus displayed his confidence in the future growth of the city and through his
enterprising and progressive methods he secured the cooperation of the citizens of the
town in promoting many of its projects resulting in further development and ui)building.
He has erected two business blocks in Crosby, has also built ten houses in the town and has
probably done more for its improvement than any other of its citizens. His work has
indeed made him a typical representative of the spirt of western progress.
At Albion, Iowa, on the 10th of September, 1891, Mr. Grove was married to Miss
Mahala Wheeler, who was born a mile and a half from Albion, a daughter of William
Carpenteur and Clementine (Long) Wheeler. Her father was born near Wheeling, Vir-
ginia, now West Virginia, and acquired his education in the schools of Kentucky. He
■was left an orphan at the age of eighteen years together with eight brothers and sisters.
Later he removed to Indiana, where he married and subsequently settled in Marshall county,
Iowa, near Albion, where he entered government land and engaged in farming, becoming
the most prominent man and wealthy citizen of that part of the state. He afterward
removed to Cedar Falls, Iowa, where he passed away in 1908. His wife was born in
Wayneville, Indiana, where she was reared and married, and she passed away in Cedar
Falls soon after the death of her husband. Mr. Wheeler was a Mason and never missed
a single meeting of his lodge for thirty-five years.
Mrs. Grove attended the public and high schools of Albion and was graduated from
Albion Seminary in the class of 1891. after which she pursued post graduate work in the
Cedar Falls Normal School at Cedar Falls, Iowa. She afterward became a teacher in the
department of music in the Algona Normal School, where she remained from 1893 until
1895, and for twenty years she taught piano and gave rudimentary voice instruction. In
more recent years she has been very active in club and suffrage work and has accomplished
splendid results in both connections. At St. Paul, Minnesota, she became actively interested
in the work of the Associated Charities in connection with Mrs. W. J. Wilder and she also
took a leading part in club life there in connection with the City Federation of Women's
Clubs. After the removal to North Dakota she continued her club activities and in 191."i
organized a greater number of clubs in this state in connection with the General Federation
of Women's Clubs than any other and in recognition of what she accomplished was pre-
sented with a silver loving cup. She secured the cooperation of the different clubs of
Crosby in organizing and establishing the Crosby public library and she is a key member
of the endowment fund of the North Dakota Wesleyan College. She has been equally
active in support of the suffrage cause and was district president of the "Votes for Women
League," in which connection she made public addresses throughout the counties of Burke.
Kenville and Divide and was instrumental in carrying those counties for the cause which
she advocated. At the State Federation of Women's Clubs held in Jamestown, North
Dakota, she met in debate the state president of the Women's Federation, who was an
anti-suffrage advocate, and Mrs. Grove won the debate.
Mr. and Mrs. Grove have a daughter, Inez, who is an aecomplislicd musician, being »
graduate in music of the University of Minnesota. They attend the Presbyterian church
and he holds membership in Algona Lodge, No. 273, A. 0. U. W., at Algona, Iowa.
Mrs. Grove is a past matron of Constellation Chapter, O. E. S., of St. Paul, and organized
an Eastern Star chapter at Crosby, which she instituted as grand marshal. Mr. Grove has
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 333
never sought nor desired public oflBce but no man is less remiss in the duties of citizen-
ship but he prefers that his public service shall be done as a private citizen. His labors
have indeed been beneficial in upbuilding the community in which he lives and he is adding
to the popularity of the town by the conduct of a first class hotel. Having been upon the
road for many years, lie understands what the traveling man wants and expects in hotel
life and he puts forth every efl'ort to meet this demand, so that his hostelrj' is now most
popular. Aside from business, however, Mr. and Mrs. Grove take a most prominent part in
promoting public progress along all those lines which work for individual betterment and
community improvement, giving their aid and influence to all those plans and measures
which are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride and which promote higher ideals of
citizenship.
PAUL ADAMS.
On the list of leading financiers in the southeastern part of North Dakota appears the
name of Paul Adams, a young and enterprising banker who is proving his worth and
resourcefulness in the capable manner in which he aids in directing the interests of the
First National Bank of La Moure, of which he is the cashier. He was born in Gowanda,
New York, August 28, 1876, a son of Isaac M. and Emaline (Twitchell) Adams, both of
whom were natives of Massachusetts. The ancestral line in New England can be traced
back to about the year 1640 and representatives of both the Adams and Twitchell families
served in the Revolutionary war. The paternal great-great-grandfather of Paul Adams
had seven sons who defended the interests of the colonists in the struggle for independence,
and of that number two were killed at Lexington and one at Bunker Hill, theirs being
among the first blood shed in the revolution which by seven years of warfare established the
American republic. Isaac M. Adams was for years a commercial salesman and in 1882 came
■west to North Dakota, settling at Grand Rapids in Lamoure county. He continued his
work upon the road, representing the Winona Wagon Company of Winona, Minnesota.
Upon his arrival in this state he filed on a homestead on which he resided while here. Not
only did he maintain his home in Lamoure county but also had a residence in Fargo as well
for several years, the mother there spending the winter months with her children in order
that they might have the benefit of the educational oppportunities afforded in that city.
In 1896 Mr. Adams removed with his family to Minneapolis, where he has made his home for
the past twenty years. He was one of the inlluential residents of Lamoure county and was
a very prominent factor in securing prohibition for North Dakota. During the past decade
he has lived retired, enjoying a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves.
Paul Adams mastered the course in the Fargo high school and afterward attended the
University of Minnesota, from which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1900,
winning the Bachelor of Science degree. The following year he organized the First State
Bank of Gold Spring, Minnesota, of which he was made cashier, also becoming a member
of the board of directors. He was identified with that institution for four years and in the
spring of 1906 came to La Moure as cashier of the First National Bank, in which capacity
he has now been active for the past ten years. He is familiar with every phase of the
banking business and the success of this institution is attrilnitable in no small measure to
his spirit of enterprise and progressiveness, which, however, is tempered by a safe con-
servatism. He is also secretary and treasurer of the Lloyd Mortgage Company of
La Moure. In addition to his banking interests he is the owner of several tracts of farm
land in Lamoure county, having seven hundred acres adjoining the town site of Grand
Rapids.
In 1904 Mr. Adams was united in nianiage to iliss Olive ^Marshall, of Jlinneapolis,
Minnesota, by whom he has four children, namely: Milton, Cliarles M., Jane P., and Paul, Jr.
Politically an earnest republican, Mr. Adams has served as a member of the city board of
aldermen and in fact is acting in that capacity at the present time. He has been citv
treasurer of La Moure and his work has been a helpful element in promoting the progress
and upbuilding of this locality. Fraternally he is connected with Mackay Lodge, No. 18,
334 HISTORY OF .XORTII DAKOTA
V. & A. .M., and with tht Sons of the Ameikan Kevohition. lie and his wife are members
of the I'resbyteriaii cliurcli ami tliey endorse and follow those pvineiples which make for
genuine worth in the individual and for j)rogressive citizenship. Jlr. Adams has made wise
use of iiis time, talents and opportunities and his record is creditable, being in harmony
with that of an honored ancestry — an ancestry on whose record appear various names on the
honor roll.
KEV. TH. K. GALSTAD.
Rev. Th. K. Gaustad, pastor of the Norwegian Lutheran cluircli at Knderlin, was born
in Norway on the 1st of March, 1857, a son of Knute and Randi (Kasscld) Gaustad, both of
whom are yet residents of Norway, the former being now' eighty-nine years of age, while
the latter has reached the age of eighty-five.
After attending the public schools of his native land Rev. Gaustad continued his educa-
tion in a military preparatory school and still later completed his education in the United
States. He had crossed the Atlantic in 1881, making his way to St. Paul, after which he
entered the Augsburg Seminary at Jlinneapolis, pursuing a four years' literary course. He
spent three more years in mastering a theological course and on the 10th of .June, 1889, was
ordained to the Lutheran ministry. His first pastorate was at \ining, Minnesota, where he
presided over the Lutlu'ran church for six years. He was then called to Sims, North Dakota,
where he did missionary work, his labors extending into Montana and over a very broad
territory. He presided over a church in Mandan, one in Sims, another at Taylor and a fourth
at Bellield, being the regular minister of all four churches in addition to continuing his mis-
sion work. He was instrumental in erecting a house of worship at Sims and another at
Taylor and he laid the corner stone of the church at Belfield. He also organized the churches
at Parkins and at Driscoll and in his mission work he had charge of a territory now pre-
sided over by seven ministers. In 1906 he was appointed to his present charge at Knderlin
and since his arrival there he has built one country church. St. PauFs, thirteen miles south-
east of Knderlin, presiding over three country churches as well as the Knderlin congrega-
tion. He preaches twice every Svinday and sometimes three times and he is untiring in his
efforts to promote the cause of Ghristianity, his labors being most ellective in advancing
the interests of liis denomination.
On the 24th of March, 1891, Rev. Gaustad was united in marriage to Miss Julia Nel-
son, of Fergus Falls, her father being Hans Nelson, who for fourteen years served as county
treasurer of Ottertail county, Minnesota. To them have been born four children, three of
whom survive, namely: Huldah C. and Ragna M., twins; and Victor J. The two daughters
were graduated from the Knderlin high school with the highest honors, both winning scholar-
ships, and subsequently they entered St. Olaf College at Northfield, Minnesota, from which
they were graduated in the class of 1915, receiving the Bachelor of Arts degree. They are
now both successfully teaching in the public Schools. Mrs. Gaustad is a lady of liberal
education and broad culture and was prominently identified with school work for many
years, continuing to teach for about thirteen years after her marriage.
In his political views Rev. Gaustad is a republican but has always refused preferment
along political lines. It has been his earnest desire and purpose to concentrate his efforts
upon the work of the church and its upbuilding has been greatly promoted through his zeal,
determination and ])ersuasive logic.
GRLIN MONTK JONKS.
The development of some of the western cities has been so rapid as to seem almost
magical, but on the whole these towns have been builded along substantial lines with a
recognition of the needs in city building as gleaned from experience elsewhere. Orlin Monte
.Jones is numbered among those who, engaged in merchandising, are contributing to the sub-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 335
stantial progress of Crosby, where he owns and conducts a hardware store. He was born
upon a farm near Wells, Minnesota, April 28, 1879. His father, James Murdant Jones, a
native of Utica, New York, was a lad of four years when he accompanied his parents on
their removal to Rochester, Minnesota, where he acquired his education, while later he en-
gaged in farming in that locality. At length he retired, taking up his abode in Rochester,
and in 1915 he removed to Crosby, North Dakota, where he now is enjoying a well earned
rest. He wedded Mary A. ilcCumber, who was born at Crete, Illinois, and went to Roches-
ter, Minnesota, with her parents, who were farming people of that locality. She acquired
a high school education there and afterward engaged in teaching school at Rochester up to
the time of her marriage. She then went to her husband's farm, where she passed away
in August, 1911. She was a sister of United States Senator MeCumber of North Dakota.
The youthful days of Orlin M. Jones were spent on the old homestead farm near Roch-
ester and following the completion of his public school education he spent three years in
the Red River University, now the North Dakota State Science School at Wahpeton. In
1902 he entered the government service as assistant clerk to the pension committee of the
United States senate at Washington, D. C, and there remained until March 3, 1913. While
in the capital he assisted Colonel Lounsberry, of whom he is a personal friend, in preparing
the history of North Dakota. Upon coming to Crosby in 1913 he became active in the man-
agement of the hardware business which he and his brother, George W., had established in
1906, and he is now concentrating his energies upon the further development and conduct
of their interests, being a wide-awake and progressive merchant who has ever recognized that
satisfied customers are the best advertisement and puts forth every effort to please his
patrons.
On the 7th of April, 1908, in Washington, D. C, Mr. Jones was married to Miss May L.
Gunning, who was born in the national capital and there pursued her education until grad-
uated from the high school. She is a daughter of .John W. and Abby Louise (Swan) Gun-
ning. Her father, a native of Massachusetts, moved to Washington, District of Columbia,
with his father shortly after the Civil war and has for the past thirty years been connected
with the city postoffice at Washington. His wife was a native of Maine. Mr. and Mrs. Jones
have become parents of two children, Orlin M. and one not yet named. Fraternally Mr
Jones is a charter member of Crosby Lodge, No. 108, F. & A. M., and he also has member-
ship with the Modern Samaritans of Wahpeton. Politically he is a republican and in April,
1914, was elected a member of the city council of Crosby, while at the present time he is
also serving as president of the board of health. He takes a deep interest in everything per-
taining to the general welfare of city and county and maintains a progressive stand on all
important public questions. The spirit of western enterprise has actuated him at every
point in his career and opportunity is to him the call to duty and activity.
HON. J. A. T. BJORNSON.
Hon. J. A, T. Bjornson is the vice president of the First National Bank of La Moure
and is accounted one of the most prominent citizens not alone by reason of the extent and
importance of his business connections but also owing to the active part which he has
taken in shaping public thought and action. He has been a close student of the significant and
vital political problems and issues of the day and three times has been chosen to represent
his district in the state legislature, leaving the impress of his individuality upon the laws
which in those sessions found their way to the statute books of the state. Mr. Bjornson
is a native of Perry, Dane county. Wisconsin. He was born January 1, 1861, a son of
Gabriel and Gunhild (Torgerson) Bjornson, both of whom were natives of Norway, whence
they came to the new world in young manhood and womanhood, the father arriving about
1843, while the mother came five or six years later. They were married in Wisconsin and
for many years continued their residence in that state. After coming to the new world
Mr. Bjornson took up the study of law and was admitted to the bar, after which he
practiced for many years in Wisconsin and Minnesota. In 1851 he was elected a member of
the legislature of the former state, being one of the first, if not the first, Norwegian ever
336 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
chosen to a state office in the United States. About 1880 he lemoveil to Ada, Minnesota,
where he subsequently served for several years as county judge, boing an incumbent of the
oflice at the time of his death, which occurred in 1SS9. His widow survives and is still living
in Ada in her eighty-seventh year.
Uon. J. A. T. Bjornson was educated in the high school of Madison, Wisconsin, and
in the State University in that city, being graduated from the latter institution with the
class of 1883, at which time the Bachelor of Arts degree was conferred upon him. Later he
turned his attention to the drug business, becoming proprietor of a store in Ada, Minne-
sota, where he remained until 1SS6, when he removed to Mcintosh county, North Dakota.
He opened a drug store in the old town of Hoskins; which was then the county seat, but in
1888 the county seat and practically the town of Hoskins were removed to Ashley, whither
Mr. Bjornson took his business, continuing as proprietor of a drug store there until 1893,
when he sold out. He then removed to Kulm, Lamoure county, when the Soo Railroad was
built through that town and there continued in the drug business until 19] 1, when he
established his home in the city of La Moure and purchased an interest in the First National
Bank there. At that time he was made a director of the institution and soon afterward
was elected vice president, in which position he still continues.
In 1894 Mr. Bjornson was united in marriage to Miss Anna F. Milne, of Ellendale,
Dickey county, North Dakota, by whom he has six children, four daughters and two sons,
as follows: Marvell M. and Gunhild K., who are attending the University of Wisconsin;
Marion L., Perry M., Anna E.; and J. A. T., Jr.
The parents are members of the Presbyterian church and Mr. Bjornson is prominent
in Masonic circles, belonging to Maple River Lodge, No. 41, A. F. & A. M., of Edgeley, North '
Dakota; Edgeley Chapter, No. 33, R. A. M.; Dakota Consistory, No. 1, A. A. S. R., of Fargo;
and El Zagal Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Fargo. He is likewise connected with Golden
Glen Lodge, No. 80, I. 0. 0. F., of Edgeley. In his political views Mr. Bjornson has always
been an earnest democrat and was first elected to the state legislature in 1900. After an
interval of ten years he was again chosen for the same office and in 1913 was returned to
the general assembly, being elected in a strong republican district — a fact which indicates
hia per.sonal popularity and the trust reposed in him as a loyal and patriotic citizen. He has
never been afraid to make his opinion known. His position upon any vital question has
never been an equivocal one, for lie stands firmly in suppport of the principles in which he
believes, nor is his judgment ever hasty or ill advised, for he closely studies the questions
which come up for settlement and votes for what he considers the best interests of the com-
monwealth. He has also proven himself a wideawake and progressive business man, liia
efforts being a factor in the material development of the districts in which he has lived.
F. S. TOFFLEMIRE.
F. S. ToflU-niiie, vice president of the First State Bank of Sawyer, is a representative
of that little band of substantial citizens that Illinois has f\irnished to the town in which
lie now lives. He was born in Boone county, Illinois, May G, 1878, a son of Anderson and
Angeline (Gilbert) Tofllemire. The father was born in Canada, on the shore of Lake
Erie, but was reared and educated in Illinois, to which state his parents removed soon
after his birth. He followed farming in that state for a time and in 1883 removed to
Cerro Gordo county, Iowa, settling near Mason City, where he engaged in general agricultural
pursuits until he came to North Dakota and entered a homestead in Ward county, near
Sawyer. He then farmed his land until lie secured title to his i)ropcrty and in 1903
lie took up his abode in Sawyer, where he is now living retired. His father lived in Illinois
when it was an Indian country, being one of the pioneer settlors of Winnebago county, and
Anderson Tollleniire became one of the pioneer settlers of North Dakota, Avhere be. too,
experienced the hardships and privations of frontier life. In Boone county, Illinois, he
married Miss Angeline Gilbert, who was a native of New York and who passed away in
Sawyer in 1909.
When a little lad of four years F. S. Tofllemire became a pujiil in a <listriot school near
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 337
Mason City, Iowa, and afterward attended the Mason City high school. When a young man
he engaged in clerking in a store and in 1903' he arrived at Sawyer, North Dakota, where he
homesteaded and engaged in farming. In 1901, in connection witli his brotlier, he conducted
a cattle ranch in the hills of Ward county and still owns that property, which is now
rented. In 1906 he and his brother, J. E. Tofflemire, organized the First State Bank
of Sawyer, but had previously become identified with the business interests of the town,
where in 1903 they opened a general merchandise store which they conducted until 1904.
In 1905 and 1906 they engaged in shippping horses and in the latter year organized the
First State Bank, which is capitalized for twenty-five thousand dollars and has a surplus of
five thousand dollars. This is the only bank in Sawyer that is conducted by residents of the
town. Their policy has found justification in their success and their methods have
awakened the confidence and respect of the public. It was F. S. Tofflemire who erected the
first building on the town site of Sawyer when the town was laid out and he has ever been
most active in the further development and progress of the place. He and his brother also
organized the First State Bank of Lone Tree and the Security State Bank at Benedict,
North Dakota, in both of which they hold office. They are among the most enterprising and
successful men of Sawj'er and Ward county.
In 1903, at Thornton, Iowa, occurred the marriage of Mr. Tofflemire and Miss Elva
Richmond, who was born in Iowa and obtained her education near Thornton, that state,
while spending her girlhood days in the home of her parents, Lyman and Tina Richmond.
Mr. and Mrs. Tofflemire are members of the Congregational church and his political sup-
port is given to the republican part)'. He is interested in all that pertains to the welfare and
jirogress of the community and is a representative of tliat class of men who have recognized
the opportunities of the northwest and have utilized its natural resources in tlie upbuilding
of their section of the state.
JOSEPH F. lEA.
Joseph F. Ira, engaged in general farming in Ransom county, his home being in Island
Park township, was born in northeastern Iowa on the 24th of December, 1882, a son of
.Joseph Ira, who was born in Iowa, November 1, 1857, and who was but twelve years of
age at the time of his father's death. He is still residing in his native state, where he
carries on farming, and he is also agent for fire and farmers' insurance, being connected
with the Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company of Des Moines. He is now a director of the
Bohemian Mutual Insurance Company of Spillville, Iowa, is a director of the Bohemian
Savings Bank of Protivin, Iowa, and in connection with his farming interests specializes in
the raising of Poland China hogs and high grade shorthorn cattle. As the years have gone
on his business affairs have increased in volume and importance, making him one of the
valued and representative citizens of his district. His political allegiance is given to the
democratic party. In 1875 he was united in marriage to Miss JIary Riha, who was born in
Austria-Hungary in 1859 and was but two years of age when brought to the United States
by her parents, who settled near the present site of Protivin. To Mr. and Mrs. Joseph
Ira, Sr., have been born eight children, as follows: Joseph F., of this review; Frank, who
follows farming in Iowa; Adolph, who is engaged in agricultural pursuits at Waubun,
Minnesota; William, Edward and Lewis, who are farmers living on the Iowa homestead;
Mrs. Anna Adamec, who resides near Protivin, Iowa; and Rosie, at home. Joseph Ira, the
father, certainly deserves great credit for what he has accomplished. He has reared a
family who do credit to his name and at the same time he has so directed his business
aH'airs as to gain a comfortable competence. His educational opportunities were very
limited, for after his father's death, which occurred when the son was Init twelve years of
age, he had to provide for his own support and aid in the support of his mother. However,
through reading, experience and observation he has become a well educated man. He
passed through the conditions and privations incident to pioneer life in Iowa byt as the
years went on so utilized his time and opportunities that he gained a place among the
substantial and honored residents of his community.
338 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Joscpli F. Ira, whose name introduces tliis review, supplemented his district scliool
education by study in the Waucoma (la.) higli school and in Valder's College at Decorah.
Iowa. He made good use of his opportunities, displayed special aptitude in his studies and
the ambition which has characterized his entire life was noticeably manifest even in bis
school days. He remained upon the home farm, assisting bis father until he reached the a"e
of twenty-two years, and devoted eight years to general farming and threshing. He was
married to Miss Mary Kalishek, who was born in Iowa near tlie birthplace of her husband,
her parents being Martin and Elizabeth (Xovotny) Kalishek, who were natives of Iowa'
Their family numbered twelve children, of whom Mrs. Ira was the fourth in order of birth,
and by her marriage she has become the mother of four children, namely: Clarence, born
August 12, 1904; Lilly, whose natal day was April 17, 1907; Kdward, whose birth occurred
October 26, 1910; and Joseph M., born September 12, 1912.
Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Ira located upon a farm of one hundred and
si.vty acres which he received from his father and resided there for about three years,
at the end of which time he disposed of his Iowa property and on the 2d of April, 1906,
arrived in North Dakota. He took up his abode on a farm of three hundred and twenty
acres on section 9, Island Park township, two miles west of Lisbon, and there he has
since engaged in general agricultural pursuits but makes a specialty of raising seed
grain. His place is thoroughly modern in its equipment. He uses the most improved
machinery and farm implements in the development of his place and has all the latest
conveniences to facilitate the work of the fields and render farm life easy. His home is
an attractive one and there are good barns and outbuildings for the shelter of grain and
stock. He is now raising thoroughbred Pereheron horses and he also operates a threshing
outfit each season.
In his political views Mr. Ira is an earnest democrat and is the present assessor of
Island Park township. He belongs to the Lisbon Catholic church and he is well known
in this part of tbe state as one of its enterprising and progressive agriculturists.
.JACOB STROH.
Practical and intelligently directed effort is fast proving that North Dakota may be
converted into a prosperous agricultural region, and .Jacob Ktroh is among the number
who are successfully engaged in farming in Kansom county, his home being in Elliott town-
ship. He was born in the northwestern part of Russia in 1868 and is a son of Henry
Stroh, whose birth occurred in that country, where he followed the occupation of farm-
ing and still makes his home. He married Anna Hofman, also a native of Russia, and
they became the parents of five children, of whom .Jacob is the third in order of birth.
One of the sons, George, is taking an active part in the present European war.
Through the period of his minority .Jacob Stroh remained a resident of bis native land,
but the favorable reports which he heard concerning business conditions on this side the
Atlantic led him to determine to try his fortune in the new world and accordingly in 1S9L',
when about twenty-four years of age, he sailed for the United States. He first settled in
northeastern Nebraska, where he took up the occupation of farming, there remaining for
thirteen years, or until 1905, when he came to North Dakota. He immediately settled on
section 28, Elliott township. Ransom county, securing a tract of land of one hundred and
sixty acres, which he farmed for a year At the end of that time he purchased four
hundred and eighty acres on section 29, Elliott township, and has since given his undivided
attention to the improvement and cultivation of this tract, which comprises si.\ hundred and
eighty acres. He carries on general agricultural pursuits and has brought his fields to a
high state of cultivation. He also raises cattle for dairy purposes. His farm is splendidly
equipped according to modern agricultural standards. The buildings are substantial and the
farm machinery embodies the latest inventions and improvements along that line.
In Russia Mr. Stroh was united in marriage to Miss Mary Schifner, who was born in
the same locality as her husband and they have become the parents of twelve children.
Henry, Anna, Jacob, .John, George, Mary, William, Lena, Carl, Albert, Esther and Sara.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 339
The family record is a notable one in that the circle yet remains unbroken by the hand
of death. The eldest son, Henry, is married and lives about five miles southeast of the
homestead. The daughter Anna has become the wife of John Urbach and their larm is a
mile and a half southeast of the home of her father.
hi his political views Mr. Stroh has been an earnest republican since becoming a
naturalized American citizen and his interest in the moral development of the community
is indicated in his membership in the Congregational church at Englevale. His has been
a veiy active and useful life and his labors have brought splendid results. When he came
to America he had very limited capital, but success has attended his efforts as the years
have passed and today he is the owner of one of the fine farms of Ransom county, splendidly
improved in every particular. In 1908 he returned to Russia on a visit, spending a month
there, but was satisfied to again come to the United States. |)referring to live in the land of
freedom and limitless opportunities.
JOSEPH HUMPHREY.
•Toseph Humphrey, one of the prosperous and representative agriculturists of Cass
county, where he has resided continuously during the past third of a century, is the owner of
a well improved farm comprising three hundred and twenty acres on section 18, Kenyon
township. His birth occurred in Ontario, Canada, on the 20th of May, 1858, his parents
being Thomas and Jane (Weyers) Humphrey, who spent their entire lives in Canada. By
occupation the father was a farmer.
Joseph Humphrey acquired his education in the public schools of his native country
and when a young man of about twenty-four years was married. In March. 1882, he came
to North Dakota, and for three years worked as a farm hand. On the expiration of that
period, in 188.J, he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land on section 18, Kenyon town-
ship, where he has resided continuously throughout the intervening thirty-one years. About
six years after he had made his first purchase he bought an adjoining tract of one hun-
dred and sixty acres, so that his farm embraces a half section. Through the careful conduct
of his agricultural interests he has won a gratifying measure of success and now has a hand-
some country home and a well improved farm. He is also a stockholder in the Farmers
Elevator Company of Orandin.
In January. 1882. Mr. Humphrey was joined in wedlock to Miss Maria Young, by whom
he has five children, as follows: T. Burnett, at home; Hazel E., the wife of Harris Thom,
who is the cashier of the First Xational Bank of Prayton. Xorth Dakota; and Flossie J.,
Vivian R. and Virgin Grant, all at home.
Politically Mr. Hum)direy is a stanch re])ubli(an and he has ably served as a member
of the town board for three years, while for a similar period he has been on the school
board. Fraternally he is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America, and his religious
faith is indicated by his membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, to which his wife
also belongs. His record may well serve as a source of inspiration and encouragement to
others, for he came to this state empty handed and by diligence and industry has gained
a place among the substantial agriculturists and esteemed citizens of Cass county.
HJALMAP. MILLER.
Hjalmar Miller, who is the owner of a garage and blacksmith shop at Kiddville, Ransom
county, was born in Norway on the 8th of July, 1882, his parents being Miller and Carrie
(Tsraelson) Andreson, both of whom were born and reared in Norway. The father still re-
sides there, but the mother passed away in 1887.
Hjalmar Miller is the youngest living of the five children of his father's family. The
first seventeen years of his life were spent at home and then he learned the blacksmith's
trade and also began running a steam engine. He worked at his trade in Norway until 1907,
340 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
when lie came to the new world, making his way first to St. John, Now Brunswick. He
afterward removed to Tacoma, Washington, where lie established a macliine shop which he
conducted for two years. On the expiration of that period he removed to North Dakota and
settled in Kiddville, where in 1909 he purchased the blacksmith shop of Alfred Thomson,
lie has since conducted the business and has enlarged the scope of his activities to include
the ownership and management of a garage, in which he does auto repairing as well as han-
dling all kinds of automobile supplies. He also has an oxy-acetylene welding outfit.
Mr. Miller was married in Norway to Miss Brynliild Jacobson, who was born in the land
of the midnight sun, April 18, 1875. They have a nice home at Kiddville, near Mr. Miller's
shop. In politics he is a republican. He belongs to the Sons of Norway and is president
of the local organization at Fort Ransom. His religious faitli is that of the Norwegian
Lutheran church. Mr. Miller has never had occasion to regret his determination to come
to the new world, for liere he has found the business opportunities whicli he sought and in
their utilization has worked his way steadily upward to success, being now at the head of
a growing and profitable business.
NELS A. HEERE.
Nels A. Herre, a wealthy farmer residing in Heiberg township, Traill county, where he
owns six hundred and seventy-five acres of excellent land, is a native of Norway and has
manifested the sturdy characteristics of his race. He was born on the 14th of August, 1852,
of the marriage of Andrew and Julia Herre. both also natives of that country. In 1860 they
removed with their family to America and first located in ^Yiseonsin, where tht mother passed
away. The father subsequently became a resident of North Dakota and here his demise
occurred.
Nels A. Pferre, who is the only one living of a family of four children, was reared in
Vv'isconsin as he nas but a child when the family emigrated to the United States. He is
indebted for his education to the public schools of that state, and after putting aside his
textbooks engaged in farming there until 1S77, when lie came to North Dakota and filed on
land on section 32, Herberg township, Traill county. He has since resided upon his home-
stead but has increased the boundaries of the place from time to time until it now comprises
six hundred and seventy-five acres, all of which is finely improved. His success as an agri-
culturist has been due not to an}' fortunate circunistances but to his enterprise, his untiring
industry and his good inanagem(>nt.
In 1879 occurred the marriage of Mr. Herre and Miss .lohaiina Sunfry, who was also
born in Norway. Both belong to the Lutheran church and in their lives seek to conform
to the teachings of that organization. He has supported the republican party since becoming
of age but has never sought nor desired ollice. When he came to this state conditions were
those of the frontier and there were few wlio were able to foresee the marvelous transforma-
tion which it was destined to undergo within four decades. He has thoroughly identified
his interests with those of his adopted state from the first and at all times has sought to
further its advancement. He found here excellent opportunitief' and through his readiness
in utilizing them has gained more than financial iiidopcnclonce, although at the time of his
arrival her<' he was practically empty handed.
GEORGE W. BLANCHARD.
George W. Blanchard, a retired farmer residing in Lisbon, was born m St. Lawrence
county. New York, September 1, 1854. His father. Richard A. Blanchard, a native of Ver-
mont, removed to St. Lawrence county. New York, about 1845, and there devoted his life
to farming thnnighout his remaining da.vs. He wedded Mary Hall, a native of Jefferson
county. New York, and a representative of one of its old families. Their marriage occurred
in that county and they became the parents of seven children, five of Avhom are now living.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 341
George W. Blaiichaid, who was the fourth in order of biith, pursued his education in the
public schools of his native county and remained upon his father's farm until he attained
his majority, early becoming familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the
agriculturist. In the year in which he reached man's estate he was married to Miss Marrnda
Colton, the wedding ceremony being performed March 24, 1875. She was born in St. Law-
rence county, June 6, 1858, a daughter of Aaron and Maria (Cassady) Colton, who were
long residents of St. Lawrence county but accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Blanchard to Dakota in
1880, the latter having been the j'ounger of their two children. The mother died in this
state in the fall of 1903 and Mr. Colton passed away in Florida in the winter of 1911. Mr.
and Mrs. Blanchard have two children : Leon 51., who was born in New York, July 19, 1879, and
is now a North Dakota farmer; and Eva, who was born in this state August 21, 1886,
and is the wife of Walter E. Murray, who resides upon a farm adjoining the city limits of
Lisbon on the south.
It was on the 11th of November, 1880, that Mr. Blanchard arrived with his family in
Kansom county and settled on a homestead eleven miles southwest of Lisbon, entering a claim
of one hundred and sixty acres. He devoted his attention to the cultivation and improvement
of that place until 1888, when he and his family took up their abode in the town. Two years
later, however, he purchased and moved to a farm of one hundred and sixtj' acres three and
one-half miles south of Lisbon, situated on section 26, township 134, tract 56. In connec-
tion with that place he cultivated another farm which he later purchased, giving his atten-
tion to general agricultural pursuits and stock raising. His second purchase made him
owner of the west half of section 25, adjoining his first purchase on the east. This farm he
cultivated for five years, at the end of which time he and his family removed to Virginia,
\\here they remained for a period of two years. They then again came to North Dakota
and Mr. Blanchard secured a homestead upon which they lived until 1913, when they removed
to Lisbon. They are now spending their summers in the north and the winter seasons in
Florida. Mr. Blanchard has rented his farm, from which he derives a good annual income,
while he enjoys a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves.
In his political views Mr. Blanchard is a republican and while living in his native county
served for three years as justice of the peace. For two years he has been road supervisor in
Highland Park township, Ransom county, but whether in office or out of it is always loyal
and progressive in matters of citizenship. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp at
Lisbon and he and his wife are members of the First Baptist church. Its house of worship
was the first erected in Lisbon and Mr. Blanchard was one who donated much time and effort
to completing the structure, serving on the board of trustees. Wlien he first came to North
Dakota there were no railroads and practically no conveniences of any kind, while Tower
City was the nearest market, and often they drove to Fargo to secure provisions. They
experienced all of the privations attendant upon pioneer life but have lived to witness re-
markable changes, for the efforts of the frontiersmen have been attended with results that
liave made Ransom county a populous and prosperous section of the state.
CARL J. SCHOW.
The attractiveness of Cass count}' as a place of residence is indicated in the fact that
many of her native sons have remained within her borders, content with the opportunities
here offered in business and in other connections. Among this number is Carl .J. Schow, who
was born in 1874 upon the farm in Noble township on which he still makes his home, his
parents being Martin and Dorothea B. (.lerke) Schow, both of whom were natives of Norway.
Ere leaving that land the father served for five years in the army and also engaged in mer-
chandising in that country for seven years but, thinking to win success more rapidly in the
new world, he crossed the Atlantic in 1866, taking passage on a sailing vessel which was
fourteen weeks and three days in reaching the harbor of Quebec, Canada. From that point
he made bis way to Winona, Minnesota, where he worked as a miller for four years. At
the end of that time he removed to the Red River valley of North Dakota, making the trip
with ox teams and located upon the farm now occupied by his son Carl, in the year 1870.
342 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
This was a wild frontier region in which tlie work of eivilization and devehipnient liiul
seareoly been begun. He was among the first to plant tlie seeds of development and growth
in tliis part of the state and in the early days he bore all the hardships and privations which
are common to the lot of the frontier settler. He built a log cabin which he covered with a
Bod roof, the ground serving as the floor, while rough boards formed the door, from whidi hung
the proverbial latch string. There was a mud and stick chimney, a fire place serving to heat
the little building. As the years passed on. however, and Mr. Schow prospered in liis under-
takings he added fine modern improvements to tlie farm, wliich he converted into a valuable
property. The land responded readily to his care and cultivation and lie gathered rich crops
which found a ready sale on the market. He was thus busily and actively identified with
farming interests in Cass county until his death, which occurred in 1907, his wifi' surviving
liim for seven years and passing away in 1!IU. In their family were nine childnMi. of whom
seven are yet living.
Carl .1. Schow was reared on the old homestead farm and attended the district schools
of the neighborhood. He was trained to the work of the fields and continued to assist his
father until he attained his majority, when he took charge of the old homestead which he has
since cultivated. He is now the owner of seven hundred acres of excellent land, nuich of
which has been placed under the plow and produces fiiu' crops. He also makes a specialty of
raising stock and keeps on hand good grades of horses, cattle and hogs. He receives good
prices for his stock and his business is successfully conducted, his prosperity resulting f|-om
his enterprise, capability and sound judgment.
In his political opinions Mr. Schow is a democrat but is not an office seeker. He belongs
to the Modern Woodmen camp, in which he has filled all the chairs and his brethren of that
fraternity entertain for him warm regard. In fact he is one of the highly respected citizens
of the community, esteemed and honored wherever known and most of all where he is best
known. He deserves to be mentioned among the pioneer residents of this part of the state,
having for forty-two years witnessed the growth and progress which has brought about the
present prosperity and upbuilding of Cass county.
JOSEPH JACOBSOX.
Joseph Jacobson, conducting a wholesale and retail butchering business at Burlington
and owning valuable farm lands in that part of the state, was born in Stevens county,
Minnesota. December 8, 1884, a son of Christian and Margaret (Fussom) Jacobson, both
of whom were natives of Norway hut in early life came to the United States, their marriage
being celebrated at Albert Lea. Minnesota. On crossing the Atlantic Mr. .Tacobson made his
way at once to that state, where he homesteaded land in a district where the Indians were
far more numerous than the white settlers. I'pon the farm which he there developed he
spent his remaining days, passing away at the age of fifty-one years. His wife still owns
the old homestead but now resides at Cj'rus, Minnesota. In their western frontier home
tlK'y reared a family of twelve children, of whom Joseph is the tenth in order of birth.
After mastering the branches of learning taught in the district schools Joseph .Tacobson
continued his education at CVrus, Minnesota, and when fifteen years of age he began learning
the butcher's trade at that place. He worked for his brother for three years and about 1903
came to Minot. where he was employed as oitter in a meat market for about three years.
He then proved up some land in Williams county and after active connection with
agricultural pursuits for several years he went to Burlington in 1910 and has since engaged
in the general meat business there, conducting both a wholesale and retail trade. His
business has assumed extensive proportions and has become one of the profitable commercial
enterprises of the city. He still owns three hundred and twenty acres of rich farm land in
the state, which he rents, the income therefrom adding materially to his financial resources.
On the 27th of November, 1905. Mr. Jacobson was married to Miss Laura Amondson,
who was born at Swan Lake, Minnesota, a daughter of Lars Amondson, who continued his
residence in Minnesota until called to the home beyond. Mr. and Mrs. Jacobson have two
children: Russell Carl, born November 39, 1910; and Ray Nathan, born September 27, 1912.
JOSEPH JACOBSON
1 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 345
Mr. Jacobson belongs to Minot Lodge, No. 1089, B. P. 0. E., and the Modern Woodmen
camp, in which he holds the office of banker, and he is a member o£ the Presbyterian church.
In polities he has always maintained an attitude of non-partisanship. He is serving at
present on the board of supervisors and for three years was chairman of the township
board. His duties of citizenship are promptly and faithfully discharged. He is a man of
strong purpose, accomplishing what he undertakes and actuated at all times by high and
honorable motives.
RAGNVALD A. NESTOS.
Ragnvald A. Nestos, a member of the North Dakota bar, practicing in Minot, as senior
partner of the firm of Nestos, Carroll & Herigstad, was born in Voss, Norway, April 13,
1877, a son of Andres R. and Herborg (Saue) Nestaas, who were also natives of Voss, the
father born October 31, 1845, and the mother on the 12th of August, 1851. They still reside
on the old home farm in Norwaj-, the father having devoted his life to general agricultural
pursuits. He is also a noted speaker and lay preacher and devotes a portion of his time to
temperance work. In community affairs he has taken an active and helpful interest and
has filled a number of local and school offices in Voss, his influence ever being on the side
of advancement and improvement.
Ragnvald A. Nestos is the second in order of birth in a family of ten children and is the
eldest of the seven now living. He attended the public schools of his home district until
he was confirmed, after which he came to the new world at the age of sixteen years, making
his way direct to Buxton, North Dakota, \\here he continued his education as a public school
pupil. In 1898 he entered the Mayville Normal School, from which he was graduated with
the class of 1900, and in the fall of that year he became a student in the State University
of Wisconsin, where he won his degree in the spring of 1902. In the fall of that year he
entered the law department of the University of North Dakota and was graduated in -June,
1904, thus qualifying for the profession to which he is now devoting his life. In the mean-
time, however, he worked for others as a farm hand, working in the winter for his board,
and he was also employed for some time in the harness shop of his uncle at Buxton. In
1898 he passed the teachers' examination and followed teaching for three terms near Buxton.
In the fall of 1900 he proved up a homestead in Pierce county and while engaged in making
the necessary improvements upon his farm he also worked as a bookkeeper and performed
other activities that would increase his income. In a word he did everything possible that
would enable him to secure au education, his own labor providing for the expenses of his
normal and university courses.
Admitted to the bar in 1904, Mr. Nestos located at Minot on the 1st of July of that
year for the practice of law, forming a partnership with C. A. .Johnson, which connection was
continued for six years. He afterward practiced alone until January 1, 1913, when he
formed a partnership with Dorr H. Carroll. On the 1st of March, 1915, they were joined by
Mr. Herigstad, forming the present firm of Nestos, Carroll & Herigstad. They are engaged
in the general practice of law and have a very extensive clientage, connecting them with
the most important litigation held in the courts of the district. Mr. Nestos has made steady
progress in his profession since starting out upon the practice of law.
In politics Mr. Nestos is a progressive republican and in 1910 was elected a member
of the state legislature, serving in the house for two years. In 1913 he was elected states
attorney and was reelected in 1914, so that he is now serving in that position at Minot for
the second term. In March, 1916, he became a candidate for the republican nomination for
United States senator with three other candidates in the field, but at the primaries June 28,
Senator McCumber was renominated, Mr. Nestos being second in the race and receiving a
splendid vote. He became one of the original members of the library board of Minot, in
which capacity he is still acting, and was for three years president of the State Library
Association and ex-officio member of the State Library Commission. At the present time he
is secretary of the executive committee of the Young Men's Christian Association, which
position he has filled for six years, and he is a member of the Synod Lutheran church. He
Vol. n— 19
346 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
is a nieuibcr of the National Bar Association anil also a member of the State Bar Associa-
tion, and for the past three years lie has been a member of the committee on grievances and
disbarment. He is recognized as a broad-minded man who looks at vital questions from no
narrow nor selfish standpoint but regards the interests of the community at large and
works for public progress along lines that relate not only to the things of the present but
also to the opportunities of the future.
CHRIS 0. VELLINE.
Chris 0. Velline, postmaster at Buttzville, where he is also engaged in general merolian-
dising, was born in the western part of Norway, January 5, 1874, a son of Ole Velline, who
was born and reared in the land of the midnight sun and there spent his entire life, his
attention being given to farming. He married Bertlia Thue and they became the parents of
five children. The mother died in 1909, but the father is still living in Norway.
Chris 0. Velline, the eldest of their family, pursued his education in the schools of Ncn--
way and worked upon his father's farm until he came to the new world He was a youth
of nineteen years when he bade adieu to friends and native country and sailed for the United
States in 1893. He first settled in Cass county. North Dakota, where he remained for a
period of seven years. There he engaged in farming and also to some extent in merchandising
and later he turned his attention to the grain business, which he followed for thirteen years,
first in Horace and afterward in Minnewaukan. Still later he was at Hatton and at Gardner
and eventually removed to Buttzville, becoming associated with the Andrews & Gage elevator,
with which he was connected for six years. During that period he established a general store
in 1910 and has since conducted the business, enjoying a large and gratifying trade. He is
likewise agent at Buttzville for the William H. White Lumber Company, having taken over
its business in the town in 1907. His commercial all'airs are carefully conducted and his
sound judgment and enterprise are bringing to him substantial success.
In 1900 Mr. Velline was married to Miss Christina Thompson, who was born in Nor-
way, December 20, 1876, and came alone to the United States, maKing her way to Cass
county, North Dakota, where she became acquainted with Mr. VelUne, who sought her hand
in marriage, the wedding being celebrated in Fargo. They have become parents of seven
children, as follows: Oscar T., born September 7, 1901; Wilford, whose birth occurred April
12, 190:i; Albert, whose natal day was November 30, 190.5; Christ, .)r., born in December,
1907; Sidney, born in December, 1909; Aagot, whose birth occurred in 1911; and Douglas,
born in 1913.
On the 15th of October, 1909, Mr. Velline was appointed to the ])ositiou of postmaster
of Buttzville and still continues in that office, the duties of which he discharges with prompt-
ness and fidelity. He gives his political allegiance to the republican party and he is con-
nected with the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Sheyenne Valley Lodge, No. 12, F. & A.
M., while both he and his wife are members of the Norwegian Lutheran ihurch at St. Olas,
about four miles north of Buttzville.
DAVID LLOYD.
David Lloyd, ])resident of the First National Bank of La Moure, was born in Wales on
the 20th of May, 1849, a son of David and Ann (Roberts) Lloy<f, who came to the United
States in 18.50 and settled in Iowa county, Wisconsin, where the father took up a homestead
and resided to the time of his death, which occurred in 1888. For fifteen years he had sur-
vived his wife, who passed away in 1873.
David Lloyd supplemented his common school education, acquired in Wisconsin, by
study in the State Normal School at Whitewater, but in the interval, when hut seventeen
years of age, he had taken up the profession of teaching and for fifteen years he continued
to teach during the winter months, while in the summer seasons he devoted his attention to
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 347
farming. It was in 1883 that he arrived in La Moure and through the intervening period,
covering a tliird of a century, he has been closely identified with the business development
and public interests of his city. He first engaged in the lumber trade in partnership with
his brother-in-law, A. J. Lockman, organizing the Wisconsin Lumber Company. The first
lumber that was shipped into La Moure by train was consigned to this lirui and as the years
passed they built up an extensive business, their sales amounting to a million and a quarter
feet of lumber annually. Mi'. Lloyd remained an active member of that firm for twelve
years, at the end of which time he sold his interests in the business in order to give his atten-
tion exclusively to the buying and selling of land and to making loans on farm mortgages,
having established business along those lines in 1885. In the past thirty-one years he has
loaned three million dollars and has never made a foreclosure during that period — a fact
which indicates the sterling character of the man. On many occasions he has extended time
of payment and thus assisted the settlers to secure title to their property. In connection
with his brother Robert he owns six thousand acres of land in North and South Dakota and
they are also extensive holders of bank stock in Mount Horeb, Eidgeway and Arena, Wis-
consin. They likewise have large investments in Wisconsin farm lands and in town property.
Mr. Lloyd belongs to Mackay Lodge, No. 18, F. & A. M., of La Moure. For forty-six
years he has been affiliated with the Masonic fraternity, having joined the lodge in Mazo-
manie, Wisconsin, in 1870. He has taken the degrees of the Lodge of Perfection in the Scot-
tish Kite at Fargo and in his life he exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the craft. It is this
spirit which has been manifest in his business relations, prompting him to extend a helping
hand on many occasions. He has never believed that success in business must be sought
at the cost of other men's prosperity. On the contrary', he has adopted constructive measures,
building up rather than destroying and knowing that what lielps one helps the entire com-
munity. His efl'orts have been a most potent force in developing various sections of the
northwest and such citizens are the real founders and promoters of the commonwealth.
SIGUED BUE.
Sigurd Bue, cashier and director of the Citizens National Bank at Crosby, was born in
Ostrander, Fillmore county, Minnesota, August 29, 1883, a son of the Rev. Ole A. and Caro-
line Bue. His youthful experiences were those of the farm bred boy who divides his time
between the work of the fields and the acquirement of an education. After attending the
district schools he became a high school pupil at Spring Valley, Minnesota, and later attended
St. Olaf College at Northficld, Minnesota, being graduated on the completion of the academic
and college courses, winning the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1905. Liberal education facili-
ties thus qualified him for life's practical and responsible duties, developing his latent talents
and powers and making him ready to meet any emergency that might arise in his business
career. He has always been identified with banking, for following his graduation he accepted
a clerical position in the First National Bank at Halsted, Minnesota. In 1906 he went to
Berwick, McHenry county. North Dakota, and was employed in the Berwick State Bank as
bookkeeper until the fall of 1908. He then became assistant cashier in the Farmers & Mer-
chants State Bank at Bowdon, Wells county, and in the fall of 1911 removed to Kenmare,
where he was cashier of the Citizens State Bank until he arrived in Crosby to become cashier
of the Citizens State Bank, which has since become the Citizens National Bank. This is his
present connection. Each step in his career has been a forward one, bringing him a broader
outlook and wider opportunities.
On the 3d of .January, 1914, Mr. Bue was married to Miss Eleanor Rushfeldt, of Haw-
ley, Minnesota, who spent her entire life there until, having completed the high school course,
she entered the normal school at Moorhcad, Minnesota. Litter she became a music student
in St. Olaf College at Northfield, Minnesota, and aftenvard was a teacher in the high school
at Ada. She proved a most capable educator and was called to the position of county
superintendent of schools in Clay county, which position she occupied for two terms of two
years each. This was an elective office and her fitness for the position was thus demonstrated
by the endorsement of the voters of that locality. Her father, Hans Rushfeldt, is a native
348 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
of Norway and when a young man of eighteen years crossed the Atlantic to America, making
his way to Minnesota, where he engaged in farming for a time. He also worked as a laborer
on the railroad in western Minnesota and is now engaged in merchandising at Hawley, that
state. In the early days he was a driver on the freight line from Mandan, North Dakota,
to Deadwood, South Dakota, and thus in various ways has been closely identified with the
development and upbuilding of the west. Mr. and Mrs. Bue have become parents of a daugh-
ter, Eleanor Marie, born at Crosby, October 27, 1914.
Mr. Bue is a director of the Crosby Commercial Club and a director and treasurer of
the Divide County of Fair Association. His political support is given to the republican
party and both he and his wife are active and devoted members of the Norwegian Lutheran
church in Crosby. A^liile one of the newcomers of the town, he is much interested in its
development and is willing to do everything in his power to aid in its upbuilding and promote
its progress in the future.
J. M. ROHE.
J. M. Kobe, a partner in the firm of Rohe & Eohe, dealers in agricultural implements at
Kenmare, and enjoying the distinction of being the youngest county commissioner ever elected
to the office in Ward county, was born in Minden, Kearney county, Nebraska, January 6,
18S3, a son of the Rev. M. C. H. and Matta Marie (Larsen) Robe. The father, a native of
Denmark, came to America in 1873, and continued his education, begun in the common schools
of his native land, in the Augsburg Seminary at Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he studied
for the ministry and in due time' was graduated. He was ordained a minister of the United
Danish Lutheran church and accepted the pastorate of the church at Luck, Polk county, Wis-
consin, where he remained for six years. He then accepted a call from the church at Minden,
Nebraska, where he continued for five years, and in 1886 he went to St. Croix Falls, ^\'iscon-
sin, where he had charge of a church for three years. In 1890 he became pastor at Osakis,
Minnesota, leaving there in 1898 to go to West Branch, Iowa, where he engaged in preach-
ing until 1900. In that year he became pastor of the church at Kenmare, North Dakota,
and so continued to the time of his death, which occurred January 16, 1906, when he was
sixty-one j'ears of age. His life had been one of great usefulness in promoting the moral
progress of the communities in which he lived and labored, bis teaching having a marked
influence over the lives of many. His widow, a native of Denmark, became a resident of
Minnesota in her early girlhood and was there educated. In 1875 she became the wife of Kev.
Rohe and since his death she has continued to make her home in Kenmare.
J. M. Robe was the fourth in order of birth in a family of nine children, of whom eight
are yet living. He obtained his education in the various towns in which the family resided
and in which his father filled pastorates. He left school in 1898, when sixteen years of age,
coming with his two older brothers to Kenmare in its pioneer days. He was employed in vari-
ous capacities around town, also as a farm hand and as a coal miner until 1903, when ho
established the implement business of J. M. Rohe & Company. Since then the firm style has
been changed to Eohe & Rohe, his partners being his two younger brothers. They have an
excellent store and are accorded a liberal patronage owing to their thoroughly reliable busi-
ness methods and unfaltering enterprise. In 1909 he organized the First State Bank of
Niobc, 01 which he became vice president and of which he is now president, having been
elected to that otTiee in 1916.
On the ISth of .lune, 1914, at Kenmare, Mr. Rohe was united in marriage to ^liss
Henreina E. Elliott, who was born in Walsh county, North Dakota, September 2. 1893, a
daughter of Samuel and Jean (Stuart) Elliott, who are natives of the province of Ontario,
Canada, where they were reared, educated and married. They became early settlers of
Renville countj', North Dakota, where the father homcsteaded near Grano, and Mrs. Rohe,
who was born in Walsh county, North Dakota, September 2, 1893, largely acquired her
education in the schools of Renville county. The parents continued to reside upon the old
home farm there until 1913 and then removed to Kenmare, where they now reside. The
onlv child of Mr. and Mrs. Rohe died in infancy.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 349
In his political views Jlr. Eolie is a stanch democrat and in 1911 was elected alder-
man of Kenmare, in which position he served for two years. In 1912 he was elected clerk of
the school board and yet occupies that position. On the 2Gth of June, 1914, he was ap-
pointed county commissioner of Ward county to succeed F. L. Sanders, who died in office,
and in November, 1914, he was elected to the position for a four years' term, so that he is
the present incumbent in the office and, moreover, he is the youngest man ever chosen to the
position in Ward county. In his official capacity he is paying much attention to the sub-
ject of taxation and he gives earnest consideration to all the questions which come up for
settlement, seeking ever the welfare of the community. Fraternally he is connected with
the Ancient Order of United Workmen at Kenmare; the Danish Brotherhood, No. 198; Golden
Link Lodge, No. 64, I. 0. 0. F., of Kenmare, of which he has been secretary, and the Broth-
erhood of American Yeomen at Kenmare. His religious faith is that of the Danish Lutheran
church, while his wife is a member of the Presbyterian church, in the work of which she
takes a very active and helpful part, being secretary of the Sunday school at the present
time. Mr. Rohe built an attractive home in Kenmare and he is also the owner of a farm in
Burke county, which he homesteaded and which he now rents. He and his wife occupy an
enviable social position and his is a commendable business record, while in public office he
subordinates partisanship to the general welfare and personal aggrandizement to the public
good.
FRANK A. MATHIEU.
For twent}' 3ears Frank A. Mathieu has been a resident of North Dakota and is now
engaged in general merchandising at Elliott. He was born at Alma, Wisconsin, January 7,
1863, a son of Peter Mathieu, whose birth occurred in Alsace, Germany, February 14, 1821.
He was a young man of twenty-five years when in 1846 he came to the United States, set-
tling in Baltimore, Maryland, where he followed the glassblower's trade, which he had
previously learned in the fatherland. He was the second man in America to blow a wine
bottle. On leaving Baltimore he removed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he remained
for ten years, still engaging in glassblowing. He afterward worked for a number of years in
Zanesville, Ohio, and finally removed to Wisconsin, where he invested in between five and
six hundred acres of land in Nelson township, Buffalo county, there carrying on general
farming. He remained a prominent and representative agriculturist of that county up to
the time of his death, which occurred in 1902. He was twice married. He first wedded a Miss
Melling and two weeks after their marriage they crossed the Atlantic to the new world.
They had a family of four children. Following the death of his first wife Mr. Mathieu wedded
Johanna Hecker, who was born in Bavaria, Germany, and was married in Pittsburgh, Penn-
sylvania. They had a family of fourteen children, of whom Frank A. was the sixth, and
eleven of the number are yet living. The wife and mother passed away in 1892.
In the schools of Wisconsin, Frank A. Mathieu obtained his education and afterward
gave his attention to farming in connection with his father, whom he thus assisted until he
reached the age of twenty-three years. He was married on the 21st of June, 1892, to Miss
Eliza Perrin, who was born in London, England, in 1870 and accompanied her parents,
Edward and Mary C. (Griffin) Perrin, on their removal to Canada. Later they became resi-
dents of South Dakota, settling in Brown county, where the father still engages in farming.
It was in 1887 that F'rank A. Mathieu became a resident of Verdon, Brown county,
South Dakota, where he engaged in general merchandising for a period of nine years. He
then removed to Sanborn, North Dakota, where he conducted a store for seven years. He
afterward spent three months at Church's Ferry and subseqtiently erected a store building
and embarked in general merchandising at Pleasant Lake, North Dakota, where he remained
for five months. At the end of that time, however, he went to Mcintosh, Minnesota, where
he engaged in business for seven years, but met with disaster, fire destroying his building.
The stock he had sold just twenty-eight days before. He then went to St. Thomas and
again entered the mercantile field but after five months removed to Bantry, North Dakota,
where he continued until April 15, 1911. He next established himself in business at Crary,
and remained there for four and a half years, and in the fall of 1915 he removed to Elliott,
where he opened a general store which he is now successfully conducting. "He has built up a
350 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
good trade here and has a well appointed establishment, carrying a carefully selected line
of goods and putting forth every ell'ort to meet the demands of his patrons. He has made
his home in North Dakota since 18U6 and since 1887 has been engaged in meixhandising,
meeting with substantial success tlirough the intrivi'iiing years, his prosperity resulting
entirely through his own efforts.
ilr. and Mrs. Mathieu have become the parents of nine children: Ruth I., deceased; Joyce
v., the wife of E. K. Anderson, of Crary, North Dakota; Olive E., Gladys E. and lioyd G.,
all at home; Curtis W., who has passed away; and Byron F., Cleo E. and Burtis P., all at
home. The family is widely and favorably known in Elliott and Ransom county and they
have a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of their acquaintance. Mr. Mathieu
is a self-made man, who gained his start in life by working in river camps and elsewhere,
thus obtaining sufficient funds to enable him to engage in business on his own account.
Diligence has ever been one of his strong characteristics and what he has planned he has
accomplished, carrying forward to successful completion whatever he has undcrtiikcn.
]MRS. CORA E. SAB IN.
ilrs. Cora E. Sabin, covuity superintendent of schools in Lauioure county, is a native
of Platteville, Wisconsin, and a daughter of Thomas and Eliza Jenkins. Her parents were
born in England but in childhood came to the United States with their respective parents,
both the Sabin and Jenkins families being established in Wisconsin, where the father and
mother of Mrs. Cora E. Sabin grew to adult age. They were married and located on a
farm in Wisconsin and Mr. .Jenkins was one of those who made his way to the California
gold lields in 184'.). He died in Dickey county, North Dakota, in I'.IOI and the mother is
now living in Wisconsin, making her home among her children.
Jlrs. Cora E. Sabin was educated in the schools of I'latteville, Wisconsin, and in the
State Normal School there, being graduated from that institution with the class of I'JOl.
Prior to the completion of her comse, however, she taught school for one term and in
September, 1901, she resumed her educational work as a member of the teaching stall' of
the Blanchardville (Wis.) city schools. In June, 1903, she came to North Dakota, settling
at Oakes, where she filled in a vacancy for two months as teacher in a country school.
She was then called to La Moure to accept a position in the city schools.
In June, 190^, Cora E. Jenkins became the wife of .lohn Leland Sabin, a retail lumber
dealer of La Moure, and to them was born a son, Richard Leland. Jlr. Sabin died August
S, 1911, and following his demise, or in 1913, Mrs. Sabin resumed the profession of teach-
ing. In 1913 she secured a leave of absence and spent some months in travel in the West
Indies, in Panama and in the northern part of South America. After her return she
continued teaching until November, 1915, at which time she was appointed county super-
intendent of schools to fill a vacancy occasioned by the former a])pointnient of the incumbent
in that position to the position of assistant state superintendent of schools.
Mrs. Sabin is a member of Bartholomew Chapter. No. 33, O. E. S., at La Moine and
belongs to the Civic Improvement League. In fact she is active in all matters of public
concern pertaining to the advancement of La Moure and her outlook is broad, her opinions
sound and convincing. She has proven a most efficient and popular teacher and in the
position of county superintendent is making a splendid record, doing much to advance the
standard of the schools and raise the educational interests of the county to a higlicr level.
F. BOMAN.
1". Boinan, living in Reed Iciwiiship. Cass county, is familiar with every |iliasi' of (liiinrcr
life in this i)art of the state from the time when he aided in breaking the sod with ok
teams, trudging on day after day after the slow treading oxen in order to prepare the land
for cultivation. Many changes have occurred since that time and as the work of progress
has been carried Torward Mr. Boman has gained prosperity and is now a well-to-do citizen.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 351
He was born in Sweden on the 31st of March, 1849, a son of Carl and Fredericka Boman,
mentioned in connection witli the sketch of Elias Bowman on another page of this work.
In tlie scliools of his native country F. Boman pursued liis education and was a young
man of twenty-three years wlien he left his old home and came to the new world, settling
in North Dakota. This was in the year 1872. After landing on the Atlantic seacoast he con-
tinued his journey across the country and made a settlement on section 30, Reed township,
Cass county. There he built a log cabin and by hand sawed the lumber which he used for the
floor, doors and roof. For eight years he occupied that primitive little home and during the
first two years of his stay upon the farm he worked in Fargo, walking from his farm to
the city each morning and returning at night. It was necessary for him to do this in order
to gain the ready money which would enable him to develop his land, as he came to the new
world practically empty handed. With ox teams he broke the sod and put in his crops, which
in due time brought forth good harvests. To his original holdings he has added until he is
now tlie owner of three hundred and twenty acres of good land well improved. He has built
thereon an attractive residence and has modern equipments and the latest improved machin-
ery upon his farm to facilitate the work of the fields. In addition to his other interests he
is one of the directors of the telephone company.
In 1875 Jlr. Boman was united in marriage to Miss Anna E. .Tohnson, a native of
Sweden who came to America at the same time that Mr. Boman crossed the Atlantic. Hav-
ing no children of their own, they have, out of the kindness of their hearts, reared and
educated five boys, the eldest of whom is now deceased, while one of the number is still
with them.
Jlr. and Mrs. Boman are members of the Lutheran chinch, in the work of which they
are actively and helpfully interested, Mr. Boman serving as one of the directors and as
treasurer of the church. His political support is given to the republican party and he is now
serving as chairman of the town board, while for twenty-five years he has been school
treasurer. For twenty years he has owned and operated a threshing machine and his woik
in that connection has made him widely known. His life has been a most active and busy
one crowned with a substantial measure of prosperity. In all his business dealings he has
been found thoroughly reliable and, while he has given most of his attention to his farm
work, he has yet found time to cooperate and aid in measures and movements for the public
good.
FRED P. BENNETT.
Fred P. Bennett, cashier of the La Moure State Bank, was born in Green Point, Long
Island, September 10, 1872, his parents being George M. D. and Emma (Buckelew) Bennett,
both representatives of old American families. On the paternal side were several who fought
in the Revolutionary war and in the War of 1812, while George M. D. Bennett was a veteran
of the Civil war. enlisting in 1861 and serving until 1865 as an engineer on one of the block-
ading boats. Subsequently he was for many years chief engineer at the Grand Central
depot in New York city and there passed away about 1885. His wife died during the infancy
of their son Fred.
In the city schools of Westfield, New Jersey, Fred P. Bennett pursued his early educa-
tion and afterward continued his studies in the Fargo high school, to which city he went
with an aunt and uncle in 1885. In 1887, soon after completing his studies, he entered the
First National Bank of Fargo as office boy and remained with that institution for eighteen
years, serving in the capacity of teller for eight years prior to severing his connection with
the bank. In 1905 he came to La Moure and organized the Farmers State Bank, which has
since been nationalized as the Farmers National Bank. He was made cashier of this institu-
tion on its organization and after so continuing for two years he sold his interest therein
and organized the La Moure State Bank, of which he has since been cashier. His broad experi-
ence in the banking business and his spirit of enterprise and progressiveness have been the
dominant factors in the development of the bank's business. He is ever a courteous and oblig-
ing olficial, extending every possible favor to the patrons of the bank to a point that does
not interfei'e with its safety. In the intervening years lie has also been quite extensively
engaged in the buj'ing and selling of North Dakota farm lands and in this connection has
done not a little to develop business interests.
352 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Since his arrival in L,a Moure Mr. Bennett has always been in the vanguard in those
movements launched for the purpose of advancing his city's interests and converting it into
a modern and progressive municipality. He was a leading spirit in the establishment of the
water works and also the establishment of the electric lighting plant of La Moure and in the
laying of the concrete sidewalks throughout the city. In fact he has been identified with
every step for the progress and development of La Moure, in all playing a leading and helpful
part.
In 1892 Mr. Bennett was \inited in marriage to Miss Lillian E. Jordan, of Minneapolis,
Minnesota, by whom he had two sons and two daughters. Both the sons died in infancy. The
daughters are Ethel Charlotte, who is attending the State Normal School at Valley City;
and Louise Annette, who is her father's private stenographer.
Mr. Bennett and his family are members of the Episcopal church and take active part
in the moral welfare of the community as well as its material interests. Mr. Bennett has
ever been quick to recognize possibilities not only for the advancement of individual interests
but for the public good as well and has wrought along lines of far-reaching effect and benefit.
His political allegiance is given to the republican party, while fraternally he is identified
with Mackay Lodge, No. 18, A. F. & A. M., of La Moure, and the Ancient Order of I'nited
Workmen at La Moure.
SEWARD C. HOEL.
Seward C. Hoel, a druggist of Milnor, was born at Christine, Richland county, North
Dakota, March 5, 1882, a son of Einar Hoel, whose birth occurred in Norway in 1840. He
was a highly educated man who devoted his life largel}- to teaching and to literarj- pursuits.
He came to the United States in the early '70s and settled in Wisconsin, but after remaining
there for a short time removed to North Dakota, establishing his home in the Ked River
valley. He homesteaded land in what is now Richland county and spent practically the
remainder of his life in that locality, devoting his attention to general farming. He was a
republican and became prominent as a political leader of his county, his influence being a
potent one in promoting the interests and securing the success of his party. With the
development of that section of the state he was closely associated, for he was one of the
first three men who settled in the Red River valley, which at that time was rather swampy
and in many places was covered with water. But notwithstanding the difficulties presented
he wisely and carefully directed his labors and raised the largest crop of wheat per acre in
that valley, harvesting forty bushels per acre. He was one of the organizers and charter
members of the Richland Lutheran church and was greatly interested in church work,
giving active support to all efforts to advance the religious development of the district.
He died in the year 1888 and in his passing the community lost one of its most valued and
representative citizens.
Mrs. Hoel, who bore the maiden name of Hannah Caroline Foss, was born in Norway
and during her infancy was brought by her mother to the United states. Her father had
come to the United States in 18G5 and the family followed a short time later after he had
made preparations for a home for them in the new world. They were early settlers of
North Dakota, the father securing a claim in Richland county, in the same district in which
the Hoel homestead' was located. The Foss family settled in w'hat is now Eagle township,
while the Hoel family made their home in what is now known as Walcott township. The
marriage of Einar Hoel and Hannah C. Foss occurred in 1881 and they became the parents
of four children, of whom Seward 0. is the eldest. Three of the four are yet living, the
others being: Alfred, who is engaged in farming in Richland county; and Olaf, who is
now engaged in business at Cliristine, North Dakota. The mother passed away in 1891,
having for three years survived her husband.
Seward C. Hoel pursued his education in the graded schools of Richland county and in
the Agricultural College at Fargo. He then entered upon a pharmaceutical course at the
Agricultural College and was graduated therefrom with the class of 1912. His time had
been largely devoted to farming until he reached the age of twenty-three years, but he did
SEWARD C. HOEL
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 355
not iind that occupation altogether congenial and hence turned to other pursuits. He first
served an apprenticeship in the drug store of M. M. Borman at Abercrombie, spending two
years in that connection. He afterward went to Forman, where he was employed in the
Hanson drug store for a short time. The following year he removed to Akely, Minnesota,
and spent one summer as an employe of the Ivruger Drug Company. In the following
autumn he entered the Agricultural College and following his graduation he removed to
Cooperstown, where he assumed the management of the Cooperstown Drug Company,
occupying that position for a period of two and a half years. He then removed to Milnor
and purchased the drug stock of the Nickells Drug Company. This purchase was made on
the 29th of May, 1915, and from the beginning the business has proven profitable, his
trade steadily growing owing to his capable management, reliable methods and indefatigable
energy.
On the 20th of October, 1915, Mr. Hoel was married at Frazee, Minnesota, to Miss
Nettie Elise Wellman, who was there born on the 19th of December, 1885, and is a daughter
of Captain David Lewis Wellman, a Civil war veteran, who was a member of Company S,
Fourth Minnesota Regiment, and whose wife, Mrs. Anna Wellman, was born in Minnesota.
Captain Wellman, however, was a native of New York and throughout his entire life
followed the occupation of farming. He died in 1907 and his widow now makes her home
with Mr. and Mrs. Hoel, the latter being the youngest of her five children, all of whom
are living.
Mr. Hoel votes with the democratic party but does not seek office as a reward for party
fealty, his interest centering in his business. He is member of Shiloh Lodge, No. 1,
F. & A. M., at Fargo, and of Cooperstown Lodge, No. 1, K. P., and both he and his wife are
loyal members of the Milnor Methodist church. Their influence is always on the side of
right and truth and they do all in their power to promote the growth of the church and
extend its inHuence.
RAY BENJAMIN TOWN.
Ray Benjamin Town, progressive business man of Flaxton, was born on a farm in the
town of Leon, Cattaraugus county. New York, on the 23d of February, 1874. His father,
Benjamin T. Town, was born and spent his life in the same locality, and his mother, Emily
Gail Town, was born in the town of Eden, Erie county, New York, and later with her
parents removed to Garden City, Minnesota, where she resided until the time of her
marriage.
R. B. Town received his education in the "district"' and village schools of his birthplace
and at the age of seventeen began work as a helper in the office of the Lake Shore & Michigan
Soutliern Railway Company at Athol Springs, New York, where he remained for nearly a
year, when he returned to the old home and spent a year in farming and working in the
lumber woods. In the early spring of 1893 he removed to the city of Minneapolis, wliere
he was employed for several years in the office of George W. .Jenks, a banker and broker.
When he severed that connection he went with the H. C. Akley Lumber Company and remained
with that firm imtil the spring of 1901. On the 13th of September, 1899, he was married
to Miss Belle M. Dolphin, who is a native of St. Peter, Minnesota, and attended school at
that place and Minneapolis.
In the spring of 1901 Mr. Town came to North Dakota looking for a location in wliich
to start in business for himself and finally landed in the then unplatted town of Postville
now Flaxton and, being satisfied with the prospects for this "country, decided to locate. About
the 1st of May, 1901. Mr. Town arrived in Bowbells with a carload of household goods
and a team with which he moved his belongings to the present site of Flaxton, putting up a
tent while constructing the first store building to be built in the new town site, in which
building he and C. G. Davis opened up a general merchandise business under the firm name
of Davis & Town, their firm acting as the town site agents during the first year. At this
time Mr. Town's brother, W. S. Town, purchased the interests of Mr. Davis and the business
was continued by them until the fall of 1903 when they sold out the general store to con-
356 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
tinue the farm irapleinent busiiu'ss that Mr. Town had started with R. B. Burger of Bowbella.
Tliis biisiiRSS was incorporated during the year 190G and has continued since that time as
one of the leading implenient houses of Burke county. During this time Mr. Town liled on a
clioice cjuarter section of land near Flaxton which he proved up. During their residence on
the homestead a son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Town. This was their only child and they
were called upon to mourn his deatli when he was about nine years old.
Mr. Town is afliliated with the democratic party in politics though nut taking an active
part in political matters, never having sought an elective office. He lias liowever tilled vari-
ous offices in local all'airs, such as township, village, and school.
Fraternally, he is a member of the Slasonic order, and he and his wife also belong to
the Eastern Star. In church all'airs they have always taken an active part, both belonging
to the Church of Christ, Mr. Town being a member of the state board of missions. It was
in their home that the first Sunday school of Flaxton was organized. This school has the
distinction of having lived throughout the history of Flaxton, now being the Sunday school
of St. Paul's Presbyterian church.
Mr. and Mrs. Town are not of the kind that seek public recognition but are always to
be depended upon to furnish their help and means for any movement for the betterment of
the community in which they live or the community at large. Wherever they are known
they are held in high esteem and most of all where they are the best known. In an inter-
view with the writer Mr. Town showed himself to be an enthusiastic booster for North
Dakota and was particularly proud of the progress that has been made by the people of this
state, speaking of the development he has witnessed from the unbroken prairie to a highly
cultivated farming community, with all modern conveniences, such as rural delivery, rural
telephone, a splendid school sj'stem with high schools in nearly every village of the state and
electric lights in all the villages and on many of the farms, and all this within the short time
of fifteen years from the date of settlement.
ANDREW J. OLSON.
Andrew .J. Olson is engaged in general merchandising and in farming in Fort Ransom
township. Ransom county, and is a representative of that large class of substantial citizens
that Norway has furnished to this state — men who have recognized the opportunities here
ofl'ered and in their utilization have contributed to the upbuilding of the commonwealth. He
was born in Norway, November 29, 1875, a son of Ole II. Olson, whose birth occurred in
that country February 27, 184.'!. He came to the United States in 1881, bringing with him
his wife and fcmr children, and made Ransom county his destination, settling in l''urt Ransom
township. There he engaged in farming until his death, which occurred .June 1, 1015. He
wa.s one of North Dakota's early settlers and for thirty-five years continued his residence
here, contributing largely to its agricultural develo])ment. He married Anna Anderson, who
was a native of Norway, born in 1845, and they became the parents of four children, of whom
Andrew J. is the second. The mother passed away in 1904.
Andrew J. Olson is indebted to the public school system of Ransom county for his
educational opportunities. He attended the district school near his father's home and
through the summer months worked in the fields, lieing thus employed until he reached the
age of twenty-two years. He was but six years of age when brought by his parents to
the I'nitid States and he remembers many of the privations and hardships that attended the
early settlers here, such a.s were incident to frontier life. In August, 1897, he embarked in
general merchandising, establishing a general store at the northeast corner of section 15,
Fort Ransom township, range 58, township 135, and from the beginning the business has
prospered He also has ninety-two acres of farm land, situated on sections 4 and 15, from
which he derives a good rental. He is an enterprising business man, watchful of all oppor-
tunities, and his success is well merited. Aside from his other interests Mr. Olson is a stock-
holder in tlie Norwegian-American Steamship Company and holds an interest in two of the
farmers' mills of this locality, one at Englevale and the other at Catherine, North Dakota.
Mr. Olson married Miss Sarah Anderson, who was born December 15, 1878, a daughter
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 357
■of Eric S. and Lena (Furan) Anderson, who were early settlers of Minnesota and in 1880
came to Nortli Dakota, wliere the father followed the occupation of farming. They had a
family of twelve children and to Mr. and Mrs. Olson have been born nine children: Agues
O., who was born September 19, 1897; Elmer L., born July 11, 1899; Susanna J., November
15, 1901; Isabel J., Febi-uary 20, 1904; Arnold J., July 12, 1907; Borgel M., October 9, 1909;
Harold M., July 23, 1911; Gunder J., October 23, 1913; and Olaf H., January 18, 1915.
In his political views Mr. Olson is a stalwart republican and his fellow townsmen, appre-
ciating his worth, ability and public spirit, chose him as their representative in the state
legislature, where he served from .lanuary 1, 1909, to January 1, 1911. He has likewise filled
local oitices, acting as township treasurer since attaining his majority. He has been school
treasurer and is a stanch champion of the cause of public education. He has served on the
republican central committee at intervals for the past ten or fifteen years and does everything
iu his power to promote the success of his party because of his firm belief in its principles.
He belongs to the Sons of Norway, which organization has its headquarters in Minneapolis,
and he is treasurer of the local lodge at Fort Eansora. The organization had its origin in
Norway. His religious faith is that of the Scandinavian Lutheran church and to its teach-
ings he is loyal. He has manifested admirable and substantial qualities as a business man,
as a citizen and as an advocate of those forces which work for the betterment of the
individual and the comnumitv.
CHRISTOPHER R. SIMON.
Christopher R. Simon engages in farming on section 2, Elliott township. Ransom county.
He was born near Indianola, Warren county, Iowa, August 22, 1869, a son of Theodosius D.
and Rebecca J. (Eicher) Simon. Both were natives of Noble county, Ohio, where they were
reared and married and upon removing to Illinois they settled in McLean county where they
lived for a year. At the end of that time they established their home near Springfield, Mis-
souri, and a year later removed to Warren county, Iowa, where they spent the remainder of
their lives, save for a period of ten years passed in Madison county, Iowa. During that
time the father lived retired from business in Winterset and there passed away in 1911.
He had always followed farming as a life work and his diligence and enterprise in that field
brought him deserved success. His wife survived him for a brief period, passing away in
December, 1914. They were the parents of seven children, two sons and five daughters, all
of whom are yet living.
Christopher R. Simon, the fifth in order of birth, obtained his education in the schools
of his native county and was early trained in farm work, assisting his father in the culti-
vation of the fields until twenty-one years of age. He then rented his father's farm, which
he tilled for four years and at the end of that time he established a retail shoe business in
Perry, Iowa, conducting the store for two years, at the end of which time he sold out.
It was on the 16th of December, 1896, that Mr. Simon married Miss Hattie B. Peck who
was born in Warren county, Iowa, November 23, 1870, a daughter of John and Margaret
(Coon) Peck, who were farming people of the Hawkeye state. Mr. and Mrs. Simon have
become the parents of four children; Earl, Lucile, Lloyd and Margaret, all at home.
At the time of his maiTiage Mr. Simon rented a farm in Warren county, Iowa, and there
carried on agricultural pursuits for four years. In 1901 he went to Madison county, Iowa,
and purchased one hundred and six acres of land but soon afterward sold that property and
for a year thereafter cultivated a rented farm. He next bought a hundred acres, on which
he lived for three years, and after selling that property again cultivated a rented farm for
a year. In 1906 he removed to North Dakota and purchased the northwest quarter of section
2 in Elliott township, Ransom county. This was a tract of wild land on which were no
trees nor improvements. He erected a good building, planted trees and continued the work
of further developing his property. Subsequently he purchased the southwest quarter of the
same section and brought that, too, under cultivation He next bought the southeast quarter
of section 35 in Springer township and is now farming four hundred and eighty acres of his
own land and also rents and cultivates three hundred and twenty acres adjoining. He is
358 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
tlms extensively engaged in farming, devoting liis time to the development and improvement
of eiglit hnndred acres. He likewise engages in raising shorthorn cattle, having a herd of
about twenty-five head on his place, and he also has seventy-five head of Duroc-Jersey hogs.
There are no improvements of the modern farm that are lacking upon his place. Hi's wo*rk
is carried on along the most practical and progressive linos and he finds that city with its
privileges easy of access because of the fact that he drives an Overland car and" thus in a
short time can reach a given point. Fraternally Mr. Simon is connected with the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows and is a past grand of his lodge. His political support is given to the
republican party and for three years he served on the township board, taking an active
interest in all that pertained to public welfare and doing everything in his power" to advance
the general good. During the years of his residence in North Dakota he has made steady
progress in business and has wisely utilized his time and opportunities so that success
in substantial measure is now his and he ranks with the most prominent of those who are
extensively engaged in farming in Ransom county.
ANDREW A. BRUCE.
Rising above the heads of the mass are many men of sterling worth and value who by
sheer perseverance and determination have conquered fortune and by their own unaided
efforts have risen from the ranks of the commonplace to eminence and positions of respect
and trust; but the brilliant qualities of mind which mark the great lawyer and successful
jurist are to a certain extent God-given. The use of time, talent and opportunity, however,
determine the position of an individual in any chosen walk of life, and that Judge Bruce is
accounted one of the foremost lawyers of the Mississippi valley is due no more to his keen
and brilliant mind than to his close application, his thorough study and his conscientious
regard for the responsibility that devolves upon him.
Judge Bruce was born at Nunda Drug, Madras Presidency, India, April 15, 1866, a son
of General Edward Archibald and Anne Young (McMaster) Bruce. The Scotch nativity of
his parents led to their return to Europe and the education of their son there. He was a
student at Holmesdale House, in Sussex, England, from 1874 until 1879 and in the latter
year matriculated in Bath College at Bath, England, where he remained for two years. On
the death of his parents, in 1881, he came alone to the United States and after working on
a farm for some years he entered the University of Wisconsin, from which he won the B. A.
degree in 1890 and the LL. B. degree in 1892. He was valedictorian of his class and was
elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society. In 1S90 he was appointed secretary to the justices
of the supreme court of Wisconsin, which ofTice he filled for two years, after which he became
chief dork in the law department of the Wisconsin Central Railway Company, so continuing
until 1893. He was then made attorney for the state board of factory inspectors of Illinois,
remaining in that position for two years, and in 1893 he also entered upon the private prac-
tice of law in Chicago, continuing a member of the bar in that city for five years. In 1898
he was called to the University of Wisconsin as assistant professor of law, remaining in that
position until 1902, and was professor of law from 1902 until 1911. in the University of
North Dakota, acting as dean of the College of Law from 1904 until he severed his connec-
tion with the institution. His elevation to the supreme bench came in November, 1911,
when he was elected an associate jiistice of North Dakota. A man of well balanced intellect,
thoroughly familiar with the law and practice and possessed of comprehensive general infor-
mation, he combines therewith an analytical mind and a self-control that enables him to lose
his individuality, his personal feelings and his peculiarities of disposition in the dignity,
impartiality and equity of the oflRcc. His reported opinions are monuments to his profound
legal learning, showing a thorough mastery of the questions involved, a rare simplicity of
style and an admirable terseness and clearness in the statement of the principles upon which
the opinions rest.
On the 29th of .Tune, 1899, in River Forest, Illinois, Judge Bruce was united in marriage
to Miss Elizabeth Bacon Pickett, a niece of General George Pickett and a daughter of Joseph
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 359
D. Pickett, who was superintendent of public instruction in Kentucky. Judge and Mrs.
Bruce liave a daughter and son, Glen and Edward McMaster.
In religious faith Judge Bruce is an Episcopalian, while fraternally he is identified with
the York Rite Masons, the Mystic Shrine and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
and the Delta Upsilon, Phi Delta Phi and Phi Beta Kappa societies. He is a republican. His
work in behalf of his profession has been of wide scope. He has been a close student of the
science of government and of the grave problems which have to do with the political, economic
and sociological conditions of the country. He took a leading part in the enactment and
enforcement of the child labor and sweat shop laws of both Illinois and Wisconsin. He has
been in much demand as a public speaker and has been a frequent contributor to magazines
and newspapers, his writing covering many subjects bearing upon his profession and others
of more general interest, including a book on "Property and Society." He is an ex-president
of the state board of bar examiners of North Dakota and he was a delegate to the universal
congress of lawyers and jurists in St. Louis in 1904. He belongs to the American Bar Asso-
ciation, in which he has served as a member of the general council and a manager of the
comparative law bureau. He has been honored with the presidency of the North Dakota
State Bar Association, was made a commissioner on uniform state laws for North Dakota,
and has served on the executive committee of the national conference. Nature endowed him
with marked ability and he has used his talents wisely and well, leaving the impress of his
individuality upon the laws and upon the judicial history of the states in which he has lived.
To an understanding of uncommon aeuteness and vigor he has added a thorough and con-
scientious preparatory training, while he has exemplified in his practice and upon the bench
all the higher elements of the truly great lawyer and jurist.
GEORGE WELLINGTON JONES.
George W^ellington Jones, a partner in the hardware firm of Jones Brothers, at Ciosby
and one of the most progressive and enterprising citizens of the town, his labors at all times
being resultant along the lines of progress and improvement, was born upon a farm in Roch-
ester, Minnesota, March 11, 1877, his parents being James M. and Mary A. (McCumber) Jones,
mentioned elsewhere in this work in connection with the sketch of their son, 0. M. Jones.
George W. Jones was educated in the city schools of Rochester, Minnesota, and in a
business college there and afterward traveled for two years. Later he became proprietor of
a small confectionery store at Kenyon, Minnesota, where he remained for three years and
in 1905 he removed to Flaxton, North Dakota, where he established a hotel w-hich he con-
ducted for a year. In .lune, 1906, he aiTived in Crosby and opened the first hotel of the
town, it being also the first two story building. After conducting the business for three
months he was joined by his brother, 0. M. Jones, and they opened a hardware business
under the firm style of Jones Brothers. In the intervening years they have since built up a
large trade and their commercial enterprise constitutes a very substantial force in the
development of the business interests of this section.
In 1906 George W. Jones was married to Miss Nellie Hunter, of Noonan, North Dakota,
who was born and reared in Indiana and in 1904 came to this state with her parents, w'ho
homesteaded near Noonan. She is a daughter of W. J. and Sarah Hunter, natives of Indiana,
where they were identified with fanning interests until they established their home \ipon a
farm in North Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Jones have become parents of six children: George W.,
Earl, Clinton, Ruth, Hazel and Arda, all at home.
Mr. Jones is a stalwart advocate of republican principles and served as a member of the
first city council following the organization of the village. He was also clerk of the school
board for two years and has been president of the school board for the past six years, in
which connection he was largely instmmental in securing the erection of a new modern brick
schooUiouse seventy-six by eighty-two feet. The citizens said that his project was impracti-
cal, that it could not be carried out, but he demonstrated that it could be done and Crosby
is today justly proud of her school building. He is a director of the city park board, of the
Crosby Commercial Club and of the Divide Countv Fair Association. :\rr. Jones is rated as a
360 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
man wlio lias and is doing as much, if not more, for the new town of Crosby tlian any otluu"
citizen. He is always ready with time and money to further its projects and to promote any
movement that will benefit the community. He is indeed a man of marked public spirit and
is at the same time a progressive and enterprising business man who well deserves the suc-
cess which has come to him.
EDGAR LEOPOLD MOKROW.
Edgar Leopold Morrow is engaged in the manufacture and sale of harness and saddlery
at Kenmare,- carrying the largest stock of goods west of Minneapolis. He was born at
Hagersville, near Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, November 23, 1870, a son of William and
Sarah (Ellicott) Morrow. The father was born in Ireland and in his childhood days
became a resident of Canada, where he was reared and educated. He followed farming
in the vicinity of Hamilton until his death, which occurred in 1898. His wife, a native
of Canada, passed away January 10, 1U16, at the age of seventy-nine years.
Edgar L. Morrow, spending his youthful days upon the home farm near Hagers-
ville, attended the district schools and worked in the fields for his father until he reached
the age of twenty. In 1891 he removed to Manitou, Canada, and was there employed as a
harvest hand. He had one of his feet frozen, necessitating its amputation, and this forced
him into seeking some other means of livelihood and he decided upon tlie trade of harness
making, serving a long apprenticeship at tliat line in Boissevain, Manitoba. He after-
ward worked at his trade in Winnipeg and other places in Manitoba, for eleven years
and in 1901 he arrived in Kenmare, Ward county, at which time he took up a home-
stead of one hundred and sixty acres of land six and one-half miles from the town. He
cultivated the property, complying with the law in regard to improvement and occupancy.
In 1904 lie opened a harness making establishment and in 1905 bought lots in Kenmare
and erected thereon a modern business building for store and factory purposes, sellin"-
his homestead in order to buy machinery and stock and thus start the business. His
plant is equipped with all kinds of electrically driven machinery for the manufacture of
harness and his factory is built along the most sanitary lines. All around are large
glass windows giving daylight to every corner of the shop, and something of the volume
of business which he has developed is indicated in the fact that he carries the largest
stock of harness and horse goods west of Minneapolis, and he also handles trunks, bags
and other goods of similar nature. He does work for the fanners and ranchmen for
many miles around, and while he started in with a stock valued at only four hundred
dollars, he now carries a stock valued at five thousand dollars.
Mr. Morrow is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, while fraternally he is
connected with the Odd Fellows lodge at Kenmare and has passed through all the chairs.
His political allegiance is given to the republican party and in 1914 he was elected
alderman for the short term and in 191,5 was reelected, so that he is now serving in that
capacity. He maintains a stalwart position in support of measures for the general good
and is regarded as one of Kenmare's reliable officials and one of its most active and
progressive business men.
CHARLES F. GIBSON.
Charles F. Gibson, a representative farmer of North Dakota living in Cass county, has
made his home in this state since 1881 and has therefore been a witness of much
of its growth and development. He now has a splendidly imjiroved property situated on
section 14, Durbin township, his farm comprising three hundred and twenty acres of
rich and arable land. Mr. Gibson is a native of Canada, born November 29, 1862, his
parents being William and Jane (Gillespie) Gibson, the former a native of Scotland and
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 361
the latter of Canada. They were married in Canada, where their remaining days were
passed, and there tliey reared their family of five children.
Charlea F. Gibson, the only survivor of the family, spent his boyhood and youth in
his native country, remaining at home until he reached the age of eighteen years, when
he started out to make his way in the world. Crossing the border into the United
States, he came to North Dakota and for thirty-six years has been continuously a resident
of Cass county. In 1884 he purchased the farm upon which he now resides, his holdings
today embracing three hundred and twenty acres on section 14, Durbin township. His
labors have wrought a maiked transformation in the appearance of this place, which h*.
has improved with fine buildings. He makes a specialty of stock raising in connection with
general farming and has good grades of horses, cattle and hogs upon his place. The
equipments of a model farm are there to be seen and an air of neatness and thrift pervades
the place, indicating his careful supervision, his methods at all times being practical and
progressive. He is a stockholder in and the secretary of the Farmers Elevator of Maple-
ton and is one of the directors of the local telephone company.
In 1886 Mr. Gibson was united in marriage to Miss Janie Weir, a native of Canada
and a daughter of Ralph and Harriett (Shaver) Weir, who were also born in that
country. They made their home on a farm in Cass county, North Dakota, for a period of
fifteen years but then disposed of their property and returned to Canada, now residing
in Alberta. To them were born six children, four of whom still survive. Mr. and Mrs.
Gibson are the parents of two children, namely: Edith Grace, who is a graduate of the
State Normal School at Moorhead, Minnesota, and now follows the profession of teaching:
and Eafph William, at home.
Mr. Gibson holds membership in the Masonic lodge at Casselton and exemplifies in
his life the beneficent spirit of the craft. His political allegiance is given to the republi-
can part}' and for twenty years he has filled the office of township clerk, making a most
creditable record in the position, as is indicated by his long continuance therein. He and
his wife deserve much credit for what they have accomplished. They have worked
together, Mrs. Gibson's capable management of her home supplementing the efforts of
her husband in the fields, and they are now reaping the benefits of their lalior. being in
possession of a handsome competence which enables them to enjoy all the comforts and
some of the luxuries of life.
ALFRED E. SEVAREID.
Alfred E. Sevareid, cashier of the Merchant.? State Bank at Velva, was born in Kenyon,
Minnesota, October 20, 1882, his parents being Erick and Caroline (Krogstron) Sevareid,
the former a native of Norway and the latter of Sweden. The father came to America in
1853, settling in Goodhue county, Minnesota, where he took up a homestead and devoted
his remaining days to the cultivation and improvement of a farm, being ranked with the
most enterprising and progressive agriculturists of the district. He died March 5, 1892,
while his widow survived until May 15, 1913.
Alfred E. Sevareid began his education in the common schools of Goodhue county and
later entered Luther College at Decorah, Iowa, from which he was graduated with the class
of 1906. Wliile in college he won distinction in athletics, especially in baseball, making an
excellent record as a pitcher. He took up the profession of teaching in North Dakota and
after six months removed to Ruso, whei'e he was employed in a bank for three years. In
January, 1910, he accepted the cashiership of the Merchants State Bank at Velva and has
held that position continuously since, his thorough knowledge of the banking business, his
close application, unremitting energy and unvarying courtesy contributing in substantial
measure to the success of the institution. The other officers are: C. M. Anderson, president;
and A. 0. Anderson, vice president. The bank is capitalized for fifteen thousand dollars and
the deposits amount to two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars, the bank having the
largest home deposits of any bank in the county. The institution was organized in 1900 and
entered upon a substantial growth which makes it one of the strong and reliable moneyed
362 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
concerns of McHenry county. In addition to his connection with the banli Mr. Sevareid is a
stockholder and one of the directors of the Velva Supply Company and is the secretary and
treasurer of the Velva Land & Loan Company. Ho also has farming interests here and in
190S liomesteaded in McHenry county.
On the 14th of October, 190!), Mr. Sevareid was married to Miss Clara Uougen, a
daughter of the Kev. John 0. and Agnes Hougun, natives of Norway and Iowa, respectively.
The father has devoted his life to the work of the ministry and is now preaching in Tacoma,
Washington, but his wife has passed away. Mr. and Mrs. Sevareid have three children,
Paul A., Arnold E. and John W.
The religious faith of Mr. and Mrs. Sevareid is that of the Lutheran cliurch. His politi-
cal allegiance is given to the democratic party and he has served as a member of the city
council in Velva. In 1912 he ran for state senator on the democratic ticket and only lost
by a few votes in a strong republican district. He is now a trustee of Northwestern Col-
lege. At the outset of his career he recognized the fact that industry is the basis of success
and his continuous progress in the business world is due to the fact that he has made
industry the beacon light of his life. While naturally tlie greater part of his time and
attention is given to his business activities, he is never remiss in the duties of citizenship
and gives loyal support to plans and measiu'es for promoting public progress.
WILLIAM R. MOVIUS.
William R. Movius, the chief stockholder in the Lidgerwood Mill Company, one of the
important industrial concerns of Richland county, was born in Germany on the 1st of
November, 1850, and received an excellent education in his native land, attending high school
and college. Following his removal to this country he engaged in merchandising in Big
Stone City, South Dakota, where he remained for three years, after which he devoted a similar
period of time to agricultural pursuits. He then returned to Big Stone City and for three
years dealt in real estate. He continued to reside there until 1890 and was recognized as
one of its leading citizens. He served as the first postmaster for twelve years, provin" very
efTicient in that capacity.
Soon after his arrival in Lidgerwood, North Dakota, in 1890, Mr. Movius built a large
flour mill, which, however, burned four years later. He at once rebuilt and has continued
in business to the present time. The mill, which is conducted under the name of the
Lidgerwood :\flll Company, has a capacity of two hundred and fifty barrels per day and
ships Hour all over the United States. As it is in the heart of one of the best wheat
producing regions in the world and is thoro\ighly equipped wuth the most improved machin-
ery, while the utmost care is taken in the manufacture of the flour, it is but natural that
the flour should be of an unusually high quality and should find a ready sale. ilr. Movius
is president and general manager of the company and to him is due tlie greatest credit for
the success of the business. He is also interested in the First National Hank and in the
Movius Land & Loan Company.
Mr. Movius was married in 1870 to Miss Mareella Murray, a native of Fillmore county,
Minnesota, and a daughter of Duncan Murray. Her father, who was of Highland Scotch
descent, removed from Nova Scotia to Fillrafire county, Minnesota, in the early days of the
history of that state. Subsequently he came to Dakota, where he was frozen to death in a
blizzard. Mr. and Mrs. Movius have eight children: Arthur J., a i)liysician located at
Billings, Montana; Winfred D., who is associated with his father in the mill; Mareella, the
wife of Dr. N. J. Shields, of Wahpeton, this state; Pearl, who married A. W. Rosenkranz,
bookkeeper and electrician in the mill; Hex Murray, who is engaged in tlie real estate
business in Plenty wood, Montana; Walter R., who is employed in a real estate oflice in
Billings; Harold E., who is ranching in Montana, and Margaret, the wife of H. E. Warren,
of Jackson, Tennessee, who is superintendent of the dining ear service on the Mobile &
Ohio Railroad.
Air. Movius casts his ballot in supiJort of the measures and candidates of the democratic
WILLIAM R. MOVIUS
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 365
party and has served acceptably as a member of the citj' council and as a member of the
school board. His religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church, to the support
of which he contributes, and he strives to conform his life to the teachings of Christianity.
He has contributed in no small measure to the industrial and business development of his
section and has also done his part in promoting the advancement of his community along
moral and civic lines.
MANUEL F. BLANCO.
Manuel F. Blanco, vice president of the First State Bank of Jud, was born in New
York city on the 1st of July, 1887, his parents being Joseph L. and Jessie (Koch) Blanco,
the former a native of Spain and the latter of Brooklyn, New York. WTien a young man the
father came to the United States, arriving about 1875, his journey being made for the
purpose of managing the New York properties of his uncle, who lived in Spain. He con-
tinued in charge of those interests in the eastern metropolis for fifteen years but in 1890
left the Atlantic coast for the west, making his way to Lamoure county, North Dakota.
He settled eight miles southwest of Edgeley, where he purchased a relinquishment on
a tree claim of one hundred and sixty acres. Taking up his abode thereon, he engaged
in the sheep business, with which he was identified for twelve or thirteen years, after which
he sold his sheep and gave his undivided attention to general farming, raising the cereals best
adapted to soil and climate. He died upon his farm March 31, 1914, and is still survived
by his widow, who yet resides in Edgeley.'
Manuel F. Blanco supplemented his district school training by a term's study in the
agricultural college at Fargo and after his textbooks were put aside he was employed for
about a year and a half by the Pomona Valley Telephone Company, after which he made
his initial step in connection with the banking business on the 1st of April, 1910, entering
the First National Bank of Edgeley in the capacity of bookkeeper. On the 1st of
September, 1911, he removed to Jud to accept a similar position in the First State Bank
and on the 1st of May, 1912, he was appointed assistant cashier of the institution, while
on the 1st of January, 1914, he was made vice president of the bank and so continues, in
which connection he is bending his energies and efforts to administrative direction and
executive control.
On the 35th of June, 1913, Mr-. Blanco was married to Miss Olive Gunthorp, a daughter
of the Hon. Cliarles Gunthoi^p, a prominent business man and the present state representa-
tive of Edgeley, North Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Blanco have become parents of a daughter,
Elizabeth. Fraternally he is connected with Maple River Lodge, No. 41, F. & A. M., of
Edgeley, and he also belongs to Golden Glen Lodge, No. 80, I. 0. 0. F., at that place.
Politically he is a republican and has served as president of the town board of Jud, being
axituated in his public connections as well as in his business relations by a spirit of
undaunted enterprise and progress.
WALTER JOHNSON.
The broad prairies of North Dakota have attracted to the state enterprising agriculturists
who have recognized the advantages here offered for the development of productive farms,
and not only have they carried forward the specific work for which they came but they
have also here reared families who have continued the work, further carrying on the
agricultural development of the state. Among the representatives of this younger genera-
tion is Walter .Johnson, who was born in Tuller township. Ransom county, December 22,
1880, and it is in that township that he still makes his home. His father, Abram Johnson,
was born near Spring Valley, New Jersey, and in 1880 came to North Dakota, where he
homesteaded the place upon which Walter Johnson now resides, there remaining until his
death, which occurred in 1908. He made a specialty of raising high grade shorthorns and
366 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Shropsliiie sheep in addition to the work of general farming. He married Rachel Lozier,
a native of Koclioster, New Jersey, and they became tlic i)arents of six children, of whom
Walter was the third. The mother died in IDOy.
To the district scliool .system of the state Walter Johnson is indebted for the educational
privileges which he enjoyed and which prepared him for life's practical duties. He was
married on the 3d of June, 1914, to Miss Luella Bock, who was born in Minnesota,
August 14, 1896, a daughter of John and Helena Bock, who are also natives of that state
and who came to North Dakota in 1904. The father has devoted his life to general farm-
ing and both he and his wife are now residents of Lisbon, this state. In their family were
six children, of whom Mrs. Johnson is the eldest, and by her marriage she has become the
motlier of one son, Harold Krwin, born April IS, 1915.
Mr. Johnson worked with his father on the old homestead farm until the latter's
death, at which time he and his brother Lester purchased the place and have since operated
the farm, Walter Johnson taking the south half of section 28, Tuller township, and also
forty acres on section 33. He is still living in the house in which he was born and which
was erected by his father, who was a carpenter and who built nearly all of the earlier
buildings of the county, together with the schoolhouses and various business blocks in
Lisbon. Walter Johnson devotes his attention not only to the cultivation of his fields but
also to the purcliase and sale of stock and both branches of his business are proving
profitable. He has upon his place substantial buildings and modern eciuipment in the
way of improved farm machinery which facilitates the work of the fields. He is also a
stockholder in the Equity Elevator Company of St. Paul and in the Equity Elevator
Company of Lisbon, and he is a director and stockholder in the Farmers Southeastern
Telephone Company. He speculates quite extensively in Minnesota lands and his business
airairs are all carefully and wisely managed, bringing to him substantial and growing
success.
In his political views Mr. Johnson is an earnest republican, having supported the jiarty
since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. For one year he filled tlie office of
school treasurer and with the exception of a period of two years has continuously served
as township treasurer since the organization of the township. He is interested in all
matters pertaining to the general good and wherever possible aids in the work of public
progress. Fraternally he is connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen as a
member of the lodge at Lisbon and in that organization and in other connections he is
popular, having the qualities which make for strong friendships and kindly regard.
EDWARD R. SINKLER.
Edward H. Siiiklcr, practicing law in Minot, was born at Waupun, Wisconsin, May
3, 1871, a son of Adolph F. and Esther (Thorlson) Sinklcr, natives of Sweden and Norway
respectively. The father crossed the Atlantic in 1865, when about twenty-five years of
age and took up his abode at Waupun, where he engaged in blacksniithing until 1877. In
that year he removed to W^alnut Grove, Minnesota, and afterward to Grafton, North
Dakota, making the trip to Grafton in 1881 on the first train that entered the town.
There he engaged in the liipior hnsiniss for a year but afterward took up his abode ujion
a farm, whereon he resided until isiui, when he returned to Grafton. There he lived
retire<l for six years, after which he establi.shed his home at Rdscobcl, Wisconsin, where
he still lives retired. His wife also survives.
Edward R. Sinklcr, who was the second in a family of four children, completed his
public school education by graduation from the high school at Grafton and in 1889 he
comjileted a course in the North Dakota University. He also attended St. Olaf College at
Northfield, Minnesota, and the Northwestern University Law School, in which he pinsued
his studies from 1894 until 1896. His school days, however, did not compass a continuous
period, for other activities intervened ere he prepared for the bar. At the age of
twenty-one he became a professional baseball player and in that manner earned his way
through college and the university. Wli<'n he had completed his law course he entered
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 367
at once upon the practice of his profession at Grafton, North Dakota, in 1896, and there
remained until 1909, when he came to Minot, where he has since continued in the general
practice of law. His ability was soon demonstrated in the capable manner in which he
handled the cases entrusted to his care. His success in a professional way affords the best
evidence of his capabilities in this line. He is a strong advocate with the jury and concise
in his appeals before the court. He has won for himself very favorable criticism for the
careful and systematic methods which he has followed and he stands high, especially in the
discussion of legal matters before the court, where his comprehensive knowledge of the law
is manifest. As he has prospered he has made judicious investment in real estate and has
become the owner of valuable farm land in Ward, Pembina and Williams counties, which
he rents, devoting his entire attention to his law practice.
On the 17th of May, 1896, Mr. Sinkler was married to Miss Gurly Christenson, a
native of Chicago and a daughter of W. F. and Salien Christenson, the latter a native of
Sweden. The father was born at Trondhjem, Norway, and when a young man came to the
new world, arriving in Chicago about 1867. He is a cabinetmaker by trade and is now
engaged in the manufacture of high grade furniture for the Tobey p'urniture Company.
Mr. and Mrs. Sinkler have become the parents of three children: Volborg, attending the
Northwestern University a# Chicago; Swanhild, who is also a student in Chicago; and
Gurly, now a high school student in Chicago.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Sinkler is an Odd Fellow and Elk. He is also connected
with the Modern Woodmen of America, the American Yeomen and the Sons of Norway.
His political support is given to the republican party and he served as states attorney
of Walsh county from 1900 until 1904. At the present time, however, he does not take
active part in politics aside from exercising his right of franchise. He prefers to concentrate
his entire attention upon his professional duties and at the bar he has made a most
creditable record, for he throws himself easily and naturally into the argument with a self
possession and a deliberation that indicates no straining after effect but a precision and
clearness in his statement and an acuteness in his argument which speaks a mind trained
in the severest school of investigation and to which the closest reasoning has become
habitual and easv.
JUDGE BRICK M. PIERCE.
Judge Brick M. Pierce, a resident of Crosby and judge of Divide county, was born in
Barry county, Michigan, Jlarch 30, 1878, a son of Joseph .J. and Frances (Hanvood) Pierce.
The father, a native of Pennsylvania, acquired a common school education and as a young
man took up the insurance business, which he followed throughout his entire life. In the
early days, or in 1883, he established his home at Pipestone, Minnesota, and there continued
to reside until death called him in 1900. His wife, a native of Michigan, spent her girlhood
days at Battle Creek, that state, and is now living in Pipestone, Minnesota.
It was there that Judge Pierce was reared and in the public schools passed through
consecutive grades until he became a high school pupil. In early manhood he took up the
])rofession of teaching, which he followed in Alinnesota and in North Dakota. He took up
the business of a traveling photographer, being thus engaged for a time, and later he
entered the Leeds State Bank at Leeds, North Dakota, in the capacity of assistant cashier.
After five years he removed to Noonan, North Dakota, where he was assistant cashier in the
First International Bank for six years or until the division of the county. He' was then
appointed county judge by the county commissioners of Divide county in 1910 and occupied
that position until 1912, when he became a candidate for the office and was elected. Two
years later he was reelected against strong opposition and in 1916 was again chosen for
the ofhce, which position he is now acceptably filling, his decisions being at all times fair and
impartial, being based upon the law and the equity in the case. That his course is highly
commended by public opinion is indicated in the fact that he has been three times chosen
by popular suffrage. In politics he is a republican but is a man of very liberal views and
will not sacrifice the public welfare to partisanship.
368 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
On the 20tli of December, 1911, Judge riorce was united in marriage to Miss \Vinifre<l
Uaugherty at Noonan. Slie was born in Indiana and in her early girlhood came to North
Uakota. For a time she taught school and was principal of the schools at Ambrose, Impe-
rial and Noonan, being thus engaged up to the time of her marriage. She has become the
mother of two children: Marion, born in Crosby, October 11, 1912; and Morris, born July 28,
1914.
Judge Pierce has filled several minor oflices in Crosby and at Noonan, and is now presi-
dent of the Crosby park board. Fraternally he is connected with the Elks lodge at Minot,
with the Masonic lodge at Crosby, of which he is senior deacon, and with the Royal Arch
chapter at Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada. He is broad and liberal in his religious views
and it is characteristic of him that he is always working for the interest of some plan or
project for the benefit and good of the community in which he lives. He believes particularly
that each city should establish parks and playgrounds for the children, recognizing the fact
that healthful recreation is not only a source of physical strength but also an element in
good citizenship. His position in regard to affairs of city and county is that there are many
desirable things, not strictly speaking necessities, for which money may properly be spent
but that discretion and care should be used in expenditure. For twenty-one years he has
been a resident of North Dakota and in the early days he traveled extensively all over the
state doing photographic work. He is enthusiastic concerning its agricultural advantages,
especially in Divide county, and is doing effective work in making known the advantages
oflered in that district along the line of successful farming. He has erected a home in Crosby
and he is now putting forth earnest effort to secure the erection of a courthouse* in the
town. A stalwart champion of education, he believes that no investment gives better value
than the building of sclioolhouses and the providing of educational facilities to train the
young. He has a wide acquaintance and his friends, who are many, are numbered among
all classes of people. Those who read between the lines of this review will readily see that
Judge Pierce is a big, broad-minded man. looking at the vital questions of life from no nar-
row, selfish nor contracted standpoint, and appreciation of his worth on the part of his fel-
low townsmen is indicated in tlie fact t)iat he was elected without opposition to the county
bench in 1916.
JOHN T. PETERSON.
John T. Peterson, a general merchant of Englevale, was bnrii in Iowa in ISVl, a son
of Torkel Peterson, Avho was a native of Norway and on coming to the United States in
1871 settled in Cresco, Iowa. Subsequently he removed to Wisconsin, where he remained
until his death, which occurred in 1878. His wife, Mrs. Annie Marie Peterson, was also a
native of Norway, in which country their marriage was celebrated. They had a family of
three children, of whom John T. was the third. The mother long survived her husband,
passing away in May, 1916.
John T. Peterson largely acquired his education in the district schools of Wisconsin,
although in the school of experience he has learned many valuable lessons. When his
textbooks were put aside he began concentrating his efforts npon work on his father's
farm and was thus engaged until seventeen years of age, when he removed to Fort Riinsom,
North Dakota, and entered the employ of E. S. Sovlace, a general merchant, with whom
he remained for si.xteen years, his long connection with that house plainly indicating his
capability and thorough reliability. In 1906 he removed to Englevale, where he embarked
in general merchandising on his own account and through the intervening period of ten
years has since carried on a growing business here, his success being attributable to his
honorable dealing, close application and enterprising methods. He has the largest establish-
ment of the kind in Englevale and in addition is proprietor of a general mercantile store
at Fort Ransom. lie is likewise interested in farm lands but from the standpoint of
investment only, as he does not personally cultivate his fields. He is also a stockholder in
the Farmers Elevator at Englevale and in business affairs displays sound judgment and
keen sagacity.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 369
In 1897 Mr. Peterson was united in marriage to Miss >;ettie Rulsvold, wlio was born
in Norway in 1879, being the youngest in a family of seven cliildren. To them have been
born three children, namely: Harold, whose natal day was December 25, 1903; Viola, who
was born January 27, 1906, and passed away in July, 1915; and Willard, bom January
28, 1910.
In politics Mr. Peterson is an earnest republican but the honors and emoluments of
office have had no attraction for him. He has served, however, as president and director
of the school board of Hanson township, Eansom county, and he is a member of the
Englevale Lutheran church, of which he is also a trustee. His has been an active and
well spent life and from the age of seventeen years he has depended entirely upon his own
resources, so that whatever success he has achieved is the direct and merited reward of his
own labors.
ELLSWORTH C. AITOEUS.
Ellsworth C. Andrus, manager of the Andrews elevator at Elliott, was born near BufTalo,
New York, August 17, 1862, a son of Sylvester B. Andrus, whose birth occurred in the
Empire state in 1838 and who in 1882 came to North Dakota, settling first at Fargo. The,
following year he removed to Dickey county, establishing his home on section 14, township
133, range 59. The township was afterward known as the James River Valley township
and there Mr. Andrus took up the occupation of farming and in 1889 began specializing in
shorthorn Durhams, being known throughout the county for his fine herd. The father died
in March, 1897, and the community mourned the loss of one of its valued and representative
citizens. In New York he married Miss Hariett Underbill, who was born in 1839, in the same
locality as her husband, and they became the parents of six children, of whom one died in
childhood, while five are still living. The mother yet survives and now makes her home with
her daughter, Jb'S. Hattie Elliott, four miles east of Glover, North Dakota.
Ellsworth C. Andrus, the eldest in the family, was a young lad when his parents removed
westward, and in Rochester, Minnesota, he attended the public schools, passing through
consecutive grades to the high school and afterward pursuing a course in the Rochester
Business College, from which he was graduated. Subsequently he removed to Fatgo in 1882
and there worked at the carpenter's trade, spending a year in that city. In 1883 he went to
Dickey county, North Dakota, and became interested in the raising of shorthorn cattle and
in general farming. There he remained until 1897, when he removed to Oakes, this state,
continuing his residence there for four years, his time and energies being devoted to the
grain trade and to carpentering.' In 1901 he established his home in Elliott and for six years
here represented the Andrews Grain Company of Minneapolis. On the expiration of that
period he embarked in business on his own account and so continued for four years, or until
he met with losses, his mill being destroyed by fire in 1912. He then returned to the employ
of the Andrews Company and was made manager at Elliott, which responsible position he
is now filling. He thoroughly understands the grain trade and carefully directs the inter-
ests of the company at this point, the business here proving a profitable one. For seven years
Mr. Andrus managed a hunber and implement business for the C. E. Jones Lumber & Imple-
ment Company of Lisbon, which he conducted in connection with the grain trade, but now
concentrates his entire attention upon the management and control of the Andrews elevator
at Elliott.
In 1889 occurred the maixiage of Mr. Andriis and Miss Ida L. Rapp, who was born in
Wisconsin in 1868 and removed with her parents. Casper and Catherine Rapp, to North
Dakota, the family home being established in Dickey eoiuity. In 1882 they became residents
of Sargent county, settling on section 5, Denver township. There the father passed away in
1885 and the mother is now living with a daughter at Fryburg, North Dakota. Mr. and Mrs.
Andrus have become the parents of two sons: Earl C, who was bom October 5, 1891, and
died in 1911; and Guy C, who was born in November, 1895.
In his political views Mr. Andnis is a republican and when in Dickey coimty held the
office of assessor in his township. He was also school clerk for eight years and afterward
370 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
was again called to tlie position of assessor and was also clerk in James River Valley
townslup. Since his removal to Ransom county he has been for ten years clerk in Klliott
townsliip and assessor for four years, occupying the latter position at the present time.
Still higher political honors, however, have been conferred upon him bv liis fellow townsmen,
who recognize his worth and ability, for in 1911 he went to Bismarck as the representative
of the fourteenth district, whicli includes Ransom county. He was again asked to become
a member of the general assembly but refused. Fraternally lie is connected with the Modern
Woodmen camp at Oakes, with the United Workmen lodge at Lisbon, with the Knights of
Pythias lodge of Lisbon, with the blue lodge, chapter and commandery at Lisbon an'd with
El Zagal Temple of the Jlystic Shrine at Fargo. His religious faith is that of the lipiscopal
church, his membership being at Lisbon. His life is characterized by high and honorable
purpose and as the years have passed he has gained the high and well merited regard of all
with whom he has been brought in contact.
MARCUS MORTON CHATFIELD.
ilarcus Morton Chatfield, member of the Minot bar, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota,
October 19, 18T6, a son of Marcus Morton and Helen L. (Willson) Chatfield. The mother was
born in New York in 1847. The father, whose birth occurred in Ohio in 1840, became a farmer
and in the year 1858 removed to JOnnesota, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits
until the year 1901, when he filed on land north of Minot, in Bottineau county, in what is
now Chatfield township, there remaining until about a year prior to his death, which occurred
in January, 1911. His widow still survives and is now a resident of Minot. Mr. Chatfield
was a veteran of the Civil war, having served for four years and nine months as a member
of Company B, First Iowa Cavalry, and when active hostilities closed he was sent with his
regiment to the Texas border because of the troubles in Mexico during the reign of Kmpcror
Maximilian. He was never wounded but suffered with black measles, which confined him
in the hospital for a time. It was his army experience that practically caused his death,
for it left him with physical conditions from which he never recovered. He was always quite
prominent in the communities in which he lived, not because he sought public recognition
but because? his ability was recognized by his fellow townsmen. He served as county com-
missioner in Rock county, Minnesota, and held various township ollices. His [lolitieal allegi-
ance was given to the republican [larty, of which he was a stanch advocate. He was a man
of broad symjiathy and was continually extending a helping liand to those who needed
assistance.
His son and namesake, Marcus JI. Chatfield of Minot, was the si.vth in order of birth
in a family of eleven children. He attended school in southern Minnesota but says that his
best education was obtained from the meadows, brooks, birds and fields. However, he attended
the country schools until he was sixteen years of age, after which he spent two years as a
student in the State Normal School at Jlankato. Still later he entered the University of
North Dakota and was graduated from the law di'i)artnient with the class of 190,'5. He began
teaching when seventeen years of age, following that profession for about thiee years during
the winter seasons, while in the .summer months ho engaged in farming. At the time of the
Spanish-American war he enlisted as a member of Company 0. Fifteenth Minnesota Regi-
ment, serving with the rank of corporal. He spent two months at Camp Randall and at
Fort Snelling and was then transferred to Camp Meade, Pennsylvania, and later to Camp
McKenzie, Augusta, Georgia. His regiment was not called upon for active service at the
front, however, and he was mustered out in Georgia, March 27, 1899. After returning home
he engaged in teaching for a year, then attended school for two years and afterward taught
again for a year in Minnesota. On the expiration of that period he came to North Dakota,
filed on land and proved up his claim. It was in the fall of 190.3 that he entered the State
University, from which he was graduated with the class of 1905. Having thus prepared
for the bar, he began practice in Minot, wliere he has since been an active member of the
profession. For a brief period he practiced with R. M. Andrews and was afterward alone in
practice until 1911, when he entered into partnership Avith John L. Fahey, which connection
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 371
continued until the death of Mr. Fahey on the 9th of September, 1915. Mr. Chatfield is again
alone and is devoting his attention to general law practice, being recognized as one of the
able lawyers of the Minot bar. He is also a landowner of North Dakota, having two quarter
sections in the state. While he devotes practically his entire attention to his law practice,
he makes fine chickens his hobby and raises the beautiful Houdan breed, keeping about one
hundred birds on hand. He finds pleasure and recreation in raising chickens and his work
in that connection is of great interest to him.
On the 13th of June, 1906, Mr. Chatfield was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude
Birkett, who was born in or near Ellsworth, Jlinnesota, and resided on a farm there until
she became the wife of our subject. Her parents are Mr. and Mrs. Miles Birkett, the former
a native of Ontario, Canada, and the latter of Iowa. Miles Birkett came to the United States
when very young, settling first in Iowa, but soon after the Civil war took up a claim at Ells-
worth, Minnesota, where he still resides. In 1863, when between sixteen and seventeen years
of age, he enlisted in an Iowa regiment and served with the Union army until the close of
hostilities. Mr. and Mrs. Chatfield have five children, as follows: Miles Biikett, born August
13, 1908; Gertrude, whose natal day was November 25, 1909; Marcus Morton, whose birth
occurred on the 20th of December, 1911; Helen, born July 16, 1913; and Keith, born July 26,
1915.
Mr. Chatfield is identified with several fraternal organizations, belonging to the Knights
of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Ancient Order of United Workmen.
In politics he is a republican, inclined to affiliate with the progressive wing of the party.
In 1909 he was elected a member of the state legislature but is not a seeker for political
honors or ofBce. He is now president of the school board of Harrison district, which includes
a pait of the city of Minot. He belongs to the Congregational church and is interested in all
those forces which work for the material, intellectual, social, political and moral progress of
the community. He stands for advancement at all times and his work has been a tangible
element in bringing about needed reforms and improvements in Minot. In the practice of
law, too, his course has been a forward one and he is concentrating his energies upon his
professional duties in a manner that has made his devotion to his clients' interests proverbial.
RENAKD A. WEKNER.
Renard A. W^erner, president of the First State Bank of Alfred, in which he owns a large
majority of the stock, was born in Redwood county, Minnesota, July 13, 1878, a son of
August and Lottie Werner, the former a native of Berlin, Germany, while the latter was
born near Eipon, Wisconsin. The father came to the United States when a youth of four-
teen years, crossing the Atlantic as a stowaway. After three days on the vessel he made
himself known and was put to work in the kitchen peeling potatoes, by which means he
paid his passage over, the \oyage lasting four months, for the ship was one of the old-time
sailing vessels. Immediately after his arrival he was paid two hundred and fifty dollars to
act as a substitute for a man who had been drafted for service in the Civil war and for
three years he rendered military aid to the government, while the money which had been
paid him was sent to his mother to bring her and his six brothers to this country.
After the war August Werner went to New Ulra, Minnesota, and two years later removed
to Lamberton. that state, taking up a homestead which was then sixty-five miles from a rail-
road. He immediately began to develop and improve his property and as his financial
resources increased he extended the boundaries of his farm until it comprised four hundred
and eighty acres. There he carried on general farming until 1911, when he left one of his
sons upon the old homestead and removed to Lamberton, where he is now living retired.
Renard A. Werner completed his public school education in the high school at Lam-
berton with the class of 1898, after which he entered the Northwestern College at Naperville,
Illinois, where he won the Bachelor of Science degree upon graduation with the class of 1903.
It was his intention to enter Rush Medical College of Chicago but at that time the college
raised its entrance requirements and Mr. Werner gave up the idea of studying medicine.
His college work was pursued after his return from service in the Spanish-American war.
372 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
He had enlisted in May, 1898, and was held in the detention camps at Chickamauga Park,
Georgia, and at Camp Hamilton in Lexington, Kentucky, being mustered out at New rim,
Minnesota, in the following November.
After his graduation from the Northwestern College at Naperville, Illinois, Mr. Werner
came to this state and through the succeeding winter engaged in teaching at Dickey, Lanioure
county. He afterward took charge of the implement business of H. D. Jlack of Dickey and
continued in that position for almost a year, when on a trip to Fargo he met 0. W. Kerr
of the 0. W. Kerr Company, investment bankers, and formed plans whereby in connection
with Mr. Kerr he established the Logan County Bank at Cackle. He was placed in charge
of the institution as cashier and continued in that capacity from the opening of the bank
in September, 190.5, until the 1st of January, 1914, when he severed his connection with
that institution and bought a controlling interest in the First State Bank of Alfred, of which
he had been one of the organizers in 1909. He became its president and is now at the head
of the bank, which has entered upon a successful existence, basing its management upon the
rules wliich govern and safeguard thoroughly reliable banking institutions. He is also an
extensive holder of farm lands, owning nine hundred and eighty acres in Stutsman, Lamoure
and Logan counties, and from his farm property he derives a most gratifying annual income.
In 1905 Mr. Werner was married to Miss Luella Brunner, of Dickey, and they have
become parents of three children: Burnett, Chrystal and Kermit. Mr. Werner exercises his
right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party, and while
never seeking political office, has served as a member of the school board for some years.
He is prominent in local Masonic circles as a member of Dickey Lodge, No. 63, F. & A. M.,
and Edgeley Chapter, R. A. M. He also belongs to Lincoln Lodge, No. 57, I. 0. 0. F., of
Dickey. He has a wide acquaintance in the southeastern part of the state, where he has
operated in business circles along lines that have led to the advancement of public prosperity
as well as individual success.
PROFESSOR ARTHUR GRISWOLD CRANE.
Professor Arthur Griswold Crane, president of the State Normal School at Jlinot, laid
the foundation for the success of this institution in that he inaugurated the policy and
formulated the system of work of the institution. He is today widely recognized as an able
educator and the Minot Normal is an expression of his ability and resourcefulness. He was
born September 1, 1877, in Delaware county. New York, a son of Edward Payson and Mary
Ward (Griswold) Crane, natives of New York city and of Madison, New Jersey, respectively.
The father was a Presbyterian minister and in 1881 removed with his family to the west,
settling in Olmsted county, Minnesota, where he remained for four years. He afterward
resided- in various parts of that state and in Iowa until 1909, when he came to North
Dakota and for three years was pastor of the Presbyterian church at Minto. He subsequently
removed to Central City, Iowa, where his wife died, and since that time Rev. Ciane has
returned to New Y'ork, where he now makes his home. At the time of the Civil war he
served for about two years as chaplain of the Twenty-ninth New Jersey Volunteer Infantry.
Professor Crane of this review is the younger of the two children in his father's family.
He attended the public schools of Minnesota and Iowa, completing a high school course, and
taking his college work at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, winning the Bachelor
of Science degree with the class of 1902. He afterward took post graduate work in Colum1)ia
University of New York. He continued at home until he attained his majority, although he
had worked for others to some extent previous to that time. !{(• was principal of the
Menahga, Jliimesota, schools for a year, after which he completed his college course, at the
end of which time he accepted the position of city superintendent of schools at Minto, there
remaining from 1903 until 1905. For two years he was principal of the Fergus county high
school at Lewistown, Montana, and for five years was superintendent of the city schools at
Jamestown, North Dakota, coming to Minot to accept the presidency of the State Normal
School in the fall of 1912. He was the first to occupy that position and there were no
buildings erected at the time of his arrival in Minot. He took an active interest in
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 373
securing the equipment for tlie scliool and formulating plans for its development, and the
course of instruction which he inaugurated has placed the Minot Normal on a par with other
schools of the kind throughout the northwest. During his residence here he has become the
owner of a pleasant home and he also has timber lands in Minnesota.
On the 37th of August, 1904, Jlr. Crane was married to Miss Lura May De Arment, who
was born at Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania, a daughter of George and Cassie (Tiffany)
De Arment. The father has always followed the occupation of farming and still lives in
the east at the age of sixty-five years, but his wife passed away in 1911. For a number of
terms he served as county commissioner of Crawford county, Pennsylvania.
Professor Crane is an active member of the Presbj-terian church, having served as
elder of the church at Lewistown, Montana, and as trustee at Jamestown, North Dakota.
In politics he has always maintained a non-partisan course. He belongs to the Masonic
lodge at Minot and to the Phi Beta Kappa and the Delta Sigma Kho, honorary fraternities.
He is an honored member of the State Educational Association, of which he was president
in 1915, and he is a director of the American Public School Peace League. His entire career
has been one of steady progress and the steps in his progression are easily discernible, result-
ing from developing ability and the wise utilization of his native talent. At twenty years
of age he was a teacher in the district school; at twenty-five superintendent of the city
schools of Minto; at thirty superintendent of the city scliools of Jamestown; and at
thirty-five became president of the State Normal School at Minot, entering the new field
of work on his birthday. His has been a valuable contribution to the educational develop-
ment of the northwest. He holds to high standards and is continually seeking out ne)v
methods which will promote the efficiency of the institution. His work in this connection
has been attended with far-reaching results and his colleagues and contemporaries accord
him an eminent position in the educational circles of this state.
NELS NELSEN.
Nels Nelsen, a retired merchant living at Kenmare, was born near Aarhus, Denmark,
on the 19th of September, 1863, a son of Casper and Anna (Jensen) Nelsen, who were also
natives of the same country. The father always remained a resident of Denmark and there
followed the occupation of farming as a life work. He served in the war between that coun-
try and Germany in 1864, being sergeant in an infantry regiment, with which he was con-
nected for four years. His death resulted from wounds siistained in the war and his wife
also passed away in Denmark.
After completing his education Nels Nelsen worked at the carpenter's trade in his native
country to the age of twenty-four years, when he started for the new world and became a
resident of Stearns county, Minnesota. There he engaged in carpentering for six years and
later removed to Roberts county. South Dakota, where he homesteaded near Sisseton. After
proving up on his property and occupying it for seven years he sold his farm and in 1901
arrived at Kenmare, Ward county. North Dakota, where he purchased lots and established
an implement business, while later he extended the scope of his activities by adding a stock
of hardware and groceries. He remained for fourteen years one of the leading and represen-
tative merchants of the town, conducting an extensive business under the firm style of Nels
Nelsen & Company, his trade covering a wide territory. The integrity of his business
methods, his enterprise and indefatigable energy brought him very gratifying success and he
conducted the store until 1915, when he sold out and retired from active business life. He.
however, still owns the business block which he occupied, together with farm property in
Benson county and a two story residence in Kenmare which he erected. He also has con-
siderable other town property and was instrumental in promoting the building of the new
hall which is now being erected by the Danish Brotherhood in Kenmare. He was likewise
one of the organizers of the Farmers Elevator Company and is serving as director on its
board. From his real estate holdings he now derives a very substantial annual income and
at all times his investments have been made most judiciously, indicating his sound business
judgment and keen sagacity and discernment.
374 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
In 1U02, at Kenmare, Mr. Nelsen was united in marriage to Miss Annie Peterson, who
was born, reared and educated in Stearns county, Minnesota, and in 1901 came to Kenmare
witli lier parents, Mr. and Mrs. Soren Peterson, wlio are natives of Denmark and now reside
in tlie state of Wa.sliington. Mr. and Afrs. Nelson liave a family of live chililieii: Kdiia,
Emma, Henry, Tliolma and Mabel, all lorn in Kenmare.
In his political views Mr. Nelsen has ever been an earnest republican since becoming a
naturalized American citizen. Native-born citizens, it often seems, come by the privileges
of American life too easily to appreciate them in the fullest degree. At least sonu' of those
who have sacrificed and sufl'ered to obtain them value tliese blessings more highly than those
to whom they have come as a matter of course. Among the adopted sons of North Dakota
who have had high regard for the duties and obligations as well as the privileges of citizen-
ship is numbered Mr. Nelsen, whose worth in the community is widely acknowledged. Sev-
eral times he has been elected alderman of his city and is now a member of the council.
After serving two terms he was again chosen to that office in 1913 and once more in 1915.
He has likewise been a member of the school board for five j'ears and there is no plan or
measure for the benefit and improvement of the community in which he does not take an
active and helpful part. He is a charter member of the Danish Brotherhood, No. 19S, at
Kenmare, and in fact was one of the chief promoters in its organization. He built the first
hall for the society over his store and was the first president, occupying that position for
many years, being reelected term after term, every six months, for six years. There is no
member of the organization who has done more for its upbuilding or who is a more loyal sup-
porter of its principles and purposes. He belongs to the Danish Lutheran church and is
justly regarded as the chief representative of the Danish people in the southern part of Ward
county.
GAEL LINDEMANN.
Carl Lindcmann, a retired farmer now making his home in Endcrlin, was born in Ger-
many, October 30, 1853, a son of Ferdinand and Julia (Petrich) Lindemann, who came to the
United States in 1882 and settled in Cass county, North Dakota, where the father passed
away in 1908 and the mother in 1914.
Carl Lindemann was educated in the public schools of Germany and at nineteen years of
age left home, starting out in the business world on his own account. For three years he
was employed as a farm hand and in 1S7.5 he entered the German army, with which he
served for three years. Subscquontlj- ho was made foreman of a large farm, in whicli capac-
ity he continued until 1882, when he joined his father and came to the United States.
Immediately after his arrival in the northwest Mr. Lindemann entered a homestead claim
in Cass county, on which he built a frame house. The first cow that he ever owned was
stabled in a snowdrift and his first barn was built of bulrushes. He had a capital of three
hundr<'d dollars on coming to the new world and his father gave him enough money to enable
him to build his house. Today he owns thirty-seven hundred acres of valuable farming land
in North Dakota, comprising almost six sections in Barnes, Cass and Ransom counties. He
IS one of the well-to-do residents of Ransom county and his success is attributable entirely
to his own efforts, his sound business judgment and his unremitting industry. As his financial
resources increased he kept adding to his holdings until his real estate now supplies him
with a most substantial annual income. He continued to give his jjcrsonal supervision to
the cultivation of iiis land until 1909, when he left his farm and removed to Enderlin, where
he has since enjoyed well earned rest.
On the 19th of December, 1882, Mr. Liridcniaiin w.is uiiKed in marriage to Miss Loiiise
Kieselbach, who is a native of Germany and emigrated to the United States in November,
i882. To them have been born five cliiUlren, four of whom survive, namely Leo C. A., who is
married and is cashier of the State ]'>:ink nt Ralston, Montana; Rex P.; Laurence H., who
married Agnes Sack; and Bodo K.
In his political views Mr. Lindemann is independ(>nt, his opinions being the result of
broad reading and careful consideration of the vital (inestions and issues of the day. He
served for fifteen years as township assessor and for about the same period was a member
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 375
of the school board while living in Cass county. He and his family are all members of the
Lutheran church and his interest in public afl'airs is not that of a casual observer but of one
who manifests hearty cooperation in all well devised plans and measures for the general
good. While carefully managing and controlling his important and increasing business
alTairs, he has at the same time fully met his obligations of citizenship and is most public-
spirited and loyal to tlie land of his adoption.
CHARLES BEEWEK.
Charles Brewer, of Bismarck, lllling the position of secretary of the state board of
regents, has been a resident of North Dakota since 1891 and figured in connection with news-
paper publication at Fargo until called to public office. Since 1912 he has been continuously
connected with public service. He was born in Mecklenburg county, North Carolina, June
31, 1868, a son of Thomas F. and Harriett E. (Oehler) Brewer, who were natives of Michi-
gan and North Carolina respectively. At the time of the Civil war the father responded to
the call of the country to defend the Union, enlisting as a private of the Eighth Michigan
Cavalry, with which he served throughout the period of hostilities, participating in a num-
ber of hotly contested engagements and marching with Sherman from Atlanta to the sea.
He was twice wounded and was mustered out at Salisbury, North Carolina, in July, 18G5.
His death occurred in the year 1871, while his wife, surviving him for sixteen years, passed
away in 1887.
Charles Brewer, spending his youthful days in the state of his nativity, attended David-
son College of North Carolina to the sophomore year and afterward continued his educa-
tion in the University of South Carolina at Columbia, where he was graduated in Jime, 1891,
with the Bachelor of Arts degree. In August of the same year he came to North Dakota,
settling in Fargo, where he was connected with the daily Forum, remaining in active identifi-
cation with newspaper publication there until 1913, when he was called to public office,
being ajipointcd secretary of the North Dakota game and fish board. The excellent record
which he made in that connection led to his appointment to the position of secretary of the
state board of regents in .Julj^ 1915, at which time he removed to Bismarck, where he is now
making his home.
On the 26th of November, 1914, at Moorhead, Minnesota, Mr. Brewer was united in mar-
riage to Miss Marie Malland. Fraternally he is identified with the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks. He has always been an advocate of republican principles since attaining his
majority and is an earnest party worker. He has never stood for an elective office, but his
capability has recommended him for appointment to secretaryships in which he has made
an excellent record. It is his custom to thoroughly master anything that he undertakes
and he has made it his purpose to gain a thorough understanding of the duties of his posi-
tion, which he discharges in a methodical, systematic manner that has gained him the com-
mendation of the various members of the board of regents.
WILLIAM J. CUBREN.
William J. Curren, a contractor of Valley City, was born in Huron county, Ontario, July
27, 1877. His father. Con Ciu'ren, came to North Dakota in 1882, establishing his home eight
miles south of Bufl'alo, where he secured a homestead, preemption and tree claim, residing
upon the property for five years. He then sold out and bought a farm south of Leonard,
which he cultivated for a time, but afterward disposed of that property and bought a place
fourteen miles south of Casselton. After devoting several years to the further cultivation
of that property he removed with his family to a farm south of Ross, North Dakota, where
he continued to make his home until death called him in November, 1915. His widow is
still living on the farm where her husband passed away.
William J. Curren, the eldest of their nine children, after acquiring a public school edu-
376 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
cation turned liis attention to farming, whicli he followed until he reached the age of twenty
years. He then took up the occupation of carpentering, at which he worked in Casselton
until 1901, when he removed to Valley City. In 1904 he began contracting and building on
his own account and has become one of the leaders in this line of business in the city. Among
the many fine structures which he has erected are the Normal dormitory, the city hall, the
county hospital, the Elks building, the George M. Young block and the Masonic Temple in
Valley City, as well as fine structures in many other towns. During the past four years he
has been engaged on the erection of the state asylum at Jamestown, which is being liuilt
at a cost of four hundred thousand dollars. He is also engaged in the construction of the
new Congregational church at Valley City and the Grand Theater building, which is indeed
a fine building and would prove a credit to a city of much greater size. He understands every
phase of the building business in principle and detail and is doing an immense business at
the present time.
In 1901 Mr. Curren was married to Miss Margaret Conlon, a daughter of Patrick Conlon,
who came direct from Ireland to Valley City and was joined by his family in 1SS4. The
children of this marriage are Ralph, Evelyn, Mary and Dorothy.
Mr. Curren holds membership with the Knights of Columbus and with the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks. He is a most enterprising, active and progressive business man,
utilizing every legitimate opportunity and doing his best to improve every advantage that
comes to him. He' has shown botli ability and wisdom in the conduct of his ati'airs and is
withal modest and unassuming, but his work is the story that tells the tale of his skill and
his success, placing him with the leading contractors of his section of the state.
CHRIST 0. BRINK.
Christ 0. Brink was one of the first settlers of Cass county and for many years was
actively identified with the development of this region, first as a farmer and later as a
merchant. He is now living retired, however, on his farm on section 18, Stanley township,
and is enjoying a period of rest and leisure which is richly deserved. He was born in
Norway on the 10th of July, 1845, a son of Ole and Carrie (Nelson) Hanson. The father
passed away in Norway but the mother subsequently came to the United States and made
her home w-ith a daughter living in Davenport, Cass county, this state, until called by death.
Christ 0. Brink pursued his education in the common schools of Norway and after
putting aside his textbooks continued to reside in that country until 1S67, when, as a young
man, he came to the Inited States. He first settled in Houston county, Minnesota, where
he worked as a farm hand, and on leaving that county he turned his attention to the
river service, working on steamboats plying between St. Paul and St. Louis. In 1872 he
arrived in North Dakota and located upon his present home farm on section 18, Stanley
township, Cass county. Subsequently he filed on eighty acres, which was all the law
allowed at that time as a homestead, took up eighty acres on soldier's scrip and pur-
chased eighty acres from the railroad. He at once began the cultivation and development
of liis land and later, when his resources permitted, bought an adjoining tract of land, his
lioldings now totaling four hundred and twelve acres. About 1890 he removed to Horace
and engaged in merchandising, cnntiniiing to conduct a store there until 1900 in partner-
ship with his son-in-law, H. IT. Thnc, who is now the sole proprietor of the business,
Mr. Brink liaving retired. He was as successful as a merchant as he had been as a farmer
and was recognized as one of the foremost biisiness men of Horace. He is still one of the
stockholders in the Farmers Elevator at Horace.
Jlr. Brink was married in Norway to Miss Carrie Hanson, and they have had five
children, four of whom survive, namely: Ole, who is operating his father's home farm;
Carrie, the wife of II. H. Thiie, a merchant of Horace; John, a farmer of Baker county,
Minnesota ; and Mary, who married Ole Adsero, a business man of Fargo.
Mr. Brink is a stanch supporter of the republican party, believing firmly in the
wisdom of its policies, and for thirteen years he has served as a member of the board of
trustees, during the greater part of which time he has been chairman of that body. While
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 377
living in Horace he held the office of postmaster for ten years and proved capable and
conscientious in the discharge of his duties. He and his wife hold membership in the
Scandinavian Lutheran church and conform their lives to high standards of ethics. When
they came to this country there was little evidence of civilization and the most farsighted
could not predict the great and rapid change which has come about in the intervening
years, making this a prosperous and highly developed farming section in which all of the
comforts and conveniences of modern life are enjoyed.
CHARLES A. CLARK.
Charles A. Clark, a general merchant and the postmaster of Alfred, was born in Grant
county-, Wisconsin, March 19, 1869, his parents being Andrew and Margaret (Thomas) Clark,
the former a native of New York and the latter of Wales. Mrs. Clark came with her parents
to the United States when a little maiden of seven summers and it was in Wisconsin that
she gave her hand in marriage to Andrew Clark, after which they continued their residence
in Grant county, that state, until 1878, when a removal was made to Martin county, Minne-
sota, where for a considerable period the father was actively engaged in farming. At length
he retired from business life and removed to Cass county, where he resided in the enjoyment
of well earned rest to the time of his death seven years later.
Charles A. Clark is indebted to the district school system of Minnesota for the educa-
tional opportunities which he enjoyed. He remained upon his father's farm until he
reached his twenty-first year and then turned his attention to the livery business in Winne-
bago City, there remaining active for two years. He ne.xt engaged in farming in Martin
county, Minnesota, and afterward removed to Cass county, where he lived for two years.
In 1903 he came to North Dakota, filing on a homestead in Lamour county, three miles south-
east of Alfred, on which he resided for five years and which he still owns. In 1908 he
removed to Alfred and opened a general merchandise store, since which time he has built up
the leading mercantile business of the town. On the riOth of July, 1913, he was appointed
postmaster of Alfred, which position he filled until 1915, when his wife was appointed to
succeed him, although he is still acting as postmaster.
In 1892 occurred the maiTiage of Mr. Clark and Miss Stella Doolittle, of Martin county,
Minnesota, and to them have been born five children: Eruia, the wife of John A. Nelson, of
Alfred; Laura, the wife of Ole Braaten, a grain buyer of Holliday, North Dakota; Harold,
who assists his father in the store; and Eva and Francis, at home.
Mr. Clark votes with the republican party and has continuously served on the town
board since the organization of the township. He and his wife are members of the Presby-
terian church and their social qualities have won them personal popularity throughout the
district in which thcj' reside.
WILLIAM P. KEENAN.
William P. Keenan, manager of the Monarch elevator and otherwise identified with the
business interests of Englevale, Eansom county, as one of the proprietors of a hotel and
livery business and as a stock raiser and shipper, was bom in Pottstown, Pennsylvania,
February 15, 1876, a son of John and Clara K. (Loomis) Keenan, who were also natives of
the Keystone state. The father was a conductor on the Pennsylvania Railroad for about
fifteen years, or until his removal to North Dakota. He made his way to Englevale and
rented a farm and also purchased a hotel and livery business, which he conducted for ten
years, or up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1908. His widow still survives and
yet makes her home in Englevale. Of their family of seven children all are still living and
reside in or near Englevale.
William P. Keenan began his education in the public schools of Belvidere, Allegany
county, New York, and continued his studies at Englevale after the removal of the family
378 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
to tliis state. When eighteen years of age lie was appointed manager of the Jlonarch eleva-
tor and stili conducts the business. It was a heavy responsibilUy for one of his years to
assume, but he proved adequate to the demands made upon him and under his guidance the
business has steadily giown and developed, so that he is well known in grain trade circles in
his part of the state. In association with his brother, Harry L. Keenan, he purchased the
interests of the heirs in the hotel and livery business formerly owned by his father and
this they have since conducted. They are also engaged in buying and shipping stock and in
raising cattle on the farm and the various branches of their business are proving protitable.
JJr. Keenan is a Catholic in religious faith, being a communicant of the church at Kngle-
vale. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and has been secretary-treasurer of
the local camp for eight years. In politics he is a democrat and for four years was clerk
of Hasson township. Ransom county. The community recognizes in him one of its leading
business men, alert and energetic, possessing the ability to cope with any situation that may
arise in the conduct of his interests.
OLE HICKS.
From the Scandinavian peninsula have come many substantial citizens of Xortli Dakota,
men who arc industrious and who in all business relations are found reliable as well as enter-
prising. To this class belongs Ole Hicks, who was born in Sweden, April 21, 1845, and is a
son of Hakan and Karin Hicks, also natives of that country, where they continued their
residence until 1869, when they came to the new world, settling first in Clay county, Minne-
sota. There the father resided until his death and the mother afterward passed away in the
same county. Their family numbered eleven children, eight sons and three daughters, of
whom six are yet living.
Ole Hicks continued his residence in his native country through the period of his boy-
hood and youth and acquired his education in the public scliools there. He came to America
in 1870, the year following the arrival of his parents, and, making his way to North Dakota,
took up his abode upon the farm which he now occupies on section 24, Pleasant township,
Cass county. It has been his home continuously for forty-six years and he is accounted one
of the honored pioneer settlers of the district. In the early days he had to encounter many
hardships and difficulties, but these have vanished before his persistent efforts as the mist
before the morning sun, and as the years have gone on he has added to his original holdings
until he now owns six hundred and forty acres of arable land. The soil is naturally rich and
productive and he has gradually enhanced the value of his property by adding to it many
modem improvements. In the early days, however, he occui>ied a log cabin, making his home
therein for four years, at the end of which time he built a more modern and conuuodious
residence. He has added to his place many substantial outbuildings, including a fine silo.
He also has a large barn built of cement blocks, which he made upon his farm. In addition
to tilling his soil he raises stock, keeping on hand high giades, and this branch of his busi-
ness is proving to him an important source of revenue. He is most diligent and determined
in carrying on his work, brooking no obstacles that can be overcome by persistent, energetic
and honorable effort. Year by year his financial resources have increased and he is now
numbered among the substantial farmers of the county. Moreover, he has other business
interests, being now vice president of the Ilickson State Bank and a stockholder in the Farm-
ers Klevator at Ilickson.
In 1872 Mr. Hicks was married to Miss Marit Larson, a native of Sweden who came
to the I'nitcd States in 1870. Nine children were born to Ihem: Hilma, the wife of Carl
Paulson; Lewis, a farmer of Cass county; Minnie, James August and Clara, all deceased;
Clara, the second of the name, now at home; Olive, also at home; Annie, the wife of Klmer
Pearson; and Viola, at home. The wife and mother passed away in August, 1914, and was
laid to rest in the Klara cemetery. Her death was the occasion of deep and widespread
regret, for her many sterling traits of character had endeared her to all with whom she
came in contact. She was a member of the Lutheran clnirch.
Mr. Hicks also belongs to the Lutheran chinch and his influence is alwavs "iven on the
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 379
side of right, progress, improvement and reform. In politics lie is a republican and for a
number of years he served on the township board. He is also deeply interested in the cause
of education and for a quarter of a century has been a member of the school board. He does
everything in his power to fiu'ther the public welfare and his activities are far-reaching
and beneficial.
ELMER E. ELLIOTT.
The spirit of modern business enterprise finds a worthy representative in Elmer E.
Elliott, a merchant of Sanborn, who became one of the pioneer business men of Barnes
county, entering into active connection with its commercial interests in 1883 as one of the
proprietors of the store of which he is now the owner. He was born in Helen township,
McLeod county, Minnesota, December 25, 1861, a son of Robert N. and Hannah M. (Hankin-
son) Elliott, the former a native of Trumbull county, Ohio, and the latter of the state of
New York. The paternal grandfather, Henry Elliott, was a representative of one of the old
jVew England families which was established in Connecticut about 1660. The Hankinsons
were also of Colonial stock and settled in Monmoiith County, New Jersey. Mrs. Hannah
(Hankinson) Elliott was a great-grandaughter of Captain Thomas Machin, who was the
engineer in charge of the construction and placing of the chain across the Hudson river
during the Revolutionary war whereby the British ships were prevented from going up that
stream. Henry Elliott became a Methodist clergyman and was a member of the original
Erie conference, having settled in Ohio at a very early period in the development of that
state. He there married Lucy A. Taft, who came of the same ancestral line as ex-Presidont
W. H. Taft. In 1855 he removed to Minnesota and became one of the pioneer residents of
McLeod county, wliere he contributed largely to both the material and moral progress of
the community as a substantial citizen and an earnest preacher. He lived to be eighty years
of age, while his wife reached the advanced age of eighty-eight years.
Robert N. Elliott accompanied his parents to Minnesota, took up land and for a time
engaged in farming but afterward turned his attention to the lumber business, in which he
continued until his death at the age of sixty years. He was very prominent in Masonic circles
and was a valued resident of the community in which he made his home. His family numbered
but two children: Elmer E. ; and Sadie H., now the wife of F. W. Goodrich, of Minneapolis.
After mastering the branches of learning taught in the public scliools of McLeod county
Elmer E. Elliott continued his studies in the Duluth high school and for a time he received
practical business training as the assistant of his father in the lumberyard. In 1881 he
entered into partnership with .1. F. Jaberg and the latter made his way to Sanborn, North
Dakota, where he established the business that is now conducted by Mr. Elliott, who joined
his partner in 1883. They conducted the store under a firm relationship until 1895, when
Mr. Elliott disposed of his interest to Mr. Jaberg, but in 1903 he bought back the store,
which he has since conducted. He carries a large line of hardware, meeting the varied wants
of the community, and in addition to his store he has a large warehouse.
In November, 1888, Mr. Elliott was mamed to Miss Jennie A. Biggs, of Vermilion
county, Illinois, a daughter of Thomas Biggs. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs.
Elliott, of whom Helen and Howard, twins, and Gertrude are all deceased. The otliers are:
Robert, who is in business with his father; Lois, attending college at Fargo; and Kenneth,
also in school.
Mr. Elliott has ever taken a keen interest in public affairs and wide reading has kept him
in close touch with the vital and significant problems of the day, so that he is able to sup-
port his position by intelligent argument. He was chairman of the republican board of
Barnes county for several terms in territorial days and was selected as representative from
his county to the constitutional convention which convened on the 4th of July, 1889, and
formed the organic laws of the state. As a member of that board he served on two of its
important committees, the bill of rights and the educational committee. He has ever mani-
fested a keen interest in public questions but has since avoided public office, preferring that
as a private citizen his work shall be done in behalf of the community and state in which
380 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
he lives. He is a man of marked intellectual force and of more tlian ordinary ability in sev-
eral directions and he possesses in large measure the commercial sense, whereby he has won
success in the conduct of his affairs.
BERNHARD OTTIS.
Bernhard Ottis, the proprietor of a drug store in Wyndmere, is also postmaster of the
town. He was born in Cass county on the 23d of .June, 1878, a son of Samuel and Carrie
(Eikery) Ottis, the former of whom was born in Denmark in 1841 and the latter in
Wisconsin in 1847. The father served in the Danish army in the war between Germany
and Denmark but in 1864 he emigrated to the United States and made his way to
Minnesota, where he farmed for a few years. In 1871, however, he came to Dakota territory
and took up a homestead which he developed into a well improved farm. He has been very
successful in business and still owns two sections after giving land to his children. He also
owns his residence at Kindred, where he is living retired. His political belief is that of the
republican party and he is a member of the Lutheran church. He was married in Fillmore
county, Minnesota, to Miss Carrie Eikery, who died in 1891. Of their children four sons are
living, namely: Louis, who is residing on the old homestead; George, a sketch, of whom
appears elsewhere in this work; Bernhard; and John, cashier of the bank at Kindred.
Bernhard Ottis was educated in the common schools of Kindred, in Concordia College
of Moorhead, Minnesota, in a business college of Minneapolis and in Valparaiso University
in Valparaiso, Indiana, graduating from the last named in pharmacy in 1900. The following
year he removed to Wyndmere and established a drug store which he has since successfully
conducted. He has built up a good business and has an enviable reputation for accuracy in
filling prescriptions, for a high quality of goods and for honorable business methods. He
also owns considerable real estate.
In 1904 Mr. Ottis was married to Miss Kate Kramer, who was born in Ricliland county,
and they have two sons, Kenneth and La Verne Wilson. Mr. Ottis is a stalwart democrat
and takes a commendable interest in public affairs. In March, 1915, he was appointed
postmaster of Wyndmere and is proving verj' efhcient in the discharge of his duties. He
holds membership in the Lutheran church and fraternally is identified with Lodge, No. 1093,
B. P. O. E., at Fergus Falls; with the Masonic lodge, commandery and Shrine; and witli the
^Modern Woodmen.
WILLIAM LINDEMANN.
William Lindemann, a resident of Enderlin. was born in Germany on tlic 20th of -\pril,
ISGO, and is a son of Ferdinand and .Julia (Petrich) Lindemann. who are mentioned clsewliere
in this volume in connection witli the sketch of Carl Lindemann. Spending his youtliful
da5's under the parental roof, William Limlomann attencU>il (he public schools of his native
country and remained upon tlie home farm with his father until the family emigrated to
the new world in 1882. After arriving in North Dakota William Lindenuinu was employed
as a farm hand for four or five years, at the end of which time he secured a position in the
shops of the Soo Railroad in Enderlin. He had previously learned the boiler maker's trade
in Germany and for fifteen years he continued to work in the Soo shops but in 1901 fell
from an engine and broke his arm. This caused liim to quit the shops, at which time he pur-
clia-sed a pool and billiard hall which he has since conducted, and the business is now liberally
patronized. His present place is located in the First National Bank building and is one
of the finest appointed billiard and pool halls in Ransom county, showing the latest equip-
ments and furnishings for amusements of that character.
In 1888 Mr. Lindemann was tmited in marriage to Miss Ada Bartlett, of Cass county,
North Dakota, who was born in Germany and was brought to the United States by her
parents when four years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Lindemann now have five children, namely:
BKRNHARD OTTIS
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 383
Adolph G., who is the cashier of the B'armers State Bank at Colgan, North Dakota; Kosa,
assistant postmistress of Enderlin; Rudolph, who is employed as clerk in Pennington's store
at Enderlin; Harry, a bookkeeper in the Soo Railway offices; and Russell, at home.
Mr. Lindemann's study of political questions and issues of the day has led him to give
his allegiance to the republican party, for he feels that its platform contains the best ele-
ments of good government. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of the Maccabees
and with the Modern Woodmen of America and he and his family are members of the
Lutheran church, finding the guiding principles of their lives in its teachings. Mr. Lindemann
has led a husy and useful life and his diligence and earnest effort have been the salient
forces in winning for him success.
C. W. BURGES.
C. W. Burges, cashier of the First State Bank at Jud, was born In Lincolnshire, England,
on the 13th of November, 1886, a son of George and Elizabeth (Pearson) Burges. The latter
died during the early boyhood of C. W. Burges and the father afterward married Bessie
Baggaley, his home being still in Lincolnshire.
C. W. Burges was educated in the Holbeach public schools and in the Holbeach grammar
school of Holbeach, England. On attaining his majority he came to the United States in
1907, making his way to Edgeley, North Dakota, where for three years he occupied the posi-
tion of assistant postmaster. Subsequently he was employed in the hardware store of
Erickson & Guuthorp for one year. In the fall of 1911 he went to .Jud and was assistant
cashier in the First State Bank until January 28, 1915, when he was advanced to the posi-
tion of cashier, in which capaoitv' he is now serving, ably and efficiently discharging his
duties and proving a courteous and obliging official of the bank.
On the 7th of September, 1914, Mr. Burges was married to Miss Laura Wold, of Cassel-
ton, North Dakota, and they are now parents of a son, Richard George. In politics Mr.
Burges is a republican, and while he has held no political offices, he has served as treasurer
of the school board. Ha belongs to Maple River Lodge, No. 41, F. & A. M., of Edgeley, and
Edgeley Chapter, No. 22, R. A. M. His religious faith is evidenced in his membership in the
Episcopal church, while his wife is identified with the Norwegian Lutheran church. He is a
progressive man, alert to the possibilities of a business situation and to the opportunities
for the upbuilding of the town, and he attacks any project of the latter class with tlie
same enthusiasm that he does any plan to advance business affairs.
DAVID CLARK, JR.
David Clark, Jr., cashier of the First National Bank at Kenmare, was born at Malta,
Minnesota, May 2S, 1880, a son of David K. J. and Mary A. (Moon) Clark. The father was
born in Ohio, acquired his education there and when a young man removed to Minnesota,
becoming one of the early settlers in the southern part of the state. He was the first man
to file on a homestead in Malta township, Bigstone county, and he became a very progressive
and prosperous farmer and stock raiser of that locality but in later years retired from
active farm life and removed to Ortonville, Minnesota, where he passed away in 1906. His
wife, who shared with him all the hardships and privations of pioneer life, as well as their_
subsequent prosperity, is still living in Ortonville.
David Clark, Jr., spent his youthful days upon his father's farm and acquired his early
education in the common schools, supplemented by a course in the high school of Ortonville.
He lost his hand when nine years of age and on this account he turned his attention to finan-
cial interests. In young manhood he entered the employ of the Bank of Ortonville, with which
he was connected for five years, during which time he gained a comprehensive and accurate
knowledge of the business. In 1902 he removed to McKinney, North Dakota, and established
the first bank at that place. After conducting it for three years he cast in his lot with the
Vol. 11—21
384 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
citizens of Kenmaie in 1905 and was appointed cashier of the Security State Bank. In 1906
he and his associates purchased the First National Bank at Kenmare and consolidated the
two institutions, which were continued under the name of the First National Bank, of
which Jlr. Clark has since been the cashier. He is in full charge of the business, directing
its interests and shaping its policy, and he is a very successful and popular business man of
the town. He is a director of the Norma State Bank of Norma and of tlie Tolley State Bank
of Tolley. His plans in business are well defined and carefully executed and he carries for-
ward to successful completion whatever he undertakes. He is also extensively engajred in
dealing In horses. He makes trips to Idaho and Wyoming, where he is well acquainted with
the cowboys, and in those states he buys carloads of range horses, which he sells in North
Dakota. He is regarded as a good judge of horses, being seldom, if ever, at fault in his
opinion concerning the worth of an animal, and he seems to know just how to train and
develop them so as to produce the best results.
On the 6th of August, 1903, at Ortonville, occurred the marriage of Mr. Clark and Miss
Addie Foster, who was born in New York state and was educated in Gloversville, New York,
to the time when she accompanied her parents, L. W. and Eugenia (Bogardus) Foster, to
Britton, South Dakota, where her father turned his attention to general agricultural pur-
suits. He, too, was a native of New York, and became one of the early settlers of South
Dakota, where he homcsteaded land, but afterward removed to Minnesota, where he followed
farming until he retired from that branch of activity and established his home at Havana,
North Dakota, where he is now living. Mr. and Mrs. Clark have become the parents of two
children: Eiley F., who was born at McKinney, North Dakota, .July 17, 1904; and Kenneth
K., born in Kenmare, August 23, 1906.
Mr. Clark exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the
republican party and for the past ten years has served as treasurer of the Kenmare school
district. F'ratornally he is connected with the Elks Lodge No. 1089 at Minot. He is a popular
man in Kenmare and one of its leading citizens, always interested and active in support of
the betterment of the to\oi along all lines of substantial and permanent progress and
improvement.
A. A. BURGESS.
A. A. Burgess has the distinction of being the oldest merchant now in business in Shel-
don and, moreover, he is proprietor of the largest department store in the town, if not in
Ransom county. Concentrating his efforts along this line, he has studied every phase of the
business and his comprehensive understanding of the trade has been one of the salient features
of his growing success.
Mr. Burgess was born in Ontario, Canada, on the 20th of August, 1872, a sou of .lames
and Agnes (Peary) Burgess, both of whom were born, i-eared and married in Scotland. Not
long after their marriage, however, they left the hills and heather for a land beyond the seas
and established their home upon a farm in Canada, where the father carried on general agri-
cultural pursuits until his death, which occurred in the early '90s. The mother survived him
for a number of ycar.s and passed away while visiting at the home of her son in Sheldon.
A. A. Burgess obtained a public school education in Canada, where he continued liis resi-
dence until 18S8, when he came to what was then Dakota territory, for the division between
the states had not then been made. He established his home in Sheldon and entered the
employ of a mercantile firm, with which he was associated for six years. A year after
resigning his position with that house he engaged in business for himself and from the begin-
ning the enterprise prospered. When his trade had expanded to such an extent that more
commodious rpiartcrs were required he built his present modern store building, fifty by sixty
feet, with a commodious warehouse at the rear, thus giving him ample facilities for display-
ing his large stock of goods and meeting the demands of his customers. He has ever regarded
satisfied patrons as the best advertisement and has put forth earnest effort to i)lease his
customers.
In September, 1915, Mr. Burgess was married to Miss Maud Sackrider, of Oakes, North
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 385
Dakota. He and bis wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal ehvuch and in his political
views Mr. Burgess is a republican, believing firmly in the principles of the party. At the
present time he is the nominee in his district for the office of representative to the state
legislature and for three years he served as a member of the town board of Sheldon, in which
connection he was largely instrumental iu laying the first cement sidewalks of the town.
This method of improving the streets has now been extended throughout the town, doing
away entirely with the old board sidewalks. Fraternally Mr. Burgess is connected with the
Ancient Order of United Workmen and his brethren of that fraternity entertain for him
warm regard. In fact he is held in high esteem by all with whom he has come in contact
in every relation of life as his salient qualities are such as commend him to the confidence
and goodwill of those whom he has met in business or in other relations.
GEORGE H. LEICK.
George H. Leick, cashier of the State Bank of Grand Rapids, was born in Madelia, Min-
nesota, May 14, 1887, a son of Nicholas and Elizabeth (Deheck) Leick, both of whom are
natives of Luxemburg, Germany. In young manhood and womanhood they came to the United
States and were married in Wisconsin, where they resided until 1871, when they removed
to Madelia, Minnesota, where they still make their home. The father devoted his active life
to the occupation of farming but has lived retired since 1900, enjoying a rest which he has
truly earned and richly deserves.
While spending his youthful days under the parental roof George H. Leick attended the
public schools of Madelia and afterward benefited by instruction in the commercial college
of Mankato, Minnesota, from which institution he was graduated in .June, 1909. He then
went to St. Paul, where he was employed in various ways until January, 1910, when he came
to North Dakota and made his initial step in connection with the banking business as
assistant cashier of the Security State Bank at Strasburg. In .July, 1911, he went to Adrian,
where he was assistant cashier of the First State Bank until the 15th of December following,
when he was advanced to the position of cashier. On the 20th of March, 1912, he was offered
and accepted the cashiership of the State Bank of Grand Rapids, in which position he has
since served, the institution finding in him an efficient officer and the public a courteous and
obliging representative.
On the 10th of June, 1913, Mr. Leick was united in marriage to Miss Mary Belle McKin-
non, of Mapleton, Minnesota, and they have two children, Bernard M. and Elizabeth M. The
parents are members of the Catholic church and Mr. Leick is identified with the Knights
of Columbus. In politics he is a democrat and has served as clerk of the school board but
has never been ambitious to hold political office, feeling that his best chance of success is by
giving undivided attention to the business interests entrusted to his care.
T. T. KINNEBERG.
Among the substantial citizens of Cass county that Norway has furnished is numbered
T. T. Kinneberg, who makes his home in the village of Hickson, with the business interests
of which he has been actively identified for a number of years. He is now president of the
Hickson State Bank and is also engaged in the real estate business. His activities have been
carefully and systematically directed and he seems to have accomplished at any one point
in his career the full possibilities for successful accomplishment at that point. He wag born
in Norway, September 16, 1869, a son of T. P. and Carrie Kinneberg, who were also natives
of the same country. There they remained until 1884, when they came to the United States,
settling at Houston, Minnesota, where they still make their home.
T. T. Kinneberg spent the first fourteen years of his life in the land of his nativity and
then accompanied his parents to the new world, the voyage across the Atlantic being long
remembered because of the novel experiences which it brought to him. He supplemented his
386 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
early education by further study in this country and from the age of nine years he lias made
his own way in the world. During the early period of his residenuu in America he worked
as a farm hand in Cass county and Ms life was one of unremitting diligence and earnest toil.
He was ambitious, however, to engage in business on his own account and carefully directed
his etl'orts so that in 1895 he removed to llickson, erected a store building and conducted
a fruit store. He also operated a barber shop but afterward rented his store building,
which, however, he still owns. He then turned his attention to real estate and other busi-
ness interests. He is also a successful auctioneer. He entered financial circles in connection
with the Hickson State Bank, of which he is the president, and as its chief executive officer
he is wisely and carefully directing and safeguarding its interests. He is also the owner
of four hundred acres of land in Cass county and Canada.
In 1897 Mr. Kinneberg was maiTicd to Miss Rangdine 0. Tuskind, a native of Cass
county, and to them have been born two children, Randall and Milford.
In his political views Mr. Kinneberg is a republican and for fourteen years filled the
office of township clerk, his long continuance in the position indicating most clearly his capa-
bility in office and the confidence and trust reposed in liim. He belongs to the Modern Wood-
men camp and both he and his wife are members of the Lutheran church, to the teachings
of which they loyally adhere. They are people of the highest respectability and enjoy the
friendship and kindly regard of many with whom they come in contact.
JALMER HEREE.
Jalmer Herre is one of the younger farmers of Traill county and is also one of the most
substantial as he holds title to seven hundred and sixtj'-six acres of fine land. A native son
of the county, be was born in Elm River township on the 18th of July, 18S3, of <lie marriage
of Alford and Alfred Johnson, natives of Norway, who emigrated to the United States in 1860
and first located in Wisconsin. Eighteen years later they removed with their family to North
Dakota and settled upon a farm in Traill county, where they passed their remaining days.
Jalmer Herre, their only child, was just three months old when bis mother died and he
was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Nels Herre. He was reared under their roof and received his
education in the public schools of Traill count}' and in the Nortli Dakota Agricultural Col-
lege at Fargo. He is progressive in his methods of farming, profiting by the experience of
investigators who are seeking to make agriculture more of an exact science and utilizing the
most improved farm machinery. He seldom fails to harvest large crops and as he under-
stands the importance of studying the market so as to sell to the best advantage he realizes
a large financial return from his land. He owns three hundred and twenty acres on sec-
tion 33, Herberg township, on which his residence is located, and three hundred and twenty
acres on section 8, the same township, and one hundred and twenty-six acres on section 6,
Elm River township. All of his land is well improved and everytliing is kept in excellent
condition.
Mr. Herre supports the repiiblican party and takes the interest of a good citizen in pub-
lic affairs. He is now serving on the township board and is proving a verj' able official, lie
ranks among the foremost farmers of his county and has done much to promote an interest
in scientific agriculture in this section. He has passed his entire life here and his genuine
worth is indicated by the fact that those who have known him most intimately are his
warmest friends.
EMERY H. VOGELSANCl.
Emery H. Vogelsang, of Grand Rajiids, is a partner in the lirni of Pence & Vogelsang,
owners of one of the leading mercantile establishments of Lamoure co\inty, and in the con-
duct of his interests he displays the spirit of modern business development. He was bom in
Faribault county, Minnesota, July 9, 1887, a son of Henry W. and Dorothy E. (Kchroeder)
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 387
Vogelsang, who were natives of Germany, in which country they were reared and married,
while two of their children were bom there ere their emigration to the new world. When
they made the voyage across the briny deep to the United States and crossed the country
to Minnesota they settled in Faribault county, where the father purchased land and engaged
in farming, he and his wife spending their remaining days in that locality, her death occurring
in March, 1912, while he survived until January, 1916.
Emery H. Vogelsang was reared and educated in the public schools of Faribault county
and in the Mankato Business College at Mankato, Minnesota, after which he started out in
the commercial world as a clerk in a general store at New Richland, Minnesota. There he
remained for three years and in 1904 he came to North Dakota, securing a position in the
Chicago Store at Lisbon. A year later he went to Berlin, where he remained for two years, at
the end of which time the store was purchased by the firm of Cunningham & Lawrence, of
La Moure, and Mr. Vogelsang wag retained as manager of the business, in which capacity
he capably served for three years. At the end of that time he returned home and assisted
his father upon the farm for a year but in 1911 he once more came to North Dakota, where
he entered into partnership with C. E. Pence, purciiasing the mercantile business of Deisem
& Franks at Grand Rapids. Under the management of the new firm the business has been
built up to one of the most important mercantile enterprises of the county. They are most
careful concerning the personnel of the house, the line of goods carried and the treatment
accorded patrons, and their enterprising methods have resulted in the attainment of a large
patronage.
In 1908 Mr. Vogelsang was married to Miss Elizabeth C. Remmick, of Berlin, North
Dakota, and they have three children, Luverne, Richard and Margaret. Mr. Vogelsang votes
with the republican party and fraternally is connected with La Moure Lodge, No. 10, F. & A.
M. : La Monre Lodge, No. 20, I. 0. 0. F. ; and the Brotherhood of American Yeomen. He
belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, while his wife has membership with the Latter
Day Saints. His interests reach out along various linos affecting public welfare and his sup-
port can always be counted upon to further plans and projects for the general good. In his
vocabulary there is no such word as fail, for he recognizes the fact that while opportunities
slip away from the sluggard and tauntingly play before the dreamer, they yield their rewards
to the man of persistent, earnest effort.
CLARENCE L. SMITH.
Clarence L. Smith devotes his time and energies to farming and stock raising, owning
the south half of section 1, Elliott township. Ransom county. He was born in Iowa, .June 1,
1881, a son of Lewis and Emma (Owen) Smith. The father was born in Indiana and when
but fourteen months old was taken by his parents to Appanoose county, Iowa. He was
reared to the occupation of farming, which he chose as a life work, remaining for a long
period in Iowa, after which he resided for fifteen years in Seattle, Washington. He novif
makes his home with his son Clarence. His wife, who was born in Indiana, was quite young
when she went with her people to Iowa. Her death occurred April 15, 1895. In their family
were five children: Mrs. Maud Wright, who was born February 3, 1880; Clarence L. ;
Elmer, who was born December 10, 1883, and died in February, 1913; Pearl S., who was born
April 2, 1886; and Mrs. Ethel Millisack, born April 15, 1888.
At the usual age Clarence L. Smith began his education, attending the district schools
of Appanoose county, Iowa, and when quite young he engaged in the work of the fields,
continuing to assist his father until he reached the age of sixteen, after which be was
employed as a farm hand by others for about four years. In 1900 he came to North Dakota
and has since been a resident of this state. For two years after his arrival he was employed
on farms and then, ambitious to engage in business on his own. account, rented land for
two years. Subsequently, having carefully saved his earnings, he purchased the southeast
quarter of section 2, Elliott township. Ransom county. After selling that property he
bought the south half of section 1, in the same township, and has since made his home
thereon. Later he purchased the southeast quarter of section 36, Springer township, and his
388 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
next purchase added to his holdings the ucst half of section G, Island Park township, all in
Ransom county, so that he is now the owner of five quarter sections, or eight hundred acres
of good North Dakota farming land. He is now specializing in the raising of thoroughbred
Hereford cattle. He has a herd of two hundred and thirty head of cattle, of which seventy-
one are thoroughbreds, while the remainder are all high grade stock. He is also raising full
blooded Duroc-Jersey stock, having seventy sows and three hundred and fifty pigs. He also
engages to some extent in the breeding and raising of horses, having two of the best
stallions in the state, one a Percheron and the other a Shire. He now has eighty-five head
of horses on his farm and thus his stock raising interests are extensive and important and
he is doing not a little to improve the grade of stock raised in this section of the state.
He also engages in general agricultural pursuits, producing considerable grain, and he
operates a threshing machine and buys and sells stock as a side line in addition to breeding.
His place is known as the Star Stock Farm and is accounted one of the best equipped and
splendidly developed farms in the state. The buildings are thoroughly modern and attrac-
tive, the machinery which he uses embodies the latest improvements in agricultural imple-
ments, his herds are of the best and his hogs also represent the highest breeding. In 1912
he built a silo upon his place and in 1913 erected a second silo, finding the feed stored
therein to be the best and most profitable for cattle feed. Each year he plants from one
hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty acres to corn, which crop cleans the soil and
makes the succeeding crop of wheat extremely large.
On the 9th of December, 1903, Mr. Smith was married to jSIiss Vinnie Warren, who
was born in North Dakota, .June 20, 1883, a daughter of Homer and Ruth (Sumner)
Warren, who were early residents of North Dakota, coming to this state from New York
in 1878. They had five children, of whom Mrs. Smith was the third in order of birth, and
by iier marriage she has become the mother of three children: Edna, born October 23, 1904;
Earl, September 19, 1908; and Donald, May 4, 1916.
In politics Mr. Smith is a republican, but the honors and emoluments of office have
had no attraction for him although he is never remiss in the duties of citizenship and lends
his aid and co-operation to many measures for the general good. He prefers business
activity to office holding, however, and concentrates his time and energies upon his extensive
and important farming interests, the result being seen in his large farm with its excellent
equipment. There is no phase of modern farming or stock raising with which he is not
familiar and he utilizes the latest scientific and progressive methods in promoting his
interests, so that his labors may well be accepted as a standard.
KNUTE T. HAGEN.
That Knute T. Hagen of Minot is an etTicient and popular clerk of the district courts
is indicated by the fact that he is now serving for his fourth term in that office. His birth
occurred in Hallingdal. Norway. .January 16, 18T0, and he is a son of Talolf and Betsey
(Daklien) Hagen, both likewise natives of that place. In 1882 they left Norway and
emigrated to the United States, continuing their journey Avestward to Traill county. North
Dakota, where the father engaged in farming. In 1884 they removed to Minot and six
years later the father passed away there, his demise occurring May 10, 1890. The mother
survives and now resides four miles east of Minot. The father gave his political allegiance
to the republican party, but never aspired to public office.
Knute T. Hagen, who is the eighth in order of birth in a family of nine children,
attended school in Norway until the removal of the family to this country. He continued
his education in the public schools of Traill county and later took a course in a business
college at Grand Forks. When fourteen years of age he began earning his own living and
until twenty years old worked as a farm hand and on the railroad. He next engaged in
horse ranching but after several years turned his attention to merchandising, conducting a
men's furnishing store in Minot for two years. At the expiration of that period he became
connected with the feed and grain b\isiness and so continued for six years, or until elected
clerk of the district courts. He is now serving his fourth term in that office, his efficiency
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 389
in the discharge of his duties having been rewarded by reelection. He has invested heavily
in North Dakota real estate, owning twelve hundred acres of good farm land near Minot.
Mr. Hagen was united in marriage on the 16th of June, 1903, to Miss Ida Jensen, who
was born near Kasson, Minnesota, and is the daughter of Ole and Emily (Gassman) Jensen.
In 1900 they removed to Minot but are now residents of Bellingham, Washington, where the
father is engaged in the sawmill business.
Mr. Hagen gives his political allegiance to the republican party and does all in his
power to further its success at the polls. He is a communicant of the Lutheran church and
was one of the first members of the local congregation. He does not belong to any fraternal
organizations, as he prefers to spend his leisure time at home. He devotes his entire atten-
tion to the work of his office, which he performs in a systematic and efficient manner.
He is widely known and all who have been brought in contact with him esteem him highly.
FRANK J. KALISHEK.
Frank J. Kalishek, engaged in general farming in Island Park township, Hansom county,
his place being pleasantly and conveniently located near Lisbon, was bom in Iowa on the
31st of May, 1886. His father, Martin Kalishek, was a native of Bohemia but in his early
childhood was brought by his parents to the United States, the family home being established
in northeastern Iowa, where the father took up the occupation of farming, which he has since
followed in the Hawkej'e state. He married Elizabeth Novotny, also a native of Bohemia,
whence she was brought by her parents to the new world in her early girlhood, the home of
the Novotny family being established near that of the Kalishek family.
Frank J. Kalishek is the fifth in order of birth in a family of eight children. He was
educated in the schools of Iowa and was early trained to farm work, being familiar with
all the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He continued to assist
his father until he attained his majority, or in 1907, when he left home and removed to
North Dakota, settling on one hundred and sixty acres of land, constituting the southwest
quarter of section 9, Island Park township. Ransom county. Two years later he further
completed aiTangements for a home of his own by his marriage in 1909 to Miss Maud
Zahasky, who was born in Iowa in 18S3, a daughter of Joseph and Anna Zahasky, who were
also natives of Bohemia and on coming to the new world established their home in Iowa.
The father died there in 1893, and the mother passed awaj' Septembec 18, 1916.
Since coming to this state Mr. Kalishek has been continuously engaged in general farm-
ing and is meeting with a fair measure of success in his undertaking. His interest centers
in his place, which is now carefully developed and improved according to progressive methods.
He is a member of the Lisbon Catholic church and he gives his political allegiance to the
democratic party but has no ambition for office, preferring to concentrate his undivided time
and attention upon his farm, which is supplied with modern equi])ment and has become
an excellent dividend paying property.
JASPER SWEET.
Jasper Sweet, of Roger, is now living retired, although for an extended period he was
actively connected with farming interests in Barnes county. His birth occurred in Cicero,
New York, January 2, 1844, a son of Clark and Eveline (Waite) Sweet, the former a native
of New York and the latter of Vermont. The father was a millwright by trade and built
three sawmills in the Empire state, after which he removed to Michigan in 1849. He spent
a number of years in Calhoun county and then removed to Jackson, Michigan, where his last
days were passed, his death occurring when he was more than eighty years of age. He is
survived by six of his fourteen children, Jasper Sweet being the third in order of birth.
The eldest son enlisted at Marshall, Michigan, in response to the first call for troops to serve
390 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
for three montlis in tlie Civil war and later joined the army for three years' service, lie had
almost completed that term when lie became ill and died at the front.
Jasper Sweet spent his boyhood days in Micliigan and on starting out in life on his own
account engaged in railroad work, being employed for five years in the shops at Jackson.
In 18S0 he came to North Dakota and preempted land in Stewart township, Barnes county,
where he remained for seven years. He then sold that property and removed to Rogers
township, where he homesteaded and to the original tract of one hundied and sixty acres
he added by purchase three more quarters, so that he now has an entire section of land. He
continued to devote his energies to the work of developing and improving that property until
the town of Roger was started, when he took up his abode there and is now living retired
from active business, although he still owns his farm property five miles west of Roger,
deriving therefrom a substantial annual income.
On the 21st of JIarch, 1865, Mr. Sweet was united in marriage to Sliss Jennie Van Fleet,
of Geneva, New York, a daughter of Daniel Van Fleet, a native of Holland, who in young
manhood came to America and after living for a time in Orange county, Pennsylvania,
established his home at Geneva, New York. To Mr. and Mrs. Sweet were born four children:
Hattie, who has passed away; Carrie, the widow of J. R. Colman, of Valley City; Charles,
a grain buyer, living at Sawyer, North Dakota; and Byron, who is a buyer for the Farmers'
Elevator at Roger.
Mr. Sweet gives his political support to the republican party and has served on the town
board and as township assessor for several years, while for a number of years he was also
a member of the school board. lie is a Royal Arch Mason and also a member of Roger
Lodge, I. 0. 0. F. He enjoys life and has many friends by reason of his genial disposition
and uniform courtesy. He now devotes a portion of the year to travel and believes in the
a.'iiom, ''See America first." He and his wife have been spending their winters in California,
greatly enjoying their stay in that sunny clime. A broad-minded man, thoroughly American
in spirit and interests, he has proven himself a worthy citizen and one whom Barnes county
is proud to claim.
EINAR A. MADSON.
Burlington's business interests find an active representative in Einar A. Madson, who is
there engaged in merchandising. He was born in Denmark, August 18, 1884, and his parents,
Nels and Cliristina (Christenson) Madson, were natives of the same country. In the year
1885 the father brought his family to the United States, establishing his home at
Hutchinson, Minnesota, where he continued in business until about the year 1905, when
he retired, spending his remaining days in the enjoyment of a well earned rest. His death
occurred in 1911 and his widow now resides in. the state of Washington. Their family
numbered nine children. '
Einar A. Madson, brought to America in infancy, attended school in Hutchinson,
Minnesota, and for two years was a student in Aansgar College. He remained at home
to the age of twenty years, although he earned his own living for some time before leaving
the parental roof. In the spring of 1905 he removed to North Dakota, settling at Kenmare,
Ward county, where he remained as a clerk in a store for about six months. He then
removed to Burlington, where he engaged in buying and shipping grain for a year. He was
afterward employed by C. A. Bugge in handling lumber at Burlington for three years, at
the end of which time he became a partner in a general mercantile store of Burlington under
the firm style of C. A% Bugge & Company. This firm also conducts stores at Foxholm,
Ward county, and Raymond, Montana, and they have an extensive business, making theirs
a splendid dividend paying proposition. Mr. Madson has also made investnu'nts in property
and now owns considerable land in this state.
On the 30th of October, 1912, occurred tlie marriage of Mr. ;\Iad.-ion and Miss Crystanza
Sorenson, who was born in Denmark. Her father died during her infancy and her mother is
now a resident of Hutchinson. Mr. and !Mrs. Madson have but one child, Kenneth Einar,
born August 30, 1914.
EINAR A. MADSON
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 393
Mr. Madson is a member of the Modern Woodmen camp at Burlington and he holds
membersliip in the Lutheran cliurch, but as there is no congregation of that denomination
in Burlington attends the Presbyterian church. In politics he is an independent republican
and is now serving as postmaster of Burlington, to which office he was appointed in 1909.
He has also held various other local offices and he can always be counted upon to further
the public welfare whether in office or out of it. He is never content to choose the second
best but works toward high ideals and his labors have been an element in promoting
local progress.
FEED L. CONKLIN.
Fred L. Conklin. who has been engaged in the real estate and insurance business in Bis-
marck since 1898, is a man watchful of opportunities pointing to success and the readiness
with which he discriminates between the essential and the non-essential in all business
affairs has been one of the elements in his growing prosperity and business prominence.
Mr. Conklin was born at Wolcott, New York, August 15, 1876, a son of Marion and Martha
(L'Amoreaux) Conklin, who were also natives of the Empire state. In the year 1883 they
left the east and removed to Jamestown, North Dakota, where they now reside. The father
is a distinguished lawyer and has been judge and states attorney at Jamestown.
Fred L. Conklin was a little lad of seven summers at the time his parents left the
Empire state and came to the northwest, so that his education was largely acquired in the
schools of .Jamestown. He removed to Bismarck in 1898, when a young man of twenty-two
years, and here entered the real estate and insiirance field, since which time he has devoted
his energies to the business, his close application, concentration of purpose and indefatigable
energy winning for him growing and substantial success. He is now a director in the Bis-
marck Building & Loan Association and a director of the Provident Insurance Company.
About the time of his removal to Bismarck Mr. Conklin enlisted for service in the
Spanish-American war as a member of Company H but was made first lieutenant of Com-
pany B of the First North Dakota Volunteer Infantry and served for about nine months in
the Philippines.
On the 27th of March, 1897, in Bismarck, North Dakota, Mr. Conklin was united in mar-
riage to Miss Edith Winchester. He exercises his right of franchise in support of the men
and measures of the republican party but the honors and emoluments of office have no attrac-
tion for him. He attends the Episcopal church and he has membership with the Masonic
fraternity. He belongs to the Bismarck Commercial Club, of which he has served as presi-
dent, and he cooperates in all its plans and measures for the upbuilding and development of
the city. In fact he is actively interested in any question which has bearing upon the progress
and stable prosperity of the community.
JAMES B. CASEY.
.Tames B. Casey, who follows farming on section 5, Island Park township, Ransom
county, was born at Black Creek, Wisconsin, May 29, 1872, a son of John and Elizabeth
(O'Brien) Casey, both of whom were born in the vicinity of Dublin, Ireland. In early life
they came to the new world, each settling in Wisconsin. Their marriage was celebrated in
Black Creek, where they began their domestic life and continued to reside throughout their
remaining days. Both have now passed away.
James B. Casey was one of twins, who were the oldest in a family of six children.
He pursued his education in the district schools of Binghamton, Wisconsin, after which he
assisted his father, and later secured employment in a paper mill at Appleton, Wisconsin,
where he remained for about a year. Then, in connection w-ith his twin brother, John Casey,
he rented a farm in Ellington township, Outagamie county, where they engaged in farming
for three years. James B. Casey then sold the interest to his brother and began farming
394 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
independently in the same township, where he remained for one year, cultivating a tract of
rented land. At the end of that time he disposed of his interests there and went to Wash-
ington, where he purchased a quarter section and also homesteaded a quarter section near
Wilbur. After living in that locality for a year he disposed of his interests there and for
a few months was employed in Spokane, Washington, but later returned to Wisconsin and
bought a farm in his old lionie county, after which he carried on general agricultural pursuits
for two years. He then disposed of his property and afterward worked in the woods, con-
ducting a lumber camp in northern Wisconsin for a year. On the expiration of that period
he came to North Dakota and purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land, on which
he now resides. This he bought in 1907. It is situated on section 5, Island Park township,
Ransom county, and is a well developed farm property, on which he devotes his energies to
the raising of the cereals best adapted to soil and climate. He also engages in stock raising,
making a specialty of mule-foot hogs. He also has high grade cattle and thirteen head of
Percheron horses. He has erected all of the buildings upon his place, including a new barn
thirty-six by eighty feet, thoroughly modern in construction, with cement floor and stalls.
He put in an electric light plant on his place, the power being generated by a flowing well.
There is no equipment of the model farm that is lacking upon his place. He has a complete
threshing outfit and an Altman & Taylor tractor with a thirty to sixty horse power. He
has taken a course in gas engineering and is thus well equipped to do much of the mechanical
work about his place. He and his brother established the Equity elevator at Lisbon, in
which he is still a stockholder, and he is likew-ise a stockholder in the Terminal elevator at
St. Paul. He drives a Eegal car and he knows how to make the most of life, enjoying his
success and keeping at all times in touch with the most progressive activities and interests
of the day.
On the 9th of .January, 1913, Mr. Casey was married to Miss Mary McNalley, who was
born in Fargo and was reared in Lisbon, North Dakota. Four children have been born to
them, Gertmde, James Bernard, Irene and John, all of whom are living. The parents are
commimicants of the Catholic church at Lisbon. Mrs. Casey is a graduate of the Lisbon
high school and prior to her marriage occupied the position of stenographer with Tom Curtis
and also at the Bemmels mill in Lisbon.
Politically Mr. Casey is a democrat and for two years served as township treasurer of
Island Park township, Ransom county. He has membership with the Knights of Columbus
of Fargo and also with the Moose lodge at Lisbon.
HON. ALEXANDEP. W. CUNNINGHAM.
Hon. Alexander W. Cunningham, engaged in farming on section 9, Grand Rapids town-
ship, Lamoure county, is a native of New York. He was born May 23, 1853, of the marriage
of Alexander and Adeline (Davis) Cunningham, the former a native of the Empire state,
and the latter of Massachusetts. On the father's side the family comes of Scotch-Irish
ancestry and on the mother's side is of English extraction. Alexander Cunningham, Sr., was
a farmer of New York until 1867, when he removed to Calhoini county, Michigan, where he
carried on agricultural pursuits until the time of his death.
Alexander W. Cunningham was a youth of fourteen years at the time of the removal
of the family to the west and he attained his majority in Calhoun county. He attended the
public schools of New York and Michigan and at the age of twenty-two years started out
in business life independently as a farmer, devoting five or six years to the cultivation of a
farm in Calhoun county. In March, 1S8I, attracted by the opportunities of the growing
west, he came to North Dakota, settling in Stutsman county, where he purchased a relin-
quishment on a homestead seven miles northwest of Jamestown. There he resided for
twelve years, devoting his energies to the development and improvement of his property,
after which he removed to Lamoure eoimty, leasing the Cold Springs farm of two thousand
and eighty acres, which he operated for eighteen years. In the meantime, however, in 1905
he purchased six hundred and forty-six acres on sections 5 and 6, Grand Rapids township,
and still owns that property, while in 1910 he bought his present home farm a half mile east
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 395
of the village of Grand Rapids, comprising three hundred and eighty acres. To tliis he
removed in 1911 and is now concentrating his energies upon its further cultivation and
improvement, all of his farm work being conducted along most progressive methods.
In 1875 Mr. Cunningham was married to Miss Jennie Perry, of Concord, Michigan, and
they have become the parents of three sonS and three daughters: Durward, deceased; George,
who is operating the home farm; Arthur, deceased; Eva, the wife of E. H. Griffin, of Fair-
mont, Minnesota; Lina, the wife of John Crist, a farmer of Lamoure county; and Marion,
the wife of IMark Stienchfield, of Grand Rapids.
Mr. Cunningham is a republican in his political views and his worth as a citizen is
indicated in the fact that in 1907 his fellow townsmen chose him to represent his district
in the state legislature, where he made so excellent a record that in 1909 he was reelected
and again in 1911, serving for a third term. He was connected with much important con-
structive legislation and left his impress upon various laws that found their way to the
statute books of the state. He served for years on the school board and has taken a most
active and helpful part in educational matters, while to his children he has given excellent
advantages in that direction. He is a member of the Brotherhood of American Yeomen and
of the Ancient Order of United Workmen, while he and his wife hold membership in the
Catholic church. As a business man and political leader he has won prominence and is
recognized in the community as one who has been influential in molding public thouglit and
action.
SCOTT ZINIC.
Scott Zink is the owner of an excellent farm, comprising the east half of section 10,
Elliott township, Ransom county, to the development and cultivation of which he has
devoted his energies for twelve years, having taken up his abode upon this place in 1905.
He has always been a resident of the middle west. His birth occurred in Bureau county,
Illinois, June 20, 1854, his parents being .John and Elizabeth (Thompson) Zink. The former
was born near the town of Saxon, Pennsylvania, in 1813 and remained in that state until
about the time when he attained his majority. Removing to Ohio, he there learned the
tanner's trade and afterward he journeyed on horseback to Fulton county, Illinois, and
•eventually became a resident of Bureau county, Illinois, where he purchased a farm, upon
which he resided until his death in 1890. He was a pioneer settler of Illinois and experi-
enced all the hardships and privations of frontier life. His wife was also born in Pennsyl-
vania and she passed away in 1861, leaving four children: Mary E., born in 1848; John A.,
who was born in 1850 and died in 1915; Adeline, born in 1852; and Scott.
The last named obtained his education in the district schools of Illinois and remained
with his parents untiriie reached his majority. About that time, or in June, 1875, he was
married to Miss Louise Stinson, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1876, a daughter of
William and Eliza Stinson. who removed westward with their family during the early girl-
hood of Mrs. Zink. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Zink: Anna L., who was
born December 23, 1876, and died when about twenty-five years of age; Cora M., who was
born .June 7, 1878, and became the wife of William Richard but died July 1, 1899; Martha
E., who was born May 17, 1885, and is the wife of John Carey, of Marcus, Iowa; and Jolm
W., who was born January 21. 1887, and is now farming in Elliott township, Ransom county.
North 'Dakotav
Mr. and IVfrs. Zink began their domestic life in Illinois, where they remained until he
reached the age of twenty-three years, when they removed to Tama county, Iowa, where he
carried on farming for thirteen years. He then became a resident of Cherokee county, Iowa,
where he made his home for fifteen years, and in the spring of that year he brought his
family to North Dakota, arriving in 1905, at which time he took up his abode upon the east
half of section 10, Elliott township. Ransom county. He has since given his entire time and
attention to general agricultural pursuits and his careful and sj'stematic management of his
work has been one of the strong elements in his success. He is also a stockholder in the
Farmers Elevator at Elliott and in the Farmers Telephone Company. His business affairs
396 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
liave brought to him a substantial measure of success which is well deserved by reason of
the integrity of his methods.
In 1903 Mr. Zink was called upon to mourn the loss of his first wife, who died in April
of that year. After about five years, or on the 6th of February, 1907, he was again married,
his second union being with Mrs. Mary Thomas, of this state. In politics he is a republican
and he has served as road commissioner and also as school director. Fraternally he is con-
nected with Lisbon Lodge, No. 14, I. O. 0. F., and is loyal to the teachings of that
organization.
CHARLES J. CLARK.
Charles J. Clark, president of the First State Bank at Crosby, was the organizer and
first president of the Crosby Milling Company, and is numbered with that class of men
whose ellorts in town building and development have brought about results that seem
almost magical. He has always lived in the west and possesses that spirit of western
enterprise which has been the dominant factor in the growth of this section of the country.
He was born at Lake City, Wabasha county, Minnesota, May 18, 1874, a son of I). K. J.
Clark, mentioned in connection with the sketch of David Clark, Jr., on another page of
this work.
In the schools of Ortonville Qiarles J. Clark obtained his education, pursuing a high
school course and later a course at the Curtis Business College in St. Paul, Minnesota. He
also attended Hamline University. In early manhood he went to Bigstone county, Minne-
sota, and later conducted business as a horse dealer in Ortonville, where he remained until
1901, when he came to North Dakota, settling on a homestead in Ward county, near Ken-
mare. He proved up his property and afterward took up his abode in the town, where he
began buying and selling horses. He would make trips to Montana and Idaho, from which
points he shipped range horses, selling them in North Dakota and in markets farther east.
He also conducted a livery barn at Kenmare until 1905, when he sold out and removed to
the old town of Crosby, which was then in Williams county, forty miles from a railroad.
There he organized the First State Bank and became its cashier. When the town was
moved to the new town site in 1906 he took his bank there and has since conducted the
business with gratifying success, continuing as the cashier until 1913, when he became
president and has since been its chief officer and executive head. In 1915 the First State
Bank erected a modern bank building handsomely equipped with high class fixtures, marble
floors and other modern appointments. The difl'erent departments are well arranged for the
conduct of the business and include a ladies' rest room, a directors' room and other private
rooms for the transaction of business with the customers. This is regarded as the most
thoroughly up-to-date banking house of any of its size in the state and would be a credit
to a city of much greater population than Crosby. The town certainly has reason to be
proud of this institution, which owes its success to the enterprising and progressive methods
of Mr. Clark. He also organized the Divide County Security Company at Crosby in 1910
for the conduct of a farm mortgage, land and loan business and is now its president and
general manager. He also continues to deal in horses, which he ships from Idaho and Mon-
tana, and he likewise owns and farms land in Divide county and from some of it secures a
good rental. In 1913 the world's record for raising oats was establislicil on his farm adjoining
Crosby, in Divide county, this land producing an average of a fraction over one hundred
and fifty-five bushels to the acre by measure and an average of two hundred and twelve
and a half bushels to the acre by weight. The yield of oats on this particular farm was
certified to by the neighboring citizens, who formed a committee to examine the field and
measure its production in weight and measure. The record is one of which Mr. Clark has
every reason to be proud and, moreover, it indicates the great productiveness of North
Dakota soil in this section of the state. He was the organizer and first president of the
Crosby Milling Company.
On the 25th of December, 1902, at McKinney, North Dakota, :ilr. Clark was iinited in
marriage to Miss Laura E. Stevens, a native of Detroit, Minnesota. Her parents died when
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 397
she was a child and she was reared and educated by an uncle, who resided at Ortonville,
Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Clark have four children: Janice, whose birth occurred in Ken-
mare, North Dakota; and Donald, Douglas and Torter, all of whom were born in Crosbj'.
In politics Mr. Clark is a republican. He filled the office of deputy sherill of Ward
county while living at Kenmare and he was the first president of the park board at Crosby.
He aided in organizing the Divide County Fair Association, of which he is a director, and
he assisted in organizing the Hospital Association of Crosby. He belongs to Crosby Lodge,
F. & A. M., to the Elks lodge at Minot and to the Knights of the Maccabees, and his
religious faith is that of the Methodist church. His life work is indeed the expression of
intense and intelligently directed activity, crowned by substantial and well merited results.
^Vliat he undertakes he accomplishes, his plans being well formulated and carefully executed.
He has never feared to venture where favoring opportunity has led the way, and possessing
the character and ability that inspire confidence in others, the simple weight of his character
and ability has carried him into important business and public relations.
FKED ALBERT KEUP.
Fred Albert Keup, cashier of the Farmers State Bank of Columbus, Burke county, is
one of the substantial citizens that Wisconsin has sent to North Dakota. His birth occurred
in Oshkosh, January 6, 1880, his parents being William and Wilhelmina (Bremer) Keup.
The father's birth occurred in the town of Stettin, Germany, in 1835 and there he was
reared and learned the miller's trade, which he followed in his native country to the age of
twenty-nine years. He crossed the Atlantic to America in 1864 and established his home at
Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where he secured work in flour mills, eventually winning promotion to
the position of superintendent. In that connection he continued for a quarter of a century,
after which he retired and removed to Wautoma, Wisconsin, where he now makes his home,
being most comfortably situated. His wife was born at Treptow, Germany, in 1837 and
they became the parents of one child ere their emigration to the new world. Eventually
their family numbered seven children, six of whom were born in Wisconsin, and all are yet
living.
At the usual age Fred A. Keup became a pupil in the public schools of Oshkosh, passing
through consecutive grades to the high school, and following his graduation therefrom he
attended the Northern Illinois Normal School at Dixon, of which he is also a graduate. He
next entered the employ of J. F. Thompson, who owned a chain of banks, Mr. Keup becoming
clerk in the bank at Thompson, Iowa. For seven years he was in the employ of Mr. Thomp-
son at different points in Iowa and in 1905 he arrived in Columbus, at which time the town
was situated on section 16, school land, seven miles northwest of the present town site.
When the Soo Line was built through Columbus was removed to its present site along the
railroad. Mr. Keup organized the Farmers State Bank in the old town and in 1906 removed
to the new town, his bank building being the third building erected in the town. Upon the
organization of the bank he became its cashier and still continues in that capacity, in which
connection he is directing the interests of the oldest bank in Columbus. He is president of
the Security State Bank of Wildrose, North Dakota, and a director of the Security State
Bank at Noonan, North Dakota, and of the Woodman-.Jacobson Lumber Company of Opheim,
Montana. He also owns farm lands in Burke county, on which he raises shorthorn cattle
and breeds Percheron horses and other registered stock.
On the 3d of September, 1908, at Osage, Iowa, Mr. Keup was united in marriage to
Miss Ina Louise Hallingb}', who was born in Osage and after attending high school there
continued her education at the Iowa Normal School at Cedar Falls and in the C^dar Valley
Seminary at Cedar Valley, Iowa. She afterward engaged in teaching in the high school in
Osage up to the time of her marriage. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ole Hallingby, were natives
of Norway and there the father learned the business of cabinetmaking, after which he was
for many years proprietor of a furniture store in Osage, where he and his wife still make
their home, although he is now living retired.
In his political views Mr. Keup is a republican. When Burke county was set off from
398 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Ward county in 1902 Henry Ackerman was elected public administrator, but died while in
office and Mr. Keup was appointed to fill out the unexpired term, after which he was elected
to the position in 1912 and served for four years. He continued in the office altogether for
six years but did not seek reelection in 191G, Fraternally he is connected with the Masonic
lodge at Forest City, Iowa, and with the Scottish Kite bodies at Grand Forks, where he also
has membership in Kem Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He belongs to the Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks of Williston, North Dakota, and is a charter member of both the
Modern Woodmen camp and the Brotherhood of American Yeomen at Columbus. He owns
a modern home in the town and is not only its pioneer banker but one of its most progressive
and valued citizens, respected by young and old, rich and poor.
VALDEMAK C. JENSEK.
V'aldemar C. Jensen, cashier of the State Bank of Elliott, was born near Aalborg,
Denmark, November 2, 1889, and- obtained his education in the schools of that country but,
attracted by the opportunities of the new world, sailed from Copenhagen in 1904 and landed
at New York. He then made his way across the country to Brandt, South Dakota, where
he lived with a brother and attended school there, remaining until 1907. In that year he
began clerking in the State Bank of Brandt and received his initial experience in the banking
business during the succeeding two years. In 1909 he went to Elliott and was one of the
organizers of the State Bank of Elliott, in which he became a stockholder and was made
cashier and also one of the directors. Under his efficient management the bank has more
than doubled its earnings. He is a courteous and obliging official and his ability is recog-
nized by his associates in business.
On the 18th of June, 1913, Mr. Jensen was married to Miss Georgia H. Howell, a native
of Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. and Mrs. Jensen have a daughter, Beverly, who was born Sep-
tember 14, 1915.
Since coming to the northwest ilr. Jensen has invested in land, having first purchased
the southeast quarter of section 16, Alleghany township, Ransom county, in 1912. Three
years later he bought the east half of section 13, Elliott township, and in 1916 traded that
property for the southwest quarter of section 28 and the southwest quarter of section 37,
Elliott township. The State Bank, of which he is cashier, was organized in 1909 with H. P.
Holen as president and G. O. Swartz as vice president. The bank is capitalized for ten
thousand dollars and today has a surplus of ten thousand dollars and undivided profits of
five thousand nine hundred and eighty dollars. There has been no change in the presidency
and cashiersliip, but W. E. Johnson has succeeded Mr. Swartz in the position of vice president.
The company owns a good bank building and the bank is in excellent standing. Aside from
a general banking business they deal in real estate, mortgages and loans, and Mr. .Jensen is
one of the stockholders and the secretary of the Farmers Elevator Company. In his political
views he is a republican but not an office seeker. He is, howe\er, much interested in the
welfare and progress of the community in which he lives and puts forth every eflort to
advance its growth and upbuilding.
.TOIIX SHELDON GEE.
John Sheldon Gee, a retired hardware merchant of Flaxton, and the president of the
Burke County Fair and Agricultural Society, was born July 3, 1860, at Virgil, Cortland
county. New York. His father, John L. Gee, was born and reared in Pennsylvania and in
early manhood removed to New York, after which he engaged in farming in Cortland county
for many years. Eventually he homesteaded near Marshall, Lyon count}', Minnesota, becom-
ing one of its pioneer settlers and there carrying on general agricultural ])ursuit3 for a third
of a century. At length he retired from the farm and took up his abode in Monticello, Min-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 399
nesota. He married Felicia Seamons, who was born in New York and spent her last days in
Monticello.
John S. Gee continued a resident of the Empire state until he accompanied his parents
on their removal to Minnesota, after which he assisted his father in the work of the home
farm until he had attained his majority. He then purchased land in Lyon county, Minnesota,
and engaged in farming on his own account until 1900, when he sold that property and made
his way to Flaxton, North Dakota, taking up a homestead claim in the vicinity of the town.
He cultivated that property until he secured the title thereto, after which he became a
resident of Flaxton. He was appointed postmaster in 1901 and occupied that position con-
tinuously for fifteen years, or until January, 1916. Upon his retirement from that position
he entered the employment of the Flaxton Hardware Company, with which he is still con-
nected. He owns his homestead property, upon which there has never been a mortgage. He
is accounted a successful man and is highly esteemed and respected by all who know him.
In February, 1883, Mr. Gee was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Marron, at Marshall,
Lyon county, Minnesota. She was born in Grant county, Wisconsin, near Platteville, a
daughter of Owen and Ellen Marron, who were natives of Ireland, and on coming to the new-
world settled in Wisconsin. After leaving that state they became residents of Lyon county,
Minnesota, and there Mrs. Gee was reared upon the home farm, completing her education by
graduating from the high school at Marshall. To Mr. and Mrs. Gee have been born nine
children, of whom six are living; Maud, the wife of George Wilson, a farmer of Saskatche-
wan. Canada; Vernon Lynn and Roland, who are also farming in Saskatchewan; Etta, the
wife of Jay Olney, a farmer of Steele, North Dakota; and Harold and Lyle, at home.
In politics Mr. Gee is a republican and for ten years he has served on the school board
of Flaxton. He is president of the Burke County Fair and Agricultural Society. His reli-
gious faith is indicated by his membership in the Presbyterian church and fraternally he is
a Royal Arch Mason, belonging to the lodge and chapter at Marshall, Minnesota. He also
became a charter member of the Modern Woodmen camp at Flaxton, in which he has filled
all the chairs. He is a man of kindly spirit, of genial disposition and sterling worth, pleasant
and agreeable in manner and looked upon as one of the most substantial and valued citizens
of his town. He owes his success entirely to his own efforts, for he started out empty-
handed, working his way upward to success by reason of his close application and diligence.
H. JOHN MOVIUS, M. D.
Dr. H. John Movius, who is engaged in the practice of medicine at Edgeley, was born
at Lidgerwood, North Dakota, April 14, 1888, a son of Ernest F. and Mary (Rosencrans)
Movius, who were natives of Germany. The father and mother emigrated to America about
the time they reached manhood and womanhood, settling in Minnesota, where they lived for
a time, but afterward removing to North Dakota. The father had partially prepared for
the ministry in his native country and completed his studies in the new world after which
he engaged in preaching for the Evangelical denomination and was for eighteen years presid-
ing elder. He retired from the ministry on account of heart trouble and then engaged
in the lumber business in Lidgerwood, but is now living retired at the age of sixty-two
years while his wife has reached the age of fifty-eight years.
Dr. Movius completed a high school education at Lidgerwood and afterward won his
Bachelor of Arts degree upon the completion of a classical course in the University of North
Dakota, being numbered among the alumni of 1911. He next entered Rush Medical College
at Chicago and graduated with the class of 1913, after which he spent six months as an
interne in the Presbyterian Hospital of that city and twelve months in the City Hospital at
St. Louis, Missouri. He then went to Washington with the intention of locating in that
state, but did not like the country and retraced his steps as far east as Edgeley, where he
opened an office in .lanuary, 1915, and entered upon the active practice of medicine, in which
he is now meeting with splendid success. Aside from his practice he is a stockholder in the
Provident Life Insurance Company of Bismarck and the American Druggists' Syndicate and
he is also the owner of a quarter section of land in Lamoure county.
400 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
On tile 20th of June, 1914, Dr. Jlovius was married to Mias Mabel Price, a liaiighter of
Edward and Ktta (Grocne) Price, who were natives of St. Louis. Tlie father died in 190.5
and the mother is now living with Dr. luul Mrs. Jlovius, who have one child, H. John, born
May 5, 1915.
Fraternally Dr. Movius is connected witli the Masons, the Elks, the Knights of Pythias,
the Woodmen of the World, the Yoemen and also Alpha Kappa Kappa, a C4reek letter fra-
ternity, while of the Phi Delta Theta he is an honorary. His political allegiance is given to
the republican party and his religious faith is indicated in his membership in the Presbyterian
church, to the teachings of which lie is most loyal. Along professional lines he is connected
with the Bismarck State Medical Society and the American Medical Association and thus he
keeps in close touch with the advance of the profession and his ability is evidenced by the
large practice wliich he now enjoys.
ALVIN D. POE.
Alvin D. Poe is one of the most enterprising and progressive business men of Tower
City, Cass county, where he is engaged in the real estate business. He is confident of the
great future in store for North Dakota and has given proof of his faith in the state by
investing heavily in land. In pursuit of his education ho attended the common and high
schools and a business college. In 1900 he came to Tower City and made his home with and
entered the employ of an uncle, who was in the implement business. Subsequently he turned
his attention to the real estate field, in which he is now active. His land is in Cass and
Barnes counties and he is recognized as one of the substantial men of Tower City. He is also
engaged in the seed business and is energetic and farsighted and display's sound judgment in
the management of his affairs.
Mr. Poe is a republican, believing in the wisdom of the policies of that party, and he is
now filling the office of justice of the peace. Fraternally he belongs to the Masonic lodge
and in his daily life exemplifies the teachings of the craft concerning the brotherhood of
man. In the conduct of his private business affairs he has also contributed to the dcYolop-
ment of his town and countv.
SPENCER D. REED, D. C.
Dr. Spencer D. Reed, a chiropractic practitioner at Valley City, was born in Tunkhan-
nock, Pennsylvania, November 25, 1S72, the only child of Chauncey J. and Elizabeth (De
Witt) Reed. The father, a native of Binghamton, New York, removed to Pennsylvania in
early manhood and there engaged in the sale of musical instruments, conducting business
at Tunkhannock during his active life with the' exception of four years when he engaged
in the music store business in Washington, D. C. He served his country in the Civil war
as a captain of the Eighty-ninth New York. His wife was also a lover of music and excelled
as an amateur musician. She was a daughter of the American Revolution, her grand-
father De Witt having served as a soldier under Washington. The love of music was
inherited by Dr. Reed and music and horses were his hobbies for some years. After attend-
ing the schools of his native city he was employed by piano dealers for a number of years
and was also the director of Reed's Band of Tunkhannock. He later decided to take up
the study of veterinary surgery but gave it up for the study of osteopathy, in which
he completed a course by graduation. However, preferring the chiropractic method of
treatment, he studied for practice in that field and was graduated two years later, in 1910.
Removing to Valley City, North Dakota, he opened an office and has since won a large
practice. He was one of the leaders in the movement which gained recognition for the
profession in America, North Dakota bring the first state to recognize chiropractic and
establishing a very high standard which must be met by those who desire to practice in
DR. SPENCER D. REED
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 403
North Dakota. Dr. Reed was appointed on the first board of chiropractic examiners ever
appointed in the world and he holds the second license ever issued.
On the 25th of December, 1913, Dr. Reed was mariied to Miss Maud Moss, a daughter
of F. C. Moss, and the children of this marriage are Frances Elizabeth and Spencer De Witt.
The Doctor has membership with the Knights of Pythias, the Moose, the Eagles and the
Maccabees and he is president of the Valley City Municipal Band, in which connection he
has done much to improve the organization and raise the standard of its work. His atten-
tion, however, is chiefly devoted to his profession and he is now editor and publisher of
The Northwestern Chiropractor, a monthly magazine issued at Valley City in the interests
of the profession. He has just completed a sanitarium with accommodation for twenty
patients, and his practice has been attended with most excellent results, proving the worth
of his methods and his efficacy in treating specific cases. His business has steadily grown
and his newly erected sanitarium is the visible proof of his steady professional advance.
CHARLES E. GRADY.
Charles E. Grady, a farmer living on section 15, Elm River township, Traill county, is
numbered among those ambitious, enterprising men whose labors have made North Dakota
a great agricultural state. He was born in Ontario, Canada, on the 1st of April, 1875, and
spent his youthful days under the parental roof, acquiring a public school education, after
which he pursued a business course in Fargo College. He has since been actively identified
with agricultural interests and made his first purchase of land in 1897, when he became
owner of one hundred and sixty acres in Elm River township, Traill county. He then began
farming independently and the following year he purchased an adjoining tract of one hun-
dred and sixty acres, so that he now owns three hundred and twenty acres, while his wife
owns two hundred and nine acres. He is now operating his own land and eighty acres of
that which belongs to Mrs. Grady. He is a most energetic agriculturist, studying closely
modern methods of farming, and his persistency of purpose and diligence have resulted in
the attainment of gratifying success.
On the 4th of December, 1911, Ml'. Grady was united in marriage to Miss Anna Foster,
of Elm River township, by whom he has a son, Merrill Charles. He gives his political
allegiance to the republican party and has served as township treasurer for about twelve
years, while for several years he has also acted as clerk of the school board. Fraternally
Mr. Grady is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America and he and his wife are
members of the Presbyterian church, to the teachings of which they loyally adhere.
FRED G. CHURCH.
Fred G. Church is a resident farmer of Island Park township, Ransom county, his home
being on section 7, where he owns and cultivates an excellent tract of land devoted to
general farming and stock raising. He was born near Coeymans-on-the-Hudson in New
York, about twelve miles south of Albany, on the 28th of November, 1857, and is a son of
William James and Elizabeth Tenyck (Holmes) Church. The father was a native of England
and when about nineteen years of age crossed the Atlantic to the United States and estab-
lished his home in New York. For two years he served as a soldier in the Civil war and
subsequently he settled in Grundy county, Hlinois, where he lived for about five years. He
then removed to Ford county, Illinois, where he spent one year, after which he established
his home about ten miles from Pontiac, Illinois, living in that locality until 1887. He engaged
in teaching school and was also a preaclier of the United Brethren church, his life thus con-
stituting an influence for uplift. He was living in Indiana when in 1908 he was called to
the home beyond, having survived his wife, who had passed away in Februaiy, 1885. They
had a family of three children, of which one died in infancy, the others being Fred G. and
Elias Palmer, who is a resident of Swope county, North Dakota.
404 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Fred G. auirch is indebted to the puldio school system of Illinois for tlie educational
opportunities wliicli he enjoyed and on attaining his majority he engaged in farming on his
own account. He continued his residence in that state until he reached the age of forty-
three years when he removed to White county, Indiana, where he lived for nine years. He
came to North Dakota in 1910 and purchased the northeast quarter of section 7, Island Tark
township, Ransom county, upon which he still makes his home. He also bought one hundred
and sixty acres of section 18 in Hanson township, which he has rented. His time and atten-
tion arc given to general farming and stock raising and he handles Holstein cattle and Duroc
hogs. Both branches of his business are proving profitable because his interests are wisely
directed and enterprise actuates him at every point in his career.
Mr. Church was married in Livingston county, Illinois, to Miss Rozclle Barber, who was
born in that county, December 27, 1859, the daughter of Charles W. and Adeline (Harris)
Barber, who removed from Michigan to Illinois where the father engaged in farming and
carpentering. Mr. and Mrs. Church have become the parents of five children: Susie, who is
the wife of Edward Wilson of Illinois: Robert William, who is living at Havre, Montana;
Earl, a resident of Indiana : Rozolle, the wife of Otto Brush, of Ransom county; and Ruby,
at home. The wife and mother passed away in 1908 and her death was deeply regretted
by many friends.
In his political views Mr. Oiurch has been a stalwart republican since age conferred
upon him the right of franchise, but he has never been an aspirant for ofTice and has preferred
to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs. He has served, however, as a school
director and the cause of education finds him a stalwart champion. His religious faith is
that of the Methodist Episcopal church and to its teachiugs he is loyal.
WALTER D. POWELL.
Walter D. Powell, wlio since the fall of 1915 has been engaged in general merchandising
at Jud, North Dakota, success attending his enterprising and intelligently directed efforts,
was born near Vinton, Benton county, Iowa, April 14, 1870, a son of Joseph and Sarah
(Dougherty) Powell, the fonner a native of Kentucky and the latter of Indiana. The father,
who followed the occupation of farming, removed to Benton county, Iowa, in 1865 and there
purchased land which he cultivated and improved until 1879, when he became a resident of
Nebraska. He followed farming in the latter state until 1883 and then went to Faulk county,
South Dakota, where he secured a homestead. As years passed on he continued the work of
further development up to the time of his death which occurred in June, 1907. He had long
survived his wife who died in September, 1881.
Walter D. Powell was reared and educated in Iowa and Nebraska and remained with
his father until he reached the age of fourteen years. In 1883, when he was a youth of
thirteen, he and his uncle killed the last buffalo bull seen east of the Missouri river in South
Dakota, mention of which fact is made in the historical records of South Dakota. He was a
youth of fourteen when he left home and began earning his own living as a clerk in a
general store. He was employed as a salesman for ten years, spending a part of that time
in a wholesale shoe house in Chicago, He afterward went upon the road as a traveling sales-
man, selling shoes for four years for a Chicago concern while for thirteen years he represented
the Foot-Schultz Company of St. Paul, his territory being North Dakota. On the 1st of
January, 1914, he left the road and rested for a time, but in the fall of 1915 re-entered
business circles by establishing a general mercantile store at Jud, North Dakota, whore he
carries a very large stock of poods and enjoys an extensive and growing patronage.
On the 29th of May, 1895, Mr. Powell was married to Miss Maggie Debus, a daughter of
Josephine and Matilda (Rohr) Debus, both of whom were natives of Germany. They came
to America at an early age and settled near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the father pur-
chased land which he continued to oiltivate throughout the residue of his days, his death
occurring in July. 1898, while his wife died in 1879. To Mr. and Mrs. Powell have been born
four children: Dunning, born .July 31, 1896; Leslie, who was born June 10, 1902, and died
August 21, 1905; Raymond, born October 18, 1905; and Florence, born May 6, 1910,
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 405
Mr. Powell is well known in Masonic circles in which he has attained high rank, being
now a member of the Mystic Shrine. He is also identified with the Knights of Pythias and
the United Commercial Travelers. His political allegiance is given to the republican party
and he has always taken an active interest in political affairs. It was he who originated the
plan of voting by mail in North Dakota. He is a member of the State Historical Society and
is interested in everything pertaining to the early records of the state. He is also a collector
of Indian relics and has over three thousand specimens. His business and other axitivities
have made him widely known in the state and North Dakota has reason to be proud of him
as one of its representative citizens.
A. L. RAMSTAD.
A. L. Ramstad has been very successful as a farmer and is residing on his place on
section 14, Pleasant township, Cass count}'. His birth occurred on the 1st of March, 1S61,
near Christiania, Norway, and he is a son of L. J. and Martha C. Kamstad, both of whom
were likewise natives of that country, where the mother died. They were the parents
of nine children, of whom four are deceased. In 1871 the father emigrated to the United
States and passed away here.
A. L. Eamstad accompanied a brother to America when he was but nine years of age
and for five years thereafter lived in Spring Grove, Minnesota. At the end of that time he
removed to Cass county. North Dakota, and took up his residence upon a farm on section 14,
Pleasant township, on which he has lived continuously since and which he now owns. He
has planted a fine grove and erected excellent buildings in addition to making other improve-
ments upon the place. For a number of years after coming to this state pioneer conditions
existed here and his first house was a sod shanty with a sod roof but after two years he was
able to build a log house, which has now been replaced with a commodious and well arranged
residence. He keeps everything about the place in excellent condition and in his farm work
follows the latest methods and uses the newest machinery.
In 18S5 Mr. P.amstad was manied to Miss Sigrid Lommen, who was born in Houston
county, Minnesota. Her parents, G. J. and Aagot Lommen, were born in Norway and in the
early '50s came to the United States, settling on a farm near Spring Grove, Minnesota,
where both passed away. Two of their eight children are still living. Mi', and Mrs. Kamstad
have become the parents of nine children, namely: Aagot M. and Leonard G., at home;
George A., who is teaching school; Hilda E.; Arthur S.; Ruth I., who is a graduate of the
normal school; Clarence I.; Isabel C; and Ethel M.
Mr. Eamstad is an adherent of the democratic party and has served his district as a
member of the school board. Both he and his wife are communicants of the Lutheran church
and at all times seek to uphold high standards of morality. He deserves much credit for
the success which he has gained, as from early boyhood he has been dependent upon his own
resources and is therefore a self-made man.
FRANK H. MICHEEL.
Frank H. Micheel, a fai-mer of Elliott township. Ransom county, was born in Winona
county, Minnesota, July 5, 1869. His father, Fred Micheel, a native of Prussia, Germany, was
born in 1838 and came to the United States in 1868, settling in Winona county, where he
purchased a quarter section of land upon which he established his home and there resided
until his death, which occurred in 1907. He always carried on general farming and stock
raising and brought his place to a high atate of development. He was married to Wilhelmina
Richard, who was born in Prussia in 1839. Their marriage was celebrated in Germany and
immediately afterward they sailed for the new world. Mrs. Micheel survives her husband
and is now living in Winona, Minnesota, enjoying excellent health. The old homestead prop-
erty was sold to Charles Hoppe, who married a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. F'red Micheel and
406 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
is farming the lioine place. In the family of Jlr. and Mrs. ilichcel were eight children:
Frank II.; Jlrs. Anna Kellender, living in Michigan; Mis. Elizabeth Prudell, of St. Charles,
Minnesota; Emil, now deceased; Mrs. Mary Hoppe, on the old homestead; Martha, who is
with her mother in Winona; Herman, of South Dakota; and Kobert, living in St. Charles,
Minnesota.
Frank H. Jlicheel was educated in tlie district schools of his native county and after his
textbooks were put aside he remained with his father until he reached the age of nineteen
years. At that time, or in 1888, he removed to Soutli Dakota, where he was cmployeil at
farm work for three summers. He then began farming on his own account and remained in
that locality until 1902, when he came to North Dakota. He purchased the cast half of
section 12, Elliott township, Ransom county, and has since been engaged in general farming,
the result of his labors being seen in highly cultivated fields which are splendidly developed.
He is also a stockholder of the Farmers Elevator Company of Elliott and also the Farmers
Elevator Company of Lisbon. He was one of the organizers of the former company and has
been active in winning for it substantial success. Otherwise his interests are centered
entirely on his farm.
Mr. Micheel was married to iliss Rebecca .Jennings, who was born in North Carolina in
1873 and is a daughter of William and Ann Jennings, who were early residents of that state
and there lived until death called them, the father passing away in 1910. while the mother
died in 1889. In their family were ten children, of whom Mrs. Micheel is the youngest.
In his political views 'Mi. Micheel is an earnest rciniblican. While in Brookings county.
South Dakota, he served as school director in 1900 and 1901. He afterward became a director
of the Farmers Elevator Company at Lisbon and so continued from 1910 until 1914.' He is
now on the board of directors of the Farmers Elevator Company at Elliott, to which office
he was called in .June, 1916. In 1915 he was elected to the office of road supervisor and was
reelected in 1916, a fact which indicates that he made an e.Kcellcnt record in that position.
He belongs to the Lutheran church, while his wife adheres to the Baptist faith, and both are
highly esteemed in the community where they make their home.
EDWAED H. GROSS.
One of the attractive mercantile establishments of Kenmare is the jewelry store of
Edwaid H. Gross, an alert, enterprising business man whose success is attributable to his
persistent, earnest and intelligently directed efforts. He was born in Shakopee, Scott county,
Minnesota, November 8, 1879. His father, H. F. Gross, was a native of Germany and in his
boyhood days came to the new world, being largely reared and educated in Scott county,
Minnesota. He afterward went to St. Paul, where he learned the barber's trade, being the
first man to serve an apprenticeship at the trade in St. Paul. Later he opened a shop in
Shakopee, where he continued to engage in business for forty years. In early manliood he
wedded Mary Werner, who is also a native of Germany, and on coming to the I'nited States
settled in Carver county, Minnesota, where she was reared, educated and married. She sur-
vives her husband, who passed away some years ago, and she still makes her liome in
Shakopee, with her oldest son, F. J. Gross, who still conducts the barber shop at the old stand.
In his native town Edward II. Gross pursiied his education, attending the graded and
high schools. He worked for a .short time in the shipping room of the Plymouth Clothing
Company of Minneapolis, and also clerked in a store in St. .James, Minnesota, during the
summer of 1897. In 1898 he entered upon an apprenticeship to the jewelry business, working
at the bench in Shakopee for a year. He afterward went to Osceola, Wisconsin, where he
spent three years and in the spring of 1902 arrived in Kenmare, Ward county. North Dakota,
where he opened a jewelry store which he has since conducted. He began business on a very
small scale, occupying a corner in a drug store, but he has constantly increased his stock to
meet the growing demands of the trade and now owns a modern and well equipped store
building in which he handles a large and attractive line of jewelry. His store is equipped
with mahogany fi.xtures and its tasteful arrangement and the beautiful line of goods which
he carries make it an establishment which would be a credit to a city of mudi larger size.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 407
He is a graduate of Millords School of Optics and of the Northern Illinois College of Opthal-
mology and Otology at Chicago. Throughout his business career he has followed methods
which neither seek nor require disguise, and his energy and ability have brought him a
substantial measure of success.
On the 3d of September, 1903, in Spencer, Wisconsin, Mr. Gross was united in marriage
to Jliss Irene Heath, who was there born, reared and educated, her parents being Edward
and Mary Heath, who are natives of New York and became early settlers of Wisconsin. The
father became a druggist of Spencer, in which business he continued until his death, which
occurred September 16, 1909. Mrs. Heath still resides in Spencer. Mrs. Gross successfully
engaged in teaching school in Wisconsin prior to her marriage. She has become the mother
of one child, Heath, who was born in Kenmare, October 29, 1904. They occupy a modern
residence which was erected by Mr. Gross, conveniently arranged and comfortably furnished.
In politics Mr. Gross is a republican and in 1916 was elected city treasurer of Kenmare.
His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Presbyterian church and he is
identified with the Masonic lodge, the Odd Fellows lodge, in which he has held office, and the
Elks lodge at Minot. His has been a busy, useful and active life, bringing to him a substan-
tial measure of success which has been the legitimate outcome of close application and
persistent, honorable effort.
JACOB H. HERRMANN".
Jacob H. Herrmann, agent at Alfred for the Maxwell motor car, was born in Russia,
March 23, 1861, a son of Jacob and Christina (Lehr) Herrmann, who were also natives of
that country, where the father followed farming throughout his entire life, his death result-
ing from the effects of a fall from a horse in 1874. His widow long survived him, passing
away December 25, 1914.
Jacob H. Herrmann was a lad of but thirteen years at the time of his father's death
and he remained with his mother until he reached the age of twenty-three, when he came
to America and took up his abode in Scotland, South Dakota. This was in the year 1884.
He afterward removed to Ransom county, North Dakota, where he purchased land on con-
tract, but lost the property after investing sixteen hundred dollars in it. His next purchase
made him the owner of a quarter section in Lamoure county, which he at once began to
develop and improve, and with that as the nucleus he kept adding to his holdings until he
is today the owner of seven quarters, or eleven hundred and twenty acres of valuable farm
land. All through the years he persistently and energetically cultivated his fields, bringing
his land to a high state of development, plowing, planting and harvesting and investing the
proceeds from the sale of his crops in other land. Thus he carried on general farming until
1910, when he removed to Alfred and opened a general merchandise store which he conducted
for eleven months. He then traded the property for another farm but has resided in Alfred
since 1910, in which year he erected a commodious and attractive residence there. Recently
he has established another mercantile enterprise for the sale of hardware and farm imple-
ments and he is also dealing in automobiles, handling the Maxwell car. In business affairs
he displays sound judgment and keen discrimination and he never falls short of the accom-
plishment of any task to which he resolutely sets liimself.
In March, 1882, IVIr. HeiTmann was xmited in marriage to Miss Maggie Kurtz, a daughter
of Johannes and Maggie (Harffner) Kurtz, who were natives of Prussia. The three children
born of this marriage are: Walter, who follows farming near Alfred and who is also asso-
ciated with his father in the mercantile business; Bertha, the wife of John Klundt, an imple-
ment dealer of Alfred; and Jacob P., who follows farming near Alfred.
In religious faith Mr. Herrmann is connected with the Evangelical denomination, while
his political allegiance is given to the democratic party. Several times his fellow townsmen
have called him to public office and he has ever discharged his duties with promptness and
fidelity. He served for eight years as town treasurer, as school treasurer for eleven years,
as township assessor for three j'ears and as road overseer for three years. He has never had
occasion to regret his resolution to come to the new world, for he found here excellent oppor-
408 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
tunities open to young men of industry and perseverance. He worked hard to gain a start
but in tlie course of years has reaped the reward of earnest labor and is now numbered
among the men of aflluence of Lamoure county.
NELS A. LIUDAHL.
Nels A. Liudahl, who is farming on section 14, Davenport township, Cass county, lias
found in North Dakota the opportunities which he sought and through ttie utilization of
which he has gained financial independence, owning six hundred and fortv acres of excellent
land. A native of Norway, he was boni on the 4th of June, 1847, a son of Amund and Turi
(Sundet) Liudahl, who in 1861 came with their family to the United States, locating in
Houston county, Minnesota, where the father passed away. In 1883 the mother came to
North Dakota and passed her remaining days with her son Amund.
Nels A. Liudahl received the greater part of his education in the common schools of
Norway but attended school for a few months after removing to the United States with liis
parents at the age of fourteen years. He continued to reside in Houston county, Minnesota,
for a number of years after reaching maturity and following his marriage engaged in farm-
ing in that county on his own account, having purchased three hundred and sixty acres of
land. However, the chinch bug destroyed all his crops and after six years of hardship he
was compelled to leave it all and in 1880 he became a resident of North Dakota. He bought
a homestead relinquishment on his present home farm and at once began to develop and
improve the place, which is now one of the valuable properties of this locality. He has added
to his holdings and now owns six hundred and forty acres of excellent land, from which he
derives a handsome yearly income. He is up-to-date in his farming methods and uses im-
proved machinery in his work, his progressiveness being one of the factors of his success.
In 1874 Mr. Liudahl was married to Miss Aase Peterson Enger, a native of Norway,
who came to this country with her parents in 1861. To their union have been born eight
children, but only three survive, namely: Albert and Oscar, who are operating the home
farm; and Norah, at home.
Mr. Liudahl is a republican in politics and for a number of years served as a member
of the board of township trustees, while for the past quarter of a century he has served as
school treasurer, doing much in that time to promote the welfare of the public schools. He
and his family belong to the Norwegian Lutheran church, the work of which they further in
every way possible. Mr. Liudahl has made many sincere friends and all who have been
brought into contact with him hold him in high esteem, his salient characteristics being such
as invariably command respect.
ROBERT E. M. CAIN.
Robert E. M. Cain is the owner of valuable farm property on section 22, TuUer town-
ship. Ransom county, and has made his home in this state since 1903. He was born in
Warren county, Illinois. November 20, 1868, a son of Robert and Charlotte (Redgrave) Cain,
who were of English birth. The father was born on the Isle of Uan and the mother in
London, in which city they were married, the latter's natal day being December 4, 1845, while
the former's was April 4, 1840. They came to the United States in March, 1868, and made
their way to Warren county, Illinois, settling about eight miles from the city of Monmouth,
where they remained until the spring of is.si, when they became residents of Greene county,
Iowa, where again the father took up farming and still makes his home. His wife has passed
away, however, her death having occurred in May, 1903. In their family were five children:
Robert E. M.; Herbert R. J.; George Frank; Alfred R., and Chester G.
Robert E. M. Cain obtained his education in the public schools of Illinois and Iowa and
remained under the parental roof until he attained his majority, after which he learned the
liarness making trade under .lohn Grey at Jefferson, Iowa, following that pursuit as an
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 409
employe for three years. He then opened a shop at Clear Lake, Iowa, where he continued
in the business for ten years, when he sold out at that point and removed to North Dakota.
On the 19th of June, 1895, Mr. Cain was married to Miss Lizzie Gilmore, who was born
in Johnson county, Iowa, September 16, 1871, the daughter of Isaac N. and Susan (Russel)
Gilmore, but the latter died when Mrs. Cain was but twelve years of age. Mr. Gilmore and
his family continued to make their home in Iowa until 1916 when they removed to Arkansas.
Having lost his first wife, the father married again. The children of the first marriage were
seven in number: Mrs. Cain; Margaret, the wife of Gus Wilson; Glen; Edith, the wife of
J. M. McGuire; Elwin; Grace; and Elmer. The last named is deceased. The oldest daughter
was educated in the schools of Iowa and lived at home until her marriage. She became the
mother of two sons but one has passed away, the other being Lawrence G., who was born
March 25, 1909.
Mr. and Mrs. Cain began their domestic life in Iowa but after seven years, or in 1902,
came to North Dakota, where he purchased the southeast quarter of section 22, Tuller town-
ship. Ransom county, taking up his abode there on the 26th of March. With characteristic
energy he began the development of the farm and soon brought about a mai'ked transforma-
tion in its appearance. In 1906 he bought the northeast quarter of the same section and is
now farming the entire tract, most of which is under cultivation. It is the oldest developed
farm in the township and was the property of Mr. Tuller for whom the township was named.
In addition to raising various grains, Mr. Cain also devotes some time to stock raising, having
on hand twenty-five head of shorthorn cattle, fifty head of Duroc-Jersey hogs and sixteen
head of Pereheron horses. He is also one of the largest poultry raisers in the county and
keeps all kinds and this adds not a little to his income, tlirough the sale of both chickens
and eggs. His business afl'airs are carefully and wisely managed and the spirit of enterprise
guides him in all that he undertakes. In his political views Mr. Cain is a republican. He
served as township supervisor for the past six years and for three years has been township
reporter for the government post. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church in Lisbon
and has always guided his life by the teachings of the church, being a man honorable and
upright in every relation so that he is highly esteemed by all who know him.
ROBERT FRANCIS FLINT.
In the newer states of the Union, where governments have been organized along modern
lines to meet present day needs and keep in touch with present day tendencies, there have
been established offices which demand as their occupants men of practical business ability,
sound judgment and marked public spirit as well as a knowledge of general political issues.
Such an official is found in Robert Francis Flint, of Bismarck, now commissioner of agricul-
ture and labor for North Dakota. He is a western man by birth, training and experience
and knows the needs and demands of the west. His birth occurred upon a farm in Morrison
county, Minnesota, January 13, 1872. His father, Francis Flint, was a native of Stafl'ord,
Vermont, born in 1846, but in childhood accompanied his parents on their removal to Min-
nesota, where he was reared. In early manhood he wedded Jennie Russell, a native of
Scotland, who had also been taken to Minnesota during her childhood days. The ancestry of
the Flint family can be traced back to Thomas Flint, a native of Wales, who in 1640 left
that little rock ribbed country" and faced the dangers then incident to the long voyage across
the Atlantic in a sailing vessel. He became one of the first settlers of Salem Village,
Massachusetts, now known as South Danvers. and his descendants in the new world are
numerous. Among the number w-as Francis Flint, father of Robert F. Flint, who at the
time of the Civil war proved his loyalty to his country by enlisting in the Second Minnesota
Light Artillery, which he joined on the 14th of January, 1862, when a youth of but sixteen
years. He served until August 16, 1865, when, the war having ended, he was honorably
discharged at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. He was captured near Franklin, Tennessee, and for
four months was incarcerated in Libby prison, so that he had all of the experiences of life
in that loathsome prison pen. During his service he was promoted to the rank of corporal.
410 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Death claimed him October 23, 1908, and in his passing the community in which he lived
lost a most valued and worthy citizen.
Kobert Francis Flint spent his youth in his native state, attending the public schools
and assisting in the work of his father's farm until he attained his majority. At that time
he secured oniploymont in the store and creamery at Royalton, Minnesota, where he remained
until .July, 1899, when the opportunities of North Dakota attracted him and he made his
way to Hanover, Oliver county. Tliere he established the first creamery in the county and
soon afterward went to New Salem, North Dakota, where he managed a creamery for five
years. His practical experience in this connection led to his selection for dairy commis-
sioner, to which olBce he was appointed in 1905. He carefully directed the duties of the
position and organized the department upon practical lines of far-reaching and beneficial
efi'ect. He continued to fill that position until January, 1915, when he was elected commis-
sioner of agriculture and labor and is now filling the position, in which he manifests the
same thoroughness and sagacity that he displayed in his former connections.
On the 20th of February, 1900, at Mandan, North Dakota, Mr. Flint was married to
Miss Camille St. Cyr. Mrs. Flint's father, Abner St. Cyr, was a Civil war veteran, serving
with the rank of lieutenant in a company of the Fourth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry.
\Miile at the front he was badly wounded in the siege of Vicksburg, which incapacitated him.
for further service in the field. He died in 1886. To Mr. and Mrs. Flint has been born a
son, Robert Jerome, whose birth occurred November 18, 1912.
Mr. Flint is a Master IMason, loyal to the teachings and purposes of the fraternity.
He makes his odicial duties his first interest, however, and is continually studying in order
to make the work of the department more efficient and of greater value to the general public.
The worth of his work is widely acknowledged and receives the high endorsement of state
officials and the commonwealth.
C. W. SHIEK.
C. W. Shiek, engaged in teaming and in the livery business and also in carpentering at
Grand Rapids, Lanioure county, is a native of Michigan, his birth having occurred in Kala-
mazoo on the 18th of September, 1871, his parents being Carl and Louisa Shiek, who were
natives of Germany. In early life they came to the new world and settled in Michigan. At
the outbreak of the Civil war the father proved his loyalty to his adopted country by-
enlisting for service in Company D, First Regiment of ^lichigan Lancers and was honorably
discharged March 22, 1862. He again enlisted in the Fourteenth Michigan Light Artillery
on October 21, 1863, at Detroit, was made second lieutenant March 17, 1865, and honorably
discharged at Jackson, Michigan, July 1, 1865. He then went to Kalamazoo and Parma,
Michigan, where he engaged in farming until 1883, when he removed to Grand Rapids, North
Dakota, and filed on a homestead five miles northeast of the town. He at once began to
develop and improve that property and continued its cultivation until his death but resided
in the town during that period and in 1883 built a hotel there, freighting everything from-
Ellcndale. a distance of thirty-five miles. He died May 26, 1886, and in his passing the
community lost one of its valued and representative citizens who had taken an active and
helpful part in upbuilding the district. His widow survived him for a long period and died
in 1908.
C. W. Shiek began his education in the schools of Parma, Michigan, and continued his
studies in Grand Rapids, North Dakota. He was reared in the usual manner of farm lads,
early becoming familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist.
He farmed until 1890 and in the fall of that year went to Minnesota, spending the winter
at work in Duluth. The following spring he removed to North Branch and rented a farm
which he cultivated for a time. He returned to North Dakota in the fall of 1S91 and devoted
the succeeding eleven years to general farming. In 1902 he went to Seattle, Washington,
where he was employed until July 31, 1902, when he removed to Alaska, where he engaged'
in prospecting for a marble company. He left there in Novemlier for Tacoma, Washington,
where he was employed until July 7, 1903. He then returned to Grand Rapids and is now
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 411
engaged in the draying business, in carpentering and in the livery business. In tlie thirteen
years tliat have intervened he has won a liberal patronage, his various lines of business
bringing to him a good living as the result of his industry and close application.
On the 25th of December, 1895, Mr. Shiek was united in marriage to Miss Amelia Eungua.
Politically he is a republican and has served as constable for six years, while for a similar
period he has occupied the position of township treasurer, to which he was reelected in the
spring of 1916 for another two years' term. He belongs to the Brotherhood of American
Yeomen and his religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church. In matters of citizenship
he is thoroughl}' loyal, as is indicated by hia long retention in office, in wliich he has made
a most creditable and satisfactory record.
N. C. ANDERSON.
N. C. Anderson is now living retired at Clifford but for a long period was actively
engaged in general farming and in other business interests, wherein his carefully directed
labors and sound business judgment brought him substantial success. Mr. Anderson was born
in Sweden, April 37, 1841, a son of Anders Carlson and Carrie Larson. The mother died in
Sweden and in 1873 the father followed his sons to the United States, spending his last days
in Minnesota, where he passed away in 1876.
N. C. Anderson acquired his education in the public schools of Sweden and spent his
youthful days under the parental roof but in 1870 came to the United States, attracted by
the almost limitless opportunities here offered to the energetic and ambitious young man.
He settled first at Meeker, Minnesota, but during the succeeding nine years drifted around,
working at various occupations in that state, in Iowa, and in Ontario, Canada. In 1879,
however, he took up his permanent abode in North Dakota, journeying across the country
from Clear Lake, Iowa, with his wife and two children, in a covered wagon drawn by a team
of liorses. It was his intention to homestead in this state but on reaching Fargo he found
that he had but seven dollars and a half. Winter was coming on and he and his wife decided
that their small capital was hardl_y sufficient to enable them to spend the winter on the
homestead and they decided to remain in the city, where Mr. Anderson might secure employ-
ment. He obtained work at carpentering, although he had not been trained to the trade,
and his first job netted him twenty dollars. Later he took out a drayman's license and for
two years was engaged in the draying business, during which time he purchased a lot, whereon
he erected a frame dwelling. Immediately afterward he and his wife began keeping boarders
and prospered in the undertaking. In 1880 he began the construction of a brick house, which
adjoins the old Central Hotel on First avenue North and is still standing. This was the
first house built on that street. In that building for six years Mr. Anderson conducted a
hotel under the name of the Red River House, it being one of the popular hostelries of
Fargo. In 1885 he sold his hotel and removed to his farm in Norman township, Traill county,
which he had purchased in 1883 and to his original quarter section he added from time to
time until he owned a full section. In 1893 he purchased the section on which the town of
Clifford now stands and at that time he owned two sections, or twelve hundred and eighty
acrea of valuable North Dakota land. Since then, however, he has sold five quarter sections
and now owns but four hundred and eighty acres of the original tract. He carried on farm-
ing with success for a number of years but about 1903 left the farm and took up his abode
in Clifford, where he has since lived retired. He is a stockliolder , in the Clifford Farmers
Elevator Company.
In 1877 Mr. Anderson was married to Miss Carrie Johnson, a native of Sweden, the
marriage ceremony being performed in Canada. This union has been blessed with six
children but only three survive, as follows: Victoria, the wife of John Nelson, a farmer of
Norman township, Traill county; Nels, who follows farming in Montana; and William, who
operates the homestead farm. The wife and mother passed away March 31, 1912.
In politics Mr. Anderson is a republican but is liberal in his views and at local elections
casts his ballot for the men whom he deems best qualified for office rather than for party.
He served as chairman of the town board while living on the farm for a period of ten years
412 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
and for a number of years was assessor and also a member of the school board. In early
days in Korman township, Traill county, he was one of the dominant factors in building
sclioolhouscs and establishing a sj'stem of education. He holds membership in the Church
of the Latter Day Saints. In 1913 ^Mr. Anderson made a trip back to Sweden, which was
the first time he had visited his native country in fortytliree years. His unfaltering indus-
try and his business ability have brought him substantial success as the years have gone on.
lie worked persistently and energetically and as the years have passed his business affairs
have been so carefully and wisely directed that success in substantial measure has come to
him, enabling him now to rest from further labor and enjoy the fruits of his former toil.
JENS OSCAR JEXSEX.
.Jens Oscar Jensen, cashier of the Farmers State Bank at Katliryn, was born at Oak-
ville, Barnes county, North Dakota, January 13, 1888, a son of Hans M. and Emma (Hovde)
Jensen, both of whom were natives of Norway, the former having been born in Nanstad
and the latter at Telemarken. On coming to America the father settled in Fillmore count}',
Jlinnesota, as a pioneer and in 1878 removed to Barnes county. North Dakota, homestead-
ing land at Oakville, a mile southeast of Kathryn. With characteristic energy be began the
development and improvement of that tract of land, upon which he has since made his home,
and he now has an excellent farm of four hundred and sixty acres on which he is cultivating
grain of various kinds, specializing somewhat in corn and timothy. He is also engaged in
raising shoriliorn cattle, of which he has some very fine specimens.
His family numbered six children, of whom Jens Oscar Jensen was the fifth in order of
birth, and spending his youthful days upon tlie home farm, he divided his time between the
work of the fields and attendance at the district schools, while later he pursued a course
of study in the Dakota Business College at Fargo. On the 7th of December, 1908, he made
his initial step in the business world by entering the Bank of Leal, at Leal, Barnes county,
where he filled the position of assistant cashier and was also a stockholder and a member
•of the board of directors for several years. At the end of 1915 he resigned and removed to
Kathryn, where he organized the Farmers State Bank, which was opened on the 1st of
March, 1916. He is one of its stockholders and directors as well as the efficient and capable
•cashier, while Hon. Martin Thoreson is the president. The bank is capitalized for twenty
thousand dollars. The owners thereof purchased a good frame building in which to open the
bank and on the 1st of May, 1916, began the erection of their present modern bank building — -
a brick structure with stone trimmings. In addition to a fireproof vault and the latest design
of burglar proof safe, they have a number of safe deposit boxes which they rent. The bank
has met with success from the beginning and in a few weeks the deposits exceeded the capital.
Mr. Jensen's previous experience well qualifies him for the work which devolves upon him
in this connection and his capabilit}' is demonstrated in the success which has already attended
the institution.
Jlr. Jensen is well known in ilasonic circles and for three years was secretary of the
lodge at Leal. He is also a member of the Royal Arch chapter at Valley City and he
belongs to the North Dakota Bankers Association, while his interests are further indicated
in his membership in the Lutheran church. Those who know him esteem him highly as a
man of worth and one who already has made such a start in life as promises success and
advancement in the future.
EARL J. BOISE.
Earl J. Boise, who for six years has been actively and successfully engaged in the hard-
ware business at Grand Rapids, Laraoure county, was born in Nashville, Michigan, .Tune 21,
1877. His father, LeRoy 0. Boise, was a native of Ohio and devoted his life to farming and
carpentering but at the time of the Civil war put aside all business and personal eonsidera-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 413
tions to respond to the countrj's call for troops, serving for two and one-half years as cap-
tain of Company G, Twentieth Michigan Volunteer Infantry, having in the meantime removed
westward to the Wolverine state. After the close of his military experience he returned to
Michigan and for several years worked at the carpenter's trade. In 1880 he came to North
Dakota, settling in Lamoure county, where he secured a homestead two and one-half miles
northwest of Grand Eapids. This place he improved and in the early days he also was
identified with building operations as well as with farming, leading a most active, busy and
useful life. His fellow townsmen, appreciating his worth, called him to the office of county
commissioner on three occasions and his long service was characterized by marked devotion
to the general good. He continued his farming operations until 1894, when he removed to
Minneapolis, where he engaged in the real estate business, residing in that city throughout
his remaining days. He passed away July IS, 1898, at the age of seventy-eight years, while
his widow, who bore the maiden name of Helen M. Towl and is a native of Vermont, is still
living at the age of seventy-five years.
Earl J. Boise was a little lad of but four summers when brought by his parents to
North Dakota and remained under the parental roof until he reached the age of seventeen
years, when he began work as a farm hand, but ambitious to own land and engage in business
for himself, he homesteaded four miles southwest of Dickey, in 1900 and bent every energy
to the development and improvement of his farm, which he cultivated for seven years and
which he still owns. In 1908 he went to Minneapolis and was in the employ of the city for
two years but in 1910 he returned to Lamoure county and has since engaged in the hard-
ware business at Grand Rapids, conducting an e.Kcellent store. He erected a business house
in 1910 and through the intervening years has concentrated his efforts upon the conduct of
his commercial interests, his trade steadily growing, his well satisfied patrons being his best
advertisement.
In June, 1904, Mr. Boise wedded Miss Grace L. Harrington and they have become parents
of five children: Ethel, who was born on the 13th of April, 1905: Charles, whose birth occurred
March 14. 1907; Francis, whose natal day was December 30, 1909; Edward, born December 20,
1911: and Phillip, who was born April 26, 1914.
The parents are members of the Methodist church, while Mr. Boise belongs also to the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Modern
Woodmen of America. His political allegiance is given the republican party and he keeps
well informed on the questions and issues of the day, although he does not seek nor desire
public office. He is never remiss in the duties of citizenship and plans for the public good
alwaj's receive his endorsement and support.
FRANK E. WARREN.
Frank E. Warren, who is engaged in the hardware business in Elliott, was born at Pine
Island, Goodyear county, Minnesota, January 30, 1881, son of Charles H. and Ruth A.
(Sumner) Warren. The father was a farmer by occupation and was bom in the state of
New York and removed to Minnesota just after the Civil war. He there resided until 1884
when he came to North Dakota and established his home in Bale township. Ransom county,
where he secured a tree claim. There he engaged in farming until 1906 when he retired
and removed to Elliott where he still makes his home, but his wife died in 1894. In their
family were five children.
Frank E. Warren, who was the second in order of birth, pursued his education in the
district schools and Highland Park College of Des Moines, Iowa, which he attended for six
months, taking the machinist's course. He was able to devote that period to study by rea-
son of the fact that he had earned the money to meet his tuition and other expenses. As
soon as old enough he took a homestead and meeting the requirements of the law as to point
of residence and improvements he secured the title to the property. After farming there for
one year he went to college in Des Moines and in the summer returned and assisted in the har-
vest fields. Before taking his homestead he had become interested in a threshing outfit. In
1907 he entered into partnership with Arthur Belzer and opened a general store in Elliott, this
•iU HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
relation continuing until December, 1909, when the store and all its contents were destroyed
by fire. Mr. Warren, who was then postmaster of the town established the post ofTice in his
own home and conducted it there until 1910, when he removed the post ollice into a store
building which he had erected. At the same time he put in a small line of hardware and
has continued to increase his stock until it is now complete and his trade has increased until
a liberal patronage is accorded him, making the business a profitable one. He has the agency
for the Case Machine Company and also liandles auto supplies, paints, glass, etc. He con-
tinued to act as postmaster until November, 1915.
It was on the 17th of November, 1906, that Mr. Warren was united in marriage to Miss
Lilah V^iola Phelps, who was born at Indianola, Iowa, in 1S89. They have become the parents
of three children: Frances, born in 1910; Ruth, born in 1913, and Dean E., born in 1915. The
parents are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Warren is a past fore-
man of the local organization of Yeomen and a member of the Knights of Pji.hias. In poli-
tics he is a republican and for the past eight years has been township treasurer of Elliott.
He takes a great interest in everything pertaining to the welfare and progress of the com-
munity, does all in his power to promote the success of his party and stands at all times for
those measures of improvement which are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride.
MADS DAHL.
Mads Dahl, a lumberman at Columbus, was bom in Norway, February 5, 1868, a son of
Olo and Carrie (Sundseth) Dahl. The father was born in 1843 and took up the occupations
of farming and carpentering, following the latter during much of his life. He is now living
on a farm at Throndhjem, Norway, where his wife passed away.
Mads Dahl spent his youthful days on the old homestead dividing his time between the
acquirement of a country school education and work in the fields until he reached the age of
fifteen years. The previous year he had visited America in company with an uncle who was
a sea captain. When a youth of fifteen he wished to become a seaman but his jiarents
objected. However, he shipped on a sailing vessel and visited all parts of the world. Ilis
first trip was made on a lumber ship to Melbourne, Australia, covering fourteen thousand
miles in eight months. He followed the sea for ten years, acting all of the time as cook.
When twenty-five years of age, however, he returned to America and established his home
near Hillsboro, North Dakota, where he worked on the farm of his uncle for nine years.
In 1900 he filed on a homestead in Ward county and in 1903 took up his abode thereon,
continuing its cultivation and development until 1909, when he retired and removed to Colum-
bus. There he followed carpentering until 1914, when he formed a partnership with John A.
Walter and organized the Independent Lumber Company, establishing a large lumberyard
at Columbus, of which he is the manager, his attention being now concentrated upon his com-
mercial interests. He still owns the one hundred and sixty acre tract in his homestead,
togetlier with an adjoining quarter section, both of which lie rents. In the town he has
erected a fine modern residence and he has further extended his business interests by becom-
ing the owner of the Columbus Wood Works, having the only wood works and planing mill
in Burke countj'. His business has steadily grown in volume and importance and his enter-
prises are now bringing a substantial financial return. He is also a stockholder in the Colum-
bus Implement Company. Incorporated.
Upon his' farm, in the fall of 1902, Mr. Dahl was united in marriage to Miss Annie FIo-
rine, who passed away at Columbus in 1909. She was born in Arcadia, Wisconsin, and on
removing to Ward county. North Dakota, secured a homestead. On the 3d of .Inly. 1912,
at Bowbells, North Dakota, Jfr. Dahl was married to Miss Lizzie Hanson, who was born in
Norway and was only a year old when taken by her parents to St. James. Minnesota, where
she was reared. Later they removed to Ward county and liomesteadcd. The father has now
passed away but the mother is living in Burke county. Mr. and Jlrs. Dahl have become the
parents of two children; Clara, bom June 11, 1913; and Orville, November 1, 1914.
In politics Mr. Dahl is a socialist and while on the home farm served ns supervisor of
Short Creek township and also as justice of the peace. For two years he was tax assessor
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 415
of Columbus and in 1915 he was elected a member of the city council, in which capacity he
is now serving, exercising his official prerogatives in support of all plans and measures which
he believes will prove of benefit. Fraternallj' he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of
America and his religious faith is evidenced in his membership in the Norwegian Lutheran
church. He deserves much credit for what he has accomplished as he started out in life
empty handed and his success is therefore attributable entirely to his earnest, persistent
eflorts, intelligently directed.
HON. WILLIAM WATT.
Hon. William Watt operates nine hundred and sixty acres of fine land in AVatson town-
ship, Cass county, and has gained financial independence from his extensive agricultural
operations. He is also well known in political circles, having served for two terms in the
state legislature. A native of Scotland, Mr. Watt's birth occurred on the 11th of April,
1S69. He is one of the eight children born to the union of Andrew and Jane (Steele)
Watt. The parents were born in Scotland but in 1880 emigrated with their family to Canada,
whence, four years later, they removed to Watson township, Cass county, North Dakota,
settling on section 1. The father passed away upon his farm in 1904, but the mother sur-
vives and makes her home in Fargo. Six of their children are still living.
William Watt received a common school education and accompanied his parents on their
various removals, remaining at home until 1897. He then homesteaded the farm on which
he is now living on section 12, Watson township, and he has made many improvements upon
the place. He has purchased additional land and now operates nine hundred and sixty acres,
raising large amounts of grain and considerable stock annually. Although his farming inter-
ests demand the greater part of his time, he is also serving as a director of the Farmers
Security Bank of Chafi'ee and of the Farmers Bank of Leonard.
Mr. Watt was married in 1897 to Miss Margaret Moffat, of Guelph, Ontario, Canada,
by whom he has five children: Andrew and Agnes Mary, high school students; James M.;
William A.; and Alexander. Mr. Watt is stanch in his adherence to the republican party
and has served as township treasurer and supervisor. He has also been honored by election
to the state legislature, serving as a member of that body in 1913 and again in 1915, his
record during his first term being so creditable that he was chosen for the office a second
time. Both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church at Chaflfee and frater-
nally he is a thirty-second degree Mason, belonging to the blue lodge at Casselton and to the
Scottish Rite bodies at Fargo. His life has been one of well directed industry and the suc-
cess which he has achieved is well deserved.
sam: c. feltis.
Sam C. Feltis, county commissioner in Lamoure county and well known as a prominent
representative of Masonry, is now living retired in La Moure. He was born in the province
of Ontario, Canada, February 12, 1863, a son of William and Mary A. (McCarl) Feltis, the
former a native of Rhode Island and the latter of Vermont. They were married in the state
of New York, where they resided for several years thereafter and then removed to Canada
but in that country remained for only a comparatively brief period, after which they returned
to the States. Removing westward, they settled in Winneshiek county, Iowa, where they
made their home until called to their final rest. The father passed away, however, while on
a visit to his son Sam, in North Dakota and his remains were interred in the cemetery at
La Moure.
Sam C. Feltis is indebted to the public school system for the educational privileges which
he enjoyed and in 1881, when a youth of eighteen years, he came to North Dakota, making
his way to Fargo. Through the succeeding four years he was employed in tha^ city and in
Cass county as a farm hand, and in 1884 he filed on a homestead on section 6, Ovid township.
416 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Lamoure county, on vliich he proved np. In 1886 lie began farming for himself and con-
tinued to occupy his homestead property until 1903 or l'J04, when he removed to his place
on section 5, Ovid township. lie now owns five hundred and eighty acres of excellent and
highly improved land, all of which is situated on sections 5 and 6, Ovid township. Hia farm
is one of the most fertile and productive in the state and all of the accessories and conven-
iences of a model farm of the twentieth century are found thereon. In 1916 he established his
home in La Moure, where he is now living retired.
In 1890 Mr. Feltis was united in marriage to Miss Hannah E. De Long, of Lamoure
county, and to them have been born eight children, namely: Glidden, who follows farming
in Greenville township, Lamoure county; Ethel, the wife of Charles Peterson, of Greenville
township, Lamoure county; Oscar, an agricultvuist of Greenville township. Lamoure county;
Ida, who gave her hand in maniage to Edward Tresmer, of Verona, Lamoure county;
Frances, the wife of Elmer Nyatul, who cultivates the farm of his father-in-law; Waldo,
deceased; and Daisy and Alice, both at home.
Mr. Feltis' study of the political issues and questions of the day has led him to give his
support to the republican party and he is now serving through the vote of his fellow towns-
men as a member of the board of county commissioners. lie belongs to La Moure Lodge,
No. 18, F. & A. M.; has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in Dakota
Consistory, No. 1, S. P. R. S.; is a member of El Zagal Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S.; and belongs
also to the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen of America. Imbued
by laudable ambition and prompted by strong purpose, he has made good use of his time
and opportunities as the years have passed and has acquired property the value of which
increases with the passing j'ears, making him one of the well-to-do men of Lamoure county.
ROSCOE F. LEWIS.
Roscoe F. Lewis, mayor of Kenmare now serving for the second term, consented to fill
this position only upon the urgent written request of fifty per cent of the voters, for his
ambition is not in the line of office holding, as he has always preferred to concentrate his
eflorts upon his business afi'airs. lie was for some time actively connected with the Kenmare
Coal & Brick Company and is now extensively interested in lands. He was born near Marengo,
Iowa county, Iowa, September 20, 1880. His father, Levi Lewis, is a native of Vermont
and there remained until after he attained his majority. In the Green Mountain state he
wedded Eliza Mattesdn, who was also born there, and in 1866 they left New England for
Iowa, casting in their lot with the pioneer settlers of Iowa coimty. The father purchased
land and began the development of a new farm which he continued to cultivate and improve
until 1890. He then turned his attention to the insurance business, being elected one of
the officers of an insurance company. He removed to Victor and became president of the
Farmers Savings Bank at that place. He is still identified with banking interests in Iowa
and Poweshiek counties of the state of Iowa and makes his home in Victor at the age of
eighty years. His wife there passed away in 1908.
Roscoe F. Lewis spent the first ten years of his life on the old homestead farm near
Marengo, Iowa, after which, following the removal of the family to Victor, he became a
pupil in the city schools there, passing through consecutive grades to his graduation from
the high school with the class of 1898. He then took up the occupation of farming on the
old home place but in 1900 turned his attention to the insurance business, in which he
engaged for two years. In 1902 he arrived in Kenmare, North Dakota, where he conducted
a coal and brick business until January, 1906, when he again took up his abode in Iowa
and engaged in the hardware trade, purchasing an interest in a store at Deep River. He
conducted his mercantile interests there until January, 1910, when he returned to Kenmare,
assuming the management of the Kenmare Coal & Brick Company. He continued active
in that line until 1916, when he sold out. He is now concentrating his efforts and attention
upon his landed interests and his official duties. He has made extensive investments in
property and is now the owner of eighty-one quarter sections in Morton county, a part of
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 417
whicli is under cultivation, while the remainder is in pasture, his holdings being used for
farming and grazing purposes and embracing altogether about ten thousand acres.
On the 7th of July, 1903, at Victor, Iowa, Mr. Lewis was married to Miss Edna Row-
land, a daughter of David and Virginia Eliza Rowland. Her father's birth occurred near
Hagerstown, Maryland, and in that state he was reared and educated. Later he began
farming in Iowa at an early period in the development of that state, carrying on agricultural
pursuits at Victor until 1S92, when he retiied and has since enjoyed a well earned rest. His
wife, however, passed away in Victor in 1900. It was in the schools of that city that Mrs.
Lewis pursued her education, being a classmate of Mr. Lewis, and the friendship thus formed
ripened into a love that was consummated in marriage. Thus they entered apon a most
happy life and Mr. Lewis has never had occasion to regret that he chose "that old sweet-
heart of mine" with whom to travel life's journey. Theii- marriage has been blessed with
one daughter, Beatrice Eliza, who was born in Kenmare, Januai-y 21, 1905, and is now study-
ing music while attending the public schools.
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis are prominent and influential residents of their town, occupying a
leading position in social circles. Mr. Lewis has served as treasurer of the Commercial Club
and his political allegiance is stanchly given to the republican party. While he was man-
aging the Kenmare Coal & Brick Company he was asked by his friends to become a candidate
for mayor but refused. Still others asked him to accept the nomination but again he
declined, and at length he was presented with a petition that was signed by fifty per cent
of the voters, soliciting him to accept the oiRce. He then consented to run, was elected in
the spring of 1914 and gave to the city a progressive and businesslike administration, so
that at the close of his two years' term he was reelected and is again the incumbent in the
office of chief executive. Throughout the community in which he lives he is spoken of in
terms of the warmest regard, liigh respect being entertained for him by all with whom he
has come in contact. Anyone meeting him face to face would know at once that he is an
individual embodying all the elements of what in this country we term a "square" man — •
one in whom to have confidence, a dependable man in any relation and any emergency. His
quietude of deportment, his easy dignity, his frankness and cordiality of address, with a total
absence of anything sinister or anything to conceal, foretoken a man who is ready to meet
any obligation of life with the confidence and courage that come of conscious personal ability,
right conception of things and an habitual regard for what is best in the exercise of human
activities.
WILLIAM D. WENDT.
William D. Wendt is proving very efficient as county superintendent of schools and is
constantly seeking to advance the standard of work done He was bom at Preston, Iowa,
October 12, 1883, a son of Otto and Caroline (Bade) Wendt. His parents were born respect-
ively in Schleswig, Germany, and in Hamburg, Germany, and were married in that country,
where they remained until April, 1882. They then emigrated to the United States and,
making their way to the middle west, settled at Preston, Iowa, where the father engaged in
building and contracting. He is still following that business there and is well known
throughout his community. For a number of years he served as a member of the village
council, making an excellent record in that connection. To him and his wife have been born
eight children, of whom our subject is the second in order of birth.
William D. Wendt attended the common and high schools at Preston and after graduat-
ing from the latter institution in 1899, he began teaching in Jackson county, Iowa, although
he was then but sixteen years of age. After two months, however, he again entered school,
matriculating in Valparaiso University at Valparaiso, Indiana, where he studied for a year.
He then again turned his attention to teaching and followed that profession in Jackson
county for two and a half years, after which he entered the Iowa State Teachers' College at
Cedar Falls, from which he was graduated in 1904 with the degree of B. Di. He attended
school during the summers and taught during the winters, thus earning the money to pay
his college expenses. He was also associated with his father in the contracting and building
418 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
business to some extent and after -completing his college course lio continued to work at that
business during the summer months. For two years he was principal of schools at Auburn,
Iowa, but in December, 1905, he came to North Dakota and filed on a claim, to which he
removed on the 25th of May, 1906. For eight months he resided on his land, which is situated
eleven miles southwest of Berthold, Ward county, and while living there taught the school
at Berthold. In June, 1907, he was made deputy county superintendent of schools and re-
moved to Minot, where he has since resided. In the fall of 1914 he was elected county
superintendent on the non-partisan ticket and took office .lanuary 1, 1915. His seven and
a half years' service as deput}' superintendent eminently qualified him for the duties of his
present position and under his direction the schools are kept up to a high standard of effi-
ciency. His work as a teacher has given him first-hand knowledge of the problems of the
schoolroom and this, combined with his executive ability, enables him to ably direct the
work of the schools and to secure the cooperation of those under him. He has invested in
farm lands in the state and also owns a commodious bungalow in ^linot which he erected
himself with the assistance of one man for part of the time.
Professor Wendt was married on the 18th of December, 1911, to Miss Gertrude Holcomb,
a native of Boone, Iowa, and a daughter of Henry and Sarah (Hoffman) Holcomb. On her
father's side she is of English descent, but her maternal grandfather was German, while the
maternal grandmother was Irish. In 1904 Mr. and Mrs. Holcomb removed to Ward county,
Korth Dakota, and the father homesteaded land. He devoted his life to farming and gained
a gratifying measure of success. He passed away in February, 190S, but is survived by
his wife, who resides in Minot. Mr. and Mrs. Wendt have a son, Robert William, whose
birth occurred August 27, 1915.
Professor Wendt is independent in politics and keeps well informed on all the problems,
botli local and national, that come before the voters for solution. He is a member of the
Masonic blue lodge at Jlinot and of the Kastern Star at Aiiburn, Iowa, and bases his conduct
upon the principle bf brotlierhood. He is widely known tlirougliout the county and is
esteemed not only as an efficient and conscientious public official but also as a man of sterling
worth and agreeable personality.
S. J. HILL, M. D., D. D. S.
Dr. S. J. Hill came to Fargo in 1878 and for about thirty years continued in the active
practice of dentistry in this city. He was among the pioneer representatives of the profession
in the state and was accorded a liberal patronage, his business bringing him substantial
success. Not alone in professional circles, however, has he figmcd prominently in con-
nection with the history of the state. In other ways he has been a leader in public thought
and action and upon him have been bestowed high official honors, of which he was fully
worthy.
Dr. Hill is a native of Canton, New York, born May 3, 1846, his parents being Ephraim
and Mary M. (Reed), Hill, who were likewise natives of the Empire state, where they spent
their entire lives. Tlioy had a family of five children, three of whom are yet living.
Dr. Hill was reared and ed\icated in New York and in 1S64 when a youth of eighteen
years he responded to the country's call for troops for the Civil war, enlisting as a member
of Company 1", One Hundred and Forty-first New York Volunteer Infantry. He joined
that command as a private and served until the close of the war, going with Sherman on
the march to the sea. Following the cessation of hostilities he returned to his home and
there remained until 1867, in which year he went to Michigan, where he spent one and a
half years. He then again returned home and attended school in Ovid and at Lima, New
York. He afterward took up the study of medicine in the office and under the direction
of Dr. E. W. Bryan and later was graduated from the medical school in Cleveland. Ohio,
with the class of 1872.
Dr. Hill then located in Waterloo, New York, where he remained for a short time and
after which he removed to Franklin, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in practice for a year
and a half. On the expiration of that period he went to Le Mars, Iowa, and a year later
/QyA^^^^^e^^
rvc£e.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA . 421
removed to Cherokee, Iowa, where he continued until 1878. In that year he made his way
t-> Fargo, North Dakota, where he has since resided. In the meantime he took up the study
o dentistry, which he practiced in Fargo for about thirty years, having a well appointed
Oiice and receiving a liberal patronage. He kept in touch with the advanced thought of
the profession and was familiar with all its scientific researches and investigations. He
had the first license which was issued in tlie territory and his work was very satisfactory
to his patrons.
On the 3d of February, 1872, Dr. Hill was married to Miss Anna A. Sowles, who was a
native of Alburg, Vermont, and a daughter of S. B. and Lurancy (Marvin) Sowles. To
this union were born five children: Alice JI., the wife of A. L. Peart, a resident of Chaffee,
North Dakota; Agnes L., at home; Mary E., the wife of E. H. Elwin, of Breckenridge,
Minnesota; Edith L., who has departed this life; and Ernest S., a resident of Fargo. The
last named is first lieutenant of Company B, First North Dakota National Guard, and June
24, 1916, left for the front in the Mexican trouble. He is also a Scottish Rite Mason, a
Noble of the Mystic Shrine and a Forester. On the 10th of September, 1895, the wife and
mother passed away and her remains were interred in Riverside cemetery. On the 11th of
June, 1904, Dr. Hill was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Jennie Benedict,
who was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.
In 1879 Dr. Hill was made a Mason and since that time has received all the degrees
of the York and Scottish Rites up to and including the honorory thirty-third degree. He
was elected secretary of the Consistory and is now serving as secretary of the lodge. In
the Knights Templar commandery he has filled all of the chairs and is past grand commander.
In the Royal Arch chapter he is past grand high priest, in the blue lodge past grand master
and in the Order of the Eastern Star is past grand patron. He also belongs to the Yeomen
lodge. His wife is past matron of the Eastern Star, for eight years was secretary of the
Rebecca lodge of Odd Fellows and for one year served as president and has been president
of the local branch of the Woman's Relief Corps and national chaplain. Dr. Hill is a
member of Fargo Post, No. 5, G. A. R., of which he is a past commander, and since then
has been department commander of North Dakota and is now serving his third term aa
assistant adjutant general and assistant quartermaster general. Politically he is a repub-
lican, earnest in support of the party, which ha? elected him to a number of local offices.
He served for six years as a member of the city council and was president of that body. He
■filled the office of city assessor for two years and then resigned and for twelve years
he was a member of the city assessment committee. For three years he was a member of
the board of education and during two years of that time acted as its president. He was made
president of the first board of dental examiners appointed by Governor Pierce and was
appointed by Governor Miller for a five years' term, during which period he was president of
the board. In 1894, however, he resigned. He is the present secretary of Shiloh Masons and is
widely known among the brethren of the fraternity. His life has been in consistent harmony
with the teachings of the craft which has as its basic element a recognition of the brotherhood
of mankind, and which inculcates among its members the spirit of mutual helpfulness and
brotherly kindness. In other connections, too. Dr. Hill is widely and favorably known and
his popularity is based upon his many sterling traits of character which have been manifest
in every relation into which he has entered.
JULIUS S. BIXBY.
Julius S. Bixby, a farmer residing on section 34, Island Park township. Ransom county,
was born in Lake county, Ohio, November 6, 1863, and is a son of Dewitt and Louisa (Dun-
bar) Bixby, who were also natives of the Buckeye state and were farming people. The father
has now passed away but the mother is still living. In 1883 they removed with their family
to North Dakota, establishing their home on section 34, Island Park township, purchasing
the right to that property, which was a wild and unimproved tract of land. The labors
of the father wrought a marked transformation in the appearance of the place, for he
Vol. n— 23
422 ITTSTORY OF XORTTT DAKOTA
brou<;lit it to a liigli state of cultivation ami (■(nitiiiiifd to till the soil until his death, which
occurred in 1912.
Julius S. Bixby was the 'third in order of birth in a family of four children and in his
youthful days pursued his education in the public schools of his native county. He was
twenty years of age when he accompanied his parents on their removal to the northwest
with Kansom county as their destination, rollowing his arrival here he took up a claim,
comprising the northeast quarter of secticm 34, made the required improvements and resided
thereon for the stated length of time, thus securing title to the property. He afterward
purchased the southeast quarter of section 34, Island F'ark township, and a later purchase
made iiim the owner of the north half of section 35. He next purchased the west half of
section 36, also the southeast quarter of section 27, and forty-five acres on section 26, together
with the southwest quarter of section 34, so that his holdings total thirteen hundred and
twenty-five acres, about one-half of which is under cultivation. He is engaged quite exten-
sively in stock raising, handling Red Polled and shorthorn cattle, having on hand about
one hundred and twenty- five head of registered stock. He also keeps on an average twenty-
five head of Pcrcheron horses and one hundred and seventy-five head of Shropshire sheep and
his live stock interests constitute one of the important and profitable branches of his business.
In 1888 Jlr. Bixby was married to iliss Lilian Parkhiirst and they have become the
parents of ten children: Millie; Goldie; .Julia; Frances; Freda; Hazel, Theo. and Sidney, all
three of whom died in infancy; Harley; and .lune.
In his political views Mr. Bixby is a republican and has filled a number of township
offices, the duties of which he discharged with such capability and fidelity that his fellow
townsmen elected him to represent his district in the state legislature. He belongs to the
Modern Woodmen camp, the Homesteaders and the Knights of Pythias lodge, all of Lisbon,
and also to the Methodist Episcopal church there, and he has ever been deeply and helpfully
interested in those things which work for good citizenship and for the material and mural
progress of the community in which he lives.
HON. BEX.JAMIX H. iLlLLOUGH.
Hon. Benjamin H. Mallough, of Gill township, Cass county, is making an excellent record
as a member of the state senate and formerly for two terms licld the office of state represen-
tative. He was born in Canada Xovembcr 28, 1860, of the marriage of .Joseph and Rebecca
(Shannon) Mallough, further mention of whom appears elsewhere in this work.
Benjamin H. Mallough was reared in the Dominion and received his education in the
schools of that country, continuing his study through the high school. He remained at
home until he was grown but in 18S1 removed to Cass county. North Dakota, and two years
later took up a homestead, on which he lived for six years, after which he bought his present
farm on section 33, Gill township. He at once began to improve his place, which he has
brought to a high state of, development. He owns threq hundred and twenty acres and also
cultivates three hundred and twenty acres of rent(!d land. He is enterprising and progres-
sive and derives a handsome income from his agricultural interests.
Mr. Mallough was married in 188!) to Miss Lillic Collins, a native of Canada and a daugh-
ter of Eilmund and Ann (Stanley) Collins, both of whom were also born in tliat country but
came to North Dakota with their family in 1880. They are still living upon a farm in Cass
county and are higlily esteemed in their community, '^\v. and Jlrs. ^Mallough have become
the parents of six children, namely: Rebecca ^I., deceased; Loraine M., the wife of F. A. Post,
of Cassellon; Howard B., who is a graduate of the high school and is at home; Frederick S.,
deceased; Blanch, also deceased; and Lucilc Eleanor.
Mr. Mallough has for years taken an active part in politics and is recognizedas a leader
in the republican party. In 1901 and again in 1903 he was state representative from his
district and at the present time is serving as senator from the eleventh district. His careful
study of public questions, his well balanced judgment and his devotion to the public good,
combined with his former experience in legislative work, admirably fit him for his present
position. He has held a numlper of local offices and for years was chairman of the township
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 423
board and for nine years was cliairman of the school board. Fraternally he is identified witli
Lodge No. 31, 1. O. 0. F., of Wheatland, in which he has filled all of the chairs, and with the
Masonic order, in which he has taken the thirty-second degree and in which he has held a
number of offices. Both he and his wife are active in the work of the Methodist Episcopal
church and he is serving as steward and trustee. He is a man of man}' sided interests and
along ^•aricd lines of activity has promoted the advancement of his community.
HON. CHRISTIAN STAKK DEISEM.
North Dakota has every reason to honor her pioneers — the men who, leaving behind them
the comforts and advantages of civilization, planted lonely homes upon the frontier, becom-
ing the vanguard in that work of development which has resulted in the establishment of a
great commonwealth on the prairies of the northwest. Among this number was Christian
Stark Deisem, a pioneer hotel proprietor of Bismarck and of Fort Buford and the first mer-
chant of Lamoure county. 'He now makes his home in the city of La Moure, where for many
years he has been closely associated with its commercial activity. A native of Pennsylvania,
Christian S. Deisem was born at Honey Brook, Chester county, November 4, 1S48, a son of
C. S. and Catherine (Stark) Deisem, who were natives of Wurtemberg, Germany. In the
year 1836 the father came to the new world, settling in Pennsylvania, where lie worked at
the carpenter's trade for a few years. He then removed to Ohio and purchased land which
he improved and cultivated throughout his remaining daj'S, becoming one of the respected
and valued citizens of that community. In 1890 he was called upon to mourn the loss of
his wife, who passed away in February of that year at the age of seventy-nine, and he sur-
vived only U7itil March, 1891, his death occuiTing when he had passed the eightieth milestone.
Educated in the common schools of Ohio, Cliristian 8. Deisem was not quite sixteen years
of age when in October, 1SG4, he responded to the country's call for troops, enlisting as a
member of Company D. One Hundred and Twentieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. On account
of his youth he was transferred to the quartermaster's department and he was mustered
out on the 5th of July, 1865, after the war had been brought to a successful termination. He
then went to Chicago and secured a position as brakeman on the Illinois Central Railroad,
being tlnis employed for four years. In 1871 he arrived in North Dakota, then Dakota terri-
tory, for it was not until eighteen years had passed that the division of the state occurred.
He took charge of the Northern Pacific Hotel at Bismarck on the day the rails were laid
into the city but in November, 1873, returned to Ohio, wliere he spent the winter. He came
again to North Dakota in 1874, and made the first trip with the mail from Fort Hancock
to Buford. He took charge of a hotel at Fort Buford, at which period the Indians were rather
dangerous, for at that time they were '"lifting scalps." He conducted the hotel for a year
and then returned to Ohio in 1875, after which he engaged in merchandising ruitil 1880, when
he sold out and again came to the northwest, establishing a store at Grand Rapids, Lamoure
county, where he also took up land. He bears the distinction of being the first merchant
and of erecting the first store building in Lamoure county. He made his home at Grand
Rapids until 1898, when he opened another store in La Moiue and changed his residence to
that point. There he has since remained and throughout all the intervening period he has
been a most prominent and influential citizen, dominating many movements which have
resulted in public progress, improvement and prosperity.
In public life he has rendered distinguished service to the people. He was a member
of the first state senate and took active part in shaping the legislature which formed the
policy of the state and placed the new commonwealth upon a broad and substantial basis.
His political allegiance has always been given to the republican party since age conferred
upon him the right of franchise. He has served as a member of the state central committee
for six years and for sixteen years was chairman of the county central committee. He was
a member of the sixth legislative assembly in 1898 and 1899 and was instrumental in secur-
ing the passage of much important legislation, including the act establishing the binding
twine plant at the penitentiary. In further recognition of his worth and devotion to the
best interests of the county the voters of his party on the 28th of June, 1916, gave him the
424 HISTORY OF' NORTH DAKOTA
nomination, which is equivalent to the election, as county treasurer over three former county
officials. From 1904 until 190G he was a member of the state railway commission and then
was reelected and served until 1908, acting as president of the board during both terms.
In this connection he closelj' studies the questions affecting the railroads of the state, seeking
to protect the interests of the people and of the corporations in an equitable manner which
would further all legitimate interests.
On the 27th of November, 1907, Mr. Deisem sufl'ered a severe loss in the destruction by
fire ot his department store at La Moure, which establishment was tlie finest in that part
of the state. His loss was estimated at forty-live thousand dollars but with unfalterintf
courage he rebuilt and again established the enterprise. He had been identified with Lanioure
county as one of its progressive merchants continuously since 1880, developing his business
to meet the demands of a growing population. In the spring of 1916 he sold out, however,
and now devotes most of his time to the management of a European hotel. He still owns
a considerable amount of real estate in La Moure but has disposed of his agricultural holdings.
Throughout all the years he has occupied a position of leadership in business circles, his enter-
prising spirit prompting him to take an advanced stand in the work of developing town and
county along the lines of substantial and material progress.
On the 25th of December, 1S70, Mr. Deisem was married to Miss Alice E. Franks, of
Doylestown, Ohio, where the marriage was celebrated. Mrs. Deisem passed away August 27,
1S91, at Grand Rapids, and on the 21st of June, 1893, Mr. Deisem wedded Miss Anna Maisel,
of Jamestown, North Dakota, Again iMr. Deisem was called upon to mourn the loss of his
wife, who passed away in the Mayo Brothers Hospital at Rochester, Minnesota, August 16,
1915. His children are eight in number. Louise K., who was graduated from the Minnesota
State University, afterward became instructor in science at Berkeley University of California
but her brilliant career was cut short by death at Healdsburg, California. Nina is the wife
of Arthur E. May, of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Florence is the wife of Frank L. Bowen, sta-
tion agent at La Moure, North Dakota. Ray F. is living in Spokane. Lucy P. Lynch resides
at Vananda, Montana. Albert is at home. Sydney is deceased. Dorothj' completes the
family.
Mr. Deisem is prominent in fraternal circles as a member of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, the Royal Arcanum and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. His religious
faith is that of the Methodist church and his influence has always been a potent force for
good, contributing in substantial measure to the material, intellectual, social, political and
moral progress of city, county and state. Almost continuously for forty-five years he has
lived in North Dakota, a typical pioneer settler, popular throughout the state which he has
seen develop from a few scattered frontier settlements into a great and populous common-
wealth. He has had much to do with shaping its destiny and promoting its progress from
the time when Indians constituted the major portion of its population and rendered life on the
frontier somewhat hazardous. He has lived to see the great broad prairies claimed by
the white man for the purposes of civilization and converted into rich and productive farms,
while here and there towns and villages have sprung up and all of the advantages of the
older east have been introduced until it rivals in its school system and public service all the
older states. Mr. Deisem has worked persistently to bring about this condition and his
fellow to\^^)smen appreciate the worth of his service and honor him as one of North Dakota's
FRANK E. PACICARD.
.^mong the state officers of North Dakota is numbered Frank E. Packard, who is filling
the position of chairman of the tax commission by appointment of Oovernor Burke. He
has long been recognized as a prominent republican, but with him citizenship transcends
party lines and devotion to the public welfare is one of his marked characteristics. His loy-
alty to his country was manifest by service in the Spanish-American war and has found
tangible expression in many wa}'8 during his connection with North Dakota.
Mr. Packard was born on a farm in Wright county, Iowa, November 18, 1873. His
father, Frank D.' Packard, a native of Massachusetts, was born in 1849 and at the time of
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 425
the Civil war he served for six months in the Iowa volunteer infantry, although but a young
lad in his teens when he joined the army. His father, Cyrenus Packard, was also a veteran
of the Civil war, enlisting early in 1862 as a member of Company H, Thirty-second Iowa
Volunteer Infantry, with which he held the rank of first lieutenant. He was in command
of his company when killed at the battle of Little Koek, Arkansas. Frank D. Packard was
united in marriage to Miss Harriett J. Olden, a native of New Jersey, who died in the year
1874. The father long survived and in 1900 came to North Dakota, settling at Grand Forks,
where he passed away in April, 1914.
Their son, Frank E. Packard, spent his youthful days under the parental roof and sup-
plemented a public school education by study in Haniline University at St. Paul, Minnesota,
from which he was graduated with the «Iass of 1901. In the meantime the same spirit of
patriotic loyalty which had characterized his father and his grandfather was manifested by
his enlistment in April, 1898, for service in the Spanish-American war with the Thirteenth
Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. He was in the Philippines on active duty for a year, partici-
pating in the capture of Manila and in other military operations in the islands, which resulted
in quelling the incipient rebellion there. In October, 1899, he was honorably discharged at
San Francisco and returned to his home in Wadena, Minnesota. He then continued his educa-
tion by entering Hamline University, from which, as stated, he was graduated in 1901. He
then engaged in newspaper work, and was associated with the Pioneer Press and the Min-
neapolis Journal. In 1902 he went to Crookston, Minnesota, and edited the Journal and in
1905 he was associated with the Grand Forks Herald. Then in 1906 he helped organize the
Times. In 1907 he went to Valley City and edited and was also owner and business man-
ager of the Times Record. He remained there until his appointment on the tax commission
by the governor in 1912.
On the 16th of September, 190P., in Crookston, Minnesota, Mr. Packard was united in
marriage to Miss Beulah R. Richardson, by whom he has two children. Beryl L. and Clare
G. Mr. Packard is a Presbyterian in religious belief and his political opinions are those
of the republican party. The only public office he has held is that which he is now filling,
having in July, 1912, received from Governor Burke the appointment as tax commissioner
for a term of five years. He is making a most creditable record in office, discharging his
duties with promptness and fidelity, his work being performed in a capable, thorough and
systematic manner. He has made it his purpose to study the questions relating to the office
most carefully and his opinions are the result of sound judgment and wise discrimination.
OLE 0. TOLLEFSRUD.
Ole O. Tollefsrud is one of the most successful and most extensive farmers in Cass
county and the success which he iias gained is doubly notable in that he is a self-made man,
having come to this country without capital. For a number of years he has resided in Noble
township and is widely known and highly esteemed. He was born in Norway on New Year's
Day, 1849, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Ole Tollefsrud. The mother died when our subject was
but five years of age and he has but a faint recollection of her . His father passed away in
1867.
Ole 0. Tollefsrud was reared in his native country and was educated in the public
schools there. In 1871, in early manhood, he left Norway and came to the United States.
For about a month he remained in Albert Lea, Minnesota, but then removed to Decorah,
Iowa. He worked as a farm hand in Winneshiek county for seven years, but about March
1, 1878, he came to what is now North Dakota and preempted one hundred and sixty acres
and took up eigiity acres as a tree claim in Noble townsliip, Cass county. A year later the
homestead law went into effect and he changed his preemption into a homestead claim. He
has resided on his farm on section 34 for thirty-eight years and as prosperity has come to
him he has increased his holdings and now owns nine hundred and eighty acres of the best
land in Cass county. There is no farm in this part of the county that is more completely
equipped for twentieth century farming and everything is kept in excellent repair, while
the fertility of the land itself is carefully conserved. An idea of the extensive scale of his
426 HISTORY OF XORTII DAKOTA
ayiiiultuial operations may be gatlicivd from the fact, that he owns a threshing macliine
wliieh lie uses solely for threshing his wheat and that of his sons. He formerly paid a thresh-
ing bill anuuintiiig to us much as eleven hundred dollars in a year and he decided that it
would be good business to own his own niaeliine. When he came to Xorth Dakota his sole
worldly possessions were a team and wagon and he had a wife and three children to support.
The unusual degree of success which he has gained is evidence of his enterprise, his thorough
knowledge of farming and his business acumen.
-Mr. Tollefsrud was married on the 17th of November, 1H71, to Miss Bertha .M. Tandsaler,
who was al.so born in Norway and who nuidc the voyage across the Atlantic on the same ship
as ilr. Tollefsrud. To their union have been born seven children: Jlinnie. the wife of .James
Nelson, a resident of the state of \\asliington; Olaf. who is homesteading land in Minnesota;
Natalie, the wife of Nels Iverson, a farmer of Minnesota; Louis, who is farming in Cass
county; Amanda, at home; Olena, the wife of John Wahl, who is farming in Cass county;
and Helmar, at home.
Mr. Tollefsrud gives his politiciil allegiance to the republican party and for a number of
years served as school treasmcr. He is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church and the
house of worship of that organization is built on land which he gave for that purpose. He
is public-spirited and gives of his time and means to various undertakings which he believes
will promote the general welfare. He has thoroughly identilicd his interests with those of
Cass county and it has no more highly esteemed citizen than he.
ILVNS (imiSTf ANSON.
Hans Christianson, who is residing on his excellent farm on section 6, Stanley town-
ship, Cass county, formerly devoted much of his time to carpentering but for a number of
years has concentrated his energies upon agricultural pursuits. He was born in Norway,
February 12. 1S48, a son of Christian Christianson, who passed away in Norway. Hans
Christianson was reared under the parental roof and attended the public schools of his native
land, although his educational opportunities w-ere somewhat limited. ]n 1S70, when about
twenty-two years of age, he crossed the Atlantic to America and, making his way westward,
located in Duluth, Minnesota. His first work in this country was chopping wood, but later
he followed the carpenter's trade, which he ha. I learned in Norway. After remaining in
Duluth for three years he went to Calumet, Michigan, where he worked at ear|)eiitering for
two and a half years, after which he returned to Duluth. He spent the winter there, but in
tlu spring of 1876 came to North Dakota and honicsteaded his jiresent farm in Stanley
township, Cass county. Although he continued to reside up(m his farm, for nine years he
followed his trade, walking every week, during good weather, from his home to Fargo, a
distance of eight miles. Later he turned his attention largely to fariiiiiig, but at intervals
worked at his trade. He now owns three hundred and twenty acres of excellent land and
derives a good income from the sale of liis crops. He also owns stock in the Farmers
Elevator at Horace. He is now one of the substantial men of his county but when he came
to the United States lie had no money and had to stop at Chicago on his way to J)uluth and
work for two months in order (o gel enough money to pay his fare to the latter city. Not
only was he without capital but he could not speak a word of English, which seriously liandi-
cappeil him in his elforts to gain a start. However, he overcame all dilliciilties and ob.'.tacles
and his determination and energy have been rewarded.
Mr. Christianson was married in 1871 to Miss Ella Haakenson. a native of Norway,
who came to the Cnited States the year of her marriage. They have had eight children, of
whom seven are still living, namely: Harry, a resident of Horace, Xorth Dakota; Eniil and
Albeit, both of whom arc living in Fargo; Ca.spar, a railroad man, residing in Minnesota;
ICddic, at liome; Hannah, who married Theodore Halverson, of Horace; and Emma, the wife
of Christ HolT, wlio is engaged in railroading in Minnesota.
Jfr. Christianson casts his ballot in support of (he candidati's and measures of the
republican [larty and takes the interest of a good citizen in public allairs. For several years
ho has been a member of the lioard of townslii]> trustees and he has also served on the school
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 427
board, proving capable and conscientious in tlie discharge of liis official duties. For four
decades he has resided in this state and during that period has been an interested witness of
and a factor in its remarkable development from a pioneer region to a prosperous and
liighly civilized commonwealth.
RICHAED \V. .JONES.
Ricliard \V. Jones, of Minot, actively interested in farming in Ward county, was born
in Ashland, Kentucky, October 14, 1S5S, a son of William and Elizabeth (Adams) Jones.
Tlie father's birth occurred on the present site of the city of Ashland, Kentucky, while the
mother was born at Salem, Ohio. The paternal grandfather was the owner of five thou-
sand .acres of land that included the present site of Ashland and he also owned many slaves.
William Jones became actively associated with him in the conduct of the plantation but at
the time of the Civil war he and four of his brothers joined the Confederate army and he
died at Louisville, Kentucky, in 1864. His wife was a resident of Ashland, Kentucky, until
her death in 1863. He had served for a time as city marshal of Ashland but was never an
aspirant for office.
In a family of three children Richard W. Jones was the youngest. He attended scliool
at Webster, Ohio, and at Stockdale, that state, and continued his education in Rio Grande
College at McCarthy, Ohio. When a youth of fifteen he worked as a farm hand for one
season and during the next year was employed in a large store at Stockdale, Ohio, where
he continued for ten years, his capability and trustworthiness being indicated in his long
retention by the firm. He afterward entered the employ of a contractor who was engaged
in building macdamizcd roads and two years later he was appointed the second engineer in
that line of work, building a road two hundred and fifty miles in length and acting as public
inspector of road building, waterways and other state projects for three years.
On the expiration of that period Mr. Jones came to North Dakota in the year 1886 and
settled at Wahpeton, where he was in the employ of the Dwight Farming Land Company for
two years. In 1887 he arrived in Minot, which was then but a small village extending but
three blocks on Main street. He entered the service of the Western Union Telegraph Com-
pany, checking out material from tlie 1st of April to the 1st of August of that j'ear. He
next entered the employ of the Great Northern Railroad Company as car accountant in the
general offices and continued with that firm for nine years. Later he went upon the road as
mail weigher for the Great Northern and subsequently he entered the freight service, acting
as freight conductor for some time. After he left the em]iloy of the railroad company he
was appointed collector by the Minot National Bank, in which position he continued for eight
months. Tiuning his attention to the live stock business near Minot, he devoted two years
to tliat work and then opened a wholesale and retail coal yard in Minot, conducting the
business for seven years. Since then he has largely devoted his time to farming, with which
he has been connected to a greater or less extent since 1887, and he now has three hundred
and twenty acres of farm lands in North Dakota, two and a half miles from Minot. He
rented this land until 1914, since which time he has personally superintended its cultivation
and improvement. He makes his home, however, in the city, having a comfortable residence
at No. 312 Main street. He is now assistant superintendent of Haulon & Okes, general con-
tractors of Minneapolis.
In January, 1892, Mr. Jones was married to Miss Villa Pool, who was born in Allamakee
county, Iowa, a daughter of Edward and Emily (Bakewell) Pool, who w-ere natives of Eng-
land and became early settlers of Allamakee county. Subsequently they removed to North
Dakota, settling at Devils Lake, and the father engaged in stock raising there for some time
but afterward established his home at Towner, where he lived .until 1887, when he became
a resident of Minot, where he resided for a number of years, herding his cattle on tlie range
extending to White Earth river. He is now operating a gold mine at Northport, Washington,
but Mrs. Pool still resides in Minot. Mr. and Mrs. .Jones have a daughter, Erma A., who is
a graduate of the Minot high school and attended the University of Minnesota, and who
was married February 9, 1910, to Day Okes, of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
428 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Fraternally Mr. Jones is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America. His iiolitical
allegiance is given to the republican party, yet he does not feel himself bound by party ties
and frequently casts an independent ballot. He is the present bailifT at Minot but has never
been an office seeker, preferring always to concentrate his attention and energies upon his
business afTairs, which, wisely directed, have brought to him a substantial success. His inter-
ests have been carefully managed and conducted and his industry has formed the basis of
his crowing success.
HON. ANTON T. KEAABKL.
Hon. Anton T. Kraabel, whose name figures on the pages of North Dakota's history in
connection with the office of lieutenant governor, and who in business circles has won a
substantial position as a hardware dealer of Cliflford, was born in Norway, October 16,
1862, a son of Torger and Ragnhild (Brekke) Kraabel, who came to the United States in
1867 and established their home at Coon Valley, Wisconsin. Tlie father was a carpenter
and contractor and was prominently identified with building interests in Wisconsin up to
the time of his retirement from active business life in 1896. He then removed to ClilTord,
North Dakota, and took up his abode with his son Anton, with whom he lived until his
death, which occurred in the year 1904, his wife passing away in 1903.
Anton T. Kraabel was but five years of age when the family came to the new world
and in the common schools acquired his education. He was twenty years of age, when, in
1882, he came to North Dakota, spending the first year after his arrival in Portland, Traill
county, where he secured a clerksliip in a hardware store. In the fall of 1883 he removed to
ClifiFord to take charge of the lumberyards of the firm of Beidler & Robinson. After two
years he embarked in the general mercantile business at Clifford and subsequently opened
a hardware store, operating the two business concerns separately. For the [last thirty
years he has figiu-ed as the leading business man of Clifford, controlling important com-
mercial interests. His trade has steadily grown and he has kept in touch with advanced
commercial methods. He has ever closely studied the needs of the people and has main-
tained the highest standards in the personnel of the house, in the character of goods
carried and in the treatment accorded patrons.
In 1892 Mr. Kraabel was married to Miss Mary Oswold, of Viroqua, ^^■isconsin, and this
union has been blessed with seven children as follows: Torger Oswold, who is a graduate
of Luther College at Decorah, Iowa; Ragnar Evald and Alf McKinley, who are students in
Luther College, and Elvida Constance, Thelma Aloise, Ragnhild Kline and Maynord Orvis,
all of whom are at home.
In politics MJr. Kraabel is a stanch republican, recognized for many years as one of
the prominent party leaders in his section of the state. For several years he served as
township clerk and townslii]) treasurer, also as a member of the school board and in 1902
he was elected to the state legislature, while in 1904 he was elected to the state senate
and in 1906 was reelected from the central district. Other higli jiolitical honors awaited
him in his election to the office of lieutenant governor of North Dakota in 1912. lie has had
much to do with shaping tlie political history of the state and his infiuence has been a
potent factor in promoting tlie public good. He and his family are members of the Lutheran
church and his activities have furthered public advancement along many lines, his work
being ever an element of reform, of progress and improvement.
HENRY n. URB.\CH.
Each year steady progress is made along agricultural lines in North Dakota ami men
of enterprise are utilizing the soil for cultivation with good results. Successfully engaged
in farming in Ransom county is Henry H. lirbach, who makes his residence on section 33,
Elliott townshii). He was burn in Russia, November 18, 1875, the son of Heinricli and
HON. ANTON T. KRAABEL
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 431
Catherine (Dick) Urbach, wlio in the year 1877 came with their family to the new worlds
settling in Clay county, Nebraska. The father took up the occupation of farming, which
he followed there for twenty-three years and later he spent seven years as a farmer in
Madison county, Nebraska. In 1907 he came to North Dakota, settling in Ransom county,
where he still makes his home.
Henry H. Urbach is the second in order of birth in a family of eight children. He was
but two years old when brought to the new world so that his youth was largely spent in
Clay county, Nebraska, where he pursued his education, ^¥llen not busy with his text books
he worked with his father and afterwards went to Madison county, Nebraska, where he
rented land and engaged in farming on his own account. Upon removing to Ransom county
he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of fertile land on section 33, in Elliott township
and has since actively and successfully engaged in general farming and stock raising. His
labors are manifest in the excellent appearance of his place, which is one of the well developed
farms of the locality. In 1900 he built a fine barn and in 1914 a large machine shop. He
keeps everything about his place in good repair and an artesian well furnishes an unfailing
supply of water that is piped not only to the house but to various points on the farm.
Everything is in good condition, indicative of his progressive spirit and indefatigable energy.
In Clay county, Nebraska, Mr. Urbach was married to IMiss Kate Reisbich, who was born
in Fillmore county, Nebraska, December 2, 1877. They have a family of seven children:
Henry ■!., Amelia, Alma, Leslie, Sarah, Raymond, Audrey. The oldest son is a graduate of
the Lisbon schools and is assisting his father on the home farm. The familj^ attend the Con-
gregational church, of which the parents are members. Mr. Urbach gives his political alle-
giance to the republican party. While his attention is chiefly concentrated upon his business
opportunities, he is ever ready to assist in the movements for the general good of the com-
munity and is numbered with that substantial class of men whose work is an element in
upholding the social and moral status of the community and in advancing its material and
intellectual progress.
CHARLES J. KING, M. D.
Dr. Charles J. King, successfully engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery at
Columbus, has based his financial advancement upon a thorough and comprehensive under-
standing of the scientific principles of his profession, combined with a knowledge gleaned
from practical experience. He was born in Sheldon, Iowa, November 27, 1879, a son of R. J.
and Marie (Arquette) King. The father was bom in Albany, New York, and after attending
tlie city schools removed westward to Iowa in early manhood, settling near Dubuque, where
he purchased land and engaged in farming until he reached the age of twenty-six. He after-
ward followed farming near Sheldon, Iowa, until he retired from active business life, his home
being now at Rock Rapids, Iowa. His wife was a native of Quebec, Canada, and in her early
girlhood went to Dubuque county, Iowa, being married at Farley, tliat state. Her last days
were spent at George, Iowa.
Dr. King was reared upon the home fai"m between George and Sheldon, in Lyon county,
Iowa, and attended a district school in the neighborhood. He did not wish to follow agri-
cultural pursuits as a life work, however, and determined upon a professional career. In
1899 therefore he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Chicago, the medical
department of the University of Illinois, and was graduated in 1904 with the degree of M. D.
For a year thereafter he served as interne in the Dearborn Post Graduate Hospital of Chi-
cago and he also spent a year in doing post graduate work. In 1906 he removed to McHenry,
Foster county. North Dakota, where he practiced for six and a half years, and in 1913 he
opened an office in Columbus, devoting his attention to the general practice of medicine
and surgery. He is accorded a liberal clientage and his efforts are attended with e.xcellent
results in checking the ravages of disease. In addition to his practice Dr. King is quite
extensively interested in raising cattle and believes every farmer should have a considerable
amount of live stock upon his place. He is putting forth every effort to improve the grade
432 HISTORY OF XORTII DAKOTA
bt'lieviiig in the rotation of cro])S and the application of scientific metliods in tlie development
of the great agricultural state of North Dakota.
t)n the 14th of July, 1908, Dr. King was married to Miss Ahina Thiede at Tagus, North
Dakota. She was born in Crawford county, Wisconsin, and her parents, who were farming
people of that state, are now connected with agricultural interests near McHenry, Foster
county. North Dakota. Mj-s. King was graduated from the high school at Soldiers Grove,
Wisconsin, and there engaged in teaching school for two years, while in 1905 she became a
schoolteacher of North Dakota. She now has one son. Royal Ross, who was born in Mcllenry,
Foster county. North Dakota, October 26. 1911.
Politically Dr. King is a democrat and in 191,") was elected coroner of Burke county, a
position he is now iilling. Fraternally he is connected with the Odd Fellows at Buford and
the Elks lodge at Jamestown, North Dakota. He luis also attained high rank in Masonry
as a member of the lodge at Cooperstown, the Scottisli Rite bodies in Fargo and Kl Zagal
Temple of the Jlystic Shrine, also at Fargo. Along strictly professional lines he has con-
nection with the Northwestern District Medical Society and the North Dakota Jledical
Society and is a fellow of the American Medical Association. In 1915 he was president of the
Columbus Coiumercial Club. When he came to this state he had a thorough college training
in his profession, supplemented by broad hospital experience and post graduate study, but he
possessed no capital. Today he is the owner of an excellent farm in Foster county and
another in Burke county besides his fine modern residence in the town of Columbus. North
Dakota has not been generous to him above others, his success being won through persistent,
earnest ell'ort in his profession and judicious investment in property. He is very conscien-
tious in the discharge of all his professional duties and through broad reading and study he
keeps in touch with modern metliods of thought and practice.
GF-ORGE JUSTIN JOHNSON.
George .Tustin Johnson, filling the position of state bank examiner and making his
home at Bismarck, is a western man by birth, training and preference and possesses the
enterprising spirit which has been tlie dominant factor in the upbuilding of the states of
the Mississippi valley. He was born in Jefferson, Iowa, June 12, 187S. and is of English
descent, although his paternal grandfather was a native of Virginia, sliowing that the family
was founded in the new world in colonial times. His father, Amos Johnson, was born in
Delaware, Ohio, and in his youthful days became a resident of C-edar comity, Iowa, where
he met and married Miss Rachel McBurucy. a native of Canada. The death of ^fr. Johnson
occurred in tlie year 1903.
Spending his youthful days in his native city, George J. .Johnson there pursued a public
school education, passing through consecutive grades to the high school, after which he
entered a business college of Des Moines. When his course there was completed he was
appointed to the position of deputy county auditor of Greene county, Iowa, serving in that
capacity for three years. He next entered the City Bank at JeiTerson and remained in that
connection for three years, at the end of which timo ho became a resident of North Dakota,
removing to Grand Forks, where he was appointed to a position in the loan department of
the I'nion National Bank. A year later he becauK? head bookkeeper in the First National
Bank at Crookston, Minnesota, where he continued for a year and on the expiration of that
period he returned to Jefferson, Iowa, where he remained initil the summer of 1905. Con-
tinuing in the banking field, he went to Des iloines as assistant ca.shier of the Mechanics
Savings Bank, which position lie filled for three years and then again came to North
Dakota. He was elected to the presidency of the Farmers & Merchants Bank at Monango,
where he continued until 1913, when he was appointed chief deputy to the state bank
examiner. In May, 1915, he was advanced to the position of state bank examiner, in which
capacity he is now serving. His long experience in connection with 'the hanking business
thoroughly qualifies him for the duties that now devolve upon him.
Fraternally Mr. .Tohnson is an Elk and Mason, being a member of Ellendale Lodge,
No. i:i, A. F. & A. M., having attained the Scottish Rite degrees and being a member of
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 433
El Zagal Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., while his religious faith is that of the Presbyterian
<hurch. His political allegiance has always been given to the republican party and by reason
thereof, as well as his ability, he was appointed to the office which he is now capably filling.
He is making an excellent record, discharging his duties with a sense of conscientious obliga-
tion that leaves nothing to be desired.
GEORGE PRATT.
That North Dakota has proved a land of opportunity to the man of enterprise and deter-
mination is evidenced in the record of George Pratt, one of the best known farmers of Kenyon
township, Cass county, who came to this state absolutely without capital and by his own
efforts became in time the owner of seventeen hundred and sixty acres of good land, much
of which he has now given to his children. A native of Ontario, Canada, he was born on
the 28th of March, 1851, a son of .James and Ann (Miller) Pratt, both natives of Ireland,
where they were reared and married. In 1849 they removed to Canada and their first child
was born on the River St. Lawrence while they were on their way to their new home in the
Dominion. They lived in Canada until 18S2, when they came to this state, where our subject
had previously removed, and the father purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land
on the Red river, in what is now Noble township. He was a leader in his locality and it was
he wlio suggested the name for the township. He continued to reside on his farm for sev-
eral years but at length retired and removed to Grandin, where both he and his wife
passed awaj-.
George Pratt received his education in his native province and remained there for a
number of years after attaining his majority but in the spring of 1880 came to North
Dakota and preempted one hundred and sixty acres of his present home farm, but not having
enough money to pay for the place under the preemption law, changed the claim to a home-
.stead. He has resided upon this farm for thirty-six years and has made it one of the most
highly developed and best improved places of the township. M'hen he arrived here he had
no money and in order to provide for his own support and for that of his wife and children
he worked for a time for a farmer living nine miles distant from his homestead. There were
many obstacles to be overcome and privations to be endured, but these were accepted as a
matter of course and in time the prairie became well cultivated fields. From March until
July of the first year of his residence in this state his wife and children lived in a barn
while he erected a small frame house. It was not long before he had gained a start and he
continued to work hard to save his money carefully and gradually purchased more land
until his holdings totaled seventeen hundred and si.xty acres. He has since given each of
liis sons three hundred and twenty acres and each of his daughters a quarter section or the
equivalent in money but still liolds title to eight hundred acres. His financial independence
is due to his own industry and business acumen, his investments having been widely made
and all of his affairs well managed. He owns stock in the Farmers Elevator Company of
Gardner and in the Farmers Cooperative Store in Gardner.
ilr. Pratt was married on the 3d of December, 1873, in Ontario, Canada, to Miss Mathilda
Dempsey, a native of that province, and they have six children: Maggie L., who is the widow
of C. Kintoul and resides in Gardner; Susan E., the wife of Harry Peck, who is living in
Alberta, Canada; John D. and William J., who are farming in Kenyon town.ship; Annie R.,
the wife of Harry Fisher, of Gilby. North Dakota ; and Robert W., at home.
"Mr. Pratt is a stalwart republican and has always taken an active interest in public
affairs. He formed the first school district in his section and for several years served ably
as a member of the school board. Fraternally he is identified with tlic Modern Woodmen of
America and both he and his wife are members of the Wesleyan Methodist church. During
the thirty-six years that he has resided in Cass county he has seen a change in conditions
that the most farsighted could hardly have predicted and takes great satisfaction in the
knowledge that he has been a factor in the development of his part of the country. When
lie came to this state he en me on the first special train that went as far as Fargo. At that
(
434 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
time settlers were few and tlie greater part of tlie state was yet unreclaimed for the purpose
of civilization. However, he lias always had firm faith in the future of Kurtli Dakota, a faith
whicli the years have justified.
JOHN N. SAND.
John X. Sa7id, the owner of a farm of six hundred and eighty acres in Lamoure county,
)iis homo being situated on section 4, Black Loam township, is a representative of tliat sub-
stantial eh'mcnt in the citizenship of the state that Norway has furnished. He was born
August 26, 1876, in that country, a son of Nels and Methe (Sand) Sand, l)oth of whom were
natives of the same country, where the father spent his entire life as a laborer. After his
death his w-idow came to America and has since married again.
John N. Sand was reared and educated in Norway to the age of twelve years, when he
accompanied his mother to the new world and completed his education in the schools of
Lamonre county. North Dakota. He afterward made his home with an uncle until he was
old enough to start out in life on his own account, when he began work as a farm hand,
being thus employed until 1895. In that year he homesteaded where he now lives on section
4, Black Loam township, and to his original lioldings he has added from time to time as
his financial resources have increased until he is now the owner of six Imndred and eighty
acres of excellent land, constituting one of the well improved farm properties of Lamoure
county. He has wrought a marked change in the appearance of the place, which he has
divided into fields of convenient size by well kept fences, in the midst of which stand sub-
stantial barns and outbuildings for the shelter of grain, stock and farm machinery. In addi-
tion to tilling his fields he feeds about a carload of cattle each year and his stock raising
interests are an element in his growing prosperity.
In November, 1895, Mr. Sand was united in marriage to Miss Annie Foss and tliey have
become the parents of eight children, Clara, Alfred, Gust, Signe, Henry, .Jennie, Eoy and
Leo, all of whom are at home with the exception of the eldest daughter, who is now the
wife of Carl Holt, a farmer of Gladstone township, Lamo\ire county.
The family adhere to the faith of the Lutheran clnirch and are loyal to its teachings.
Politically Mr. Sand is a republican and his fellow townsmen, appreciative of his worth as a
citizen, have called him to public office. He served as tow-nship clerk for ten j'ears and at
the present time is a member of the board of county commisioncrs, while for six years he has
been a member of the school board. He is thoroughly dependable when public interests are
at stake, standing at all times for progress and improvement and for the further upbuilding
and development of the county.
JULIUS J. GITS.
Julius J. Gits, a retired merchant living at Noonan, was born at Iseghcm, Belgium, in the
province of West IHanders, October 13, 180.5, his parents being Frances F. and Louisa (Cor-
nette) Gits, who were likewise natives of that country. The fatlior was a blacksmith by
trade and also conducted a hardware store at Iseghem, whore he married and reared his fam-
ily. On the advice of his son Julius, who bad previously come to America, he disposed of
his business in his native country and made his way to the new world, settling at Ghent,
Lyon county, Minnesota, in 1883. There ho engaged in farming and afterward became the
proprietor of a blacksmith shop, wOiile still later he carried on general merchandising in
Ghent, where there was a large colony of Belgian settlers. Fventually he retired from active
connection with that business, having obtained a substantial competence, and he and his
wife arc now living in Ghent in tlio enjoyment of the fruits of his former toil.
Spending his youfhful days under the parental roof in his native city, Julius J. Gits
there attended the public scliools until graduated with honors from the high school. He was
eighteen years of age when he bade adieu to friends, family and native land and started
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 435
for America to find a favorable location for the family. His father having read many adver-
tisements and articles in the papers inviting settlement in Minnesota, he made his way to
Ghent, that state, and feeling that conditions were such as he wished, he sent for his father
and the family. For three years Julius J. Gits was employed as a clerk in a dry goods store
at Faribault, Minnesota, and in 18S7 he went to Yankton, Dakota, where he established a
dry goods store, conducting business there for three years. He then took his stock to Fari-
bault and also bought out his former employer, there establishing himself in business, in
which he actively continued until 1900. On disposing of his interests at that place he
removed to Marshall, Minnesota, where he conducted a dry goods and general merchandise
store on his own account until 1904. Once more he sold out and on account of his wife's
impaired health removed to Eoswell, New Me.>;ico, where he opened a general store and
also became an extensive stockholder in a bank, but the bank failed and by the time his
affairs were settled up Mr. Gits found that he had little left. In 1905 he established his home
in Portal, North Dakota, where he again embarked in general merchandising. The houses
with which he had previously traded and who recognized his irreproachable honesty gave him
credit and for a year he conducted a profitable business at Portal. He was again getting
on his feet financially when the store was destroyed by fire, all of the stock going up in the
flames. His insiirance enabled him to cover his debts and once more he started out to find
a new location. He made his way to Noonan, at which time there was nothing there except
the town site. Sir. Gits purchased the first lot in the new town site November 14, 1906, and
erected the first building in the town, hauling the lumber and his new stock of goods from
Portal, a distance of thirty miles, in wagons through a snow storm while four feet of snow
lay upon the ground. When he returned from Portal to his new location he could not find
the lot he bought because it was covered with snow. He started over again in a small way,
a lone merchant on the snow-covered prairie. He saw hard times, for it was a very severe
winter, but he persevered and success ultimately crowned his efl'orts. In the spring of 1907
others arrived in Noonan and the town grew, but Mr. Gits was its first resident and first
merchant and he deserves much credit for promoting the upbuilding and progress of the
locality.
In 1913 he incorporated his business interests under the name of the Noonan Supply
Company and admitted a partner but retained iialf of the stock. For six months he con-
tinued in the business after the incorporation and then sold out in 1914, being now retired
from active connection with mercantile interests. He is the proprietor of the Gits Land Com-
pany of Noonan, which handles city lots and farm lands that he is selling largely to Belgian
families. He has brought one hundred people here from Lyon county, Minnesota, all Bel-
gian farmers, and in 1914 he made a trip to Belgium to bring French and Belgian agricul-
turists to this district, thereby contributing in large and substantial measure to its rapid
upbuilding and development. He owns the remainder of the town site of Noonan, comprising
over one hundred lots, and he built the hotel in Noonan, which he still owns and from which
he receives a good rental. He has splendidly devised plans for colonizing and settling the
district and his work is meeting with excellent results. He deserves his financial success,
but more than that he deserves the respect and higli regard of his fellow townsmen because
of what he has accomplished for the public benefit. He was largely instrumental in bringing
about the division of Williams county, thus creating Divide county, and he was untiring in
his efforts to make Noonan the county seat.
On the 14th of AiJg"st, 1887, Mr. Gits was married to Miss Lettie E. Tripp, at Yankton,
South Dakota. She was born in the town of Shirley, Erie county, New York, a daughter of
Hiram C. and Minerva Ann (Ray) Tripp, who were also natives of Erie county, where they
were reared, educated and married. The father was a wagon maker at Shirley but because
of failing health he sold out his business and removed to Minnesota, after which he engaged
in farming near Cannon City, becommg one of the pioneers of that district. He died upon
his farm at the venerable age of eighty-six years, while his wife spent her last days at the
home of her daughter, Mrs. Gits, in Noonan, passing away in 1909. Mrs. Gits was reared
upon the home farm near Cannon City and after attending the public schools became a
student in St. Mary's school at Faribault, Minnesota, while prior to her marriage she engaged
for a time in teaching. She comes from a pi-ominent old New York family and has every
reason to be proud of her ancestry. Mr. and Mrs. Gits have one child, Louis Francis, who
436 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
was born in Yankton, South Dakota, in June, 1889, and is now successfully engaged in gen-
eral merchandising at Taunton, Minnesota.
Mr. and Mrs. Gits hold mcinberslii|) in the Itoniaii Catholic church and it was he who
accomplished the renuival of the church building from Kerinit to Xoonan. In politics he is a
republican but would never consent to accept public ollice. Mr. Gits is a forceful and resource-
ful business man who recognizes and utilizes opportunities which others pass heedlessly by
and by the capable control of his business aiTairs he has won substantial and well merited
success. Obstacles, difficulties and hardships have barred his path at various times, but these
he has overcome by determined and persistent effort and he is now one of the substantial and
prosperous citizens of Divide county.
WILLIAM B. MAERCKLEIN.
One of the most progressive and wide-awake young business men of JIcTntosh county
is William B. Macrcklein, who is now serving as cashier of the Farmers State Bank of
Danzig, where he makes his home. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on the 1st of
September, 188."), and is a. son of William J. and Minnie (Froehlich) Jfaercklcin of whom
more extended mention is made in the sketch of Dr. E. H. JIacrcklein on another page of
this volume.
William B. Maercklein passed the days of his boyhood and youth in Mihvaukee, where
he was educated, and in 1906 came to Ashley, North Dakota, taking up a homestead in
Mcintosh county, to the improvement and cultivation of which he devoted two years. He
then accepted the position of assistant cashier in the Ashle}' State Bank, with which he was
connected for live years, gaining an excellent knowledge of the banking business during
that time. He was then made cashier of the Farmers State Bank of Danzig, which position
he is still holding, while George Gackle serves as president and J. H. Wishek as vice president.
Mr. Maercklein is also a stockholder and director of the bank, which has a capital of ten
thousand dollars; surplus and undivided profits of three thousand dollars; and sixty-five
thousand dollars in deposits. He is secretary and treasurer of the Farmers Elevator Com-
pany of Danzig, assists in the operation of two elevators and is manager of a retail busi-
ness, handling hardware, farm machinerj', etc. He is straightforward and reliable in all
his dealings and the success that has come to him is certainly well merited.
On the 14th of April, 1914, Mr. Maercklein married Miss Fayette Collins, a daughter
of Sidney M. Collins, who was formerly a farmer and surveyor residing in Ashley. Both
her parents are now deceased. "Sh: Maercklein is independent in politics and is a member of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. lie
stands high in business circles and still further success undoubtedly awaits him.
LEONARD M. GULDEN.
Leonard !M. Gulden is engaged in the real estate and insurance business, his home being
at Englevale. He was born in Kandiyohi county, Minnesota, .Tune 13, 1879, his parents
being Leonard and Catherine (Siebenbrunner) Gulden. The father was born in Wittenburg,
Germany, and in 1844 was brought to the United States, being then but four years of age,
his parents settling at Iron Ridge, Wisconsin. Later, however, he went to Minnesota, becom-
ing a resident of New Ulm at a period when that section of the state was upon the far
western frontier. In 1801 he enlisted for service in the United States army and was engaged
largely in warfare against the Indians, who, taking advantage of conditions in the eoiuitry,
rose against the settlers in the northwest. He witnessed the Indian massacre at New Ulm
and he fought under General Selhy, the famous Indian fighter. For four years he was with
the army, rendering valuable service to his country. In 1865 he returned to New Ulm,
where he was engaged in general merchandising, and at the present time he is living in
Douglas county, Minnesota. His wife, who was of .\ustrian birth, came with her parents
HISTORY OP NORTH DAKOTA 437
to the United States when a little maiden of four summers and her peojile also settled at
New Ulm, where they remained until the death of her father.
Leonard M. Gulden was the fourth in a family of seven children and after attending
the common schools ,neav his father's home became a high school student at Osakis, ilinne-
sota, where he was graduated with the class of 1004. After comideting his education he I
taught school for four years in Douglas, Todd, Beltrami and Itasca counties, Minnesota.
\Miile thus engaged he was also conducting a number of bee farms, becoming recognized as
one of the leading apiarists of the state. For four years he produced and sold honey. Dur-
ing that period he secured a homestead of one hundred and sixty acres in Itasca county, Min-
nesota, and conforming to the law regarding residence and improvements, secured his title
to that property after five years. Later he turned his attention to merchandising in
Annandale, Jlinnesota, and there remained for eight months. In August, 1909, he became
a resident of Englevale, where he once more embarked in merchandising, in which he con-
tinued until December 25, 1914. He then formed a partnership with his brother and entered
the real estate business, in which he is now engaged, and the thoroughness which has
characterized him throughout his entire life is manifest in his understanding of the realty
market.
On the 25th of December, 1908, Mr. Gulden was married to Jliss Lillian Akin, who was
horn near Eedfield, South Dakota, in 1886, her parents being Fred and Mary (Hammond)
Akin, who were early residents of Wisconsin and later removed to Minnesota. Mrs. Gulden
was the sixth of their nine children. Her father died in 1915 and her mother is now living
in Montana. Mr. and Mrs. Gulden have become the parents of two children: Phosine C,
born December 14, 1910; and Georgia D., born January 15, 1912.
Mr. Gulden is an independent voter, supporting men and measures rather than party.
On the 11th of Sla^', 1915, he was appointed postmaster of Englevale, passing his civil
examination with ninety-two and three-fourths per cent. He owns the building in which
the postoflice is located, and also another store building in Englevale, together with one
hundred and sixty acres of land on section 9, Hanson township, which he is renting. He also
acts as agent for six different automobile manufacturers. Thus it will be seen that he is
leading a most active, busy and useful life. He and his wife are members of St. Patrick's
Catholic church of Englevale, and they have gained many friends in Ransom county through-
out the period of their residence here.
A. J. AMES, M. D.
Di-. A. J. Amos, engaged in the practice of medicine at Forbes, was born in Hutchinson,
Minnesota, March 24, 1866, a son of Dr. Curtis B. and Eliza (Hopper) Ames, the former a
native of Roscoe, Illinois, and the latter of Oswego, New York. In his childhood days the
father accompanied his parents to Minnesota, the paternal grandfather of Dr. A. J. Ames,
being one of the first settlers on the west side of the river in Minneapolis and the first
physician to practice in that locality. Di'. Curtis B. Ames was reared to manhood in Min-
neapolis, pursued a public school education there and afterward entered Rush Medical Col-
lege of Cliicago, from which he was graduated with the class of 1866. He then removed to
Jlinnesota and practiced in Hutchinson for several years, while subsequently he practiced at
diiVerent periods in Watertown, Rockford and Delano, Minnesota, but at the present time
is living retired and has returned to Minneapolis, where he now makes his home. He served
for a short time with the Third Minnesota Infantry during the Civil war and on one occasion
was captured but was exchanged and later was sent home on account of illness. He then
went out with General Sibley to fight the Indians in the Little Crow uprising. His wife,
who is also li\'ing, was the daughter of a noted Indian scout and pioneer.
Dr. A. J. Ames was reared in Hutchinson, Minneapolis and Delano and attended the
public schools in all three cities. He afterward entered Williston Seminary of Massachusetts
and subsequently was gi'aduated from Phillips Andover with the class of 1886, For thirteen
years he was a portrait artist and then determined to practice medicine. He entered the
medical department of the University of Illinois and completed his course with the class of
438 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
1901. He practiced two years in Chicago while taking his four-year course. Later he located
in Minneapolis, where he practiced for about tliree years and then removed to Wheaton,
Minnesota, wliere he spent a like period, of time. In 1906 he went to p'orbes. North Dakota,
where ho has since remained in tlie active practice of his profession. He comes from a family
of physicians and is therefore "to tlie manner born." He is a member of tlie Southern Dis-
trict Jlcdical Society, the North Dakota State Medical Society and the American Medical
Association.
In September, 1S93, Dr. Ames was joined in wedlock witli Miss Dora H. Hartshorn and
they became the parents of a son, Ross M., wlio was born January 5, 1S95, and died January
20, 1900.
The Doctor is a thirty-second degree Mason, belonging to Ellendale Lodge, No. 13,
A. F. & A. M., and Dakota Consistory, No. 1, and he is also identified with El Zagal Temple,
A. A. 0. N. M. S. He is likewise a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and of the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows His study of political questions and conditions lias led
him to advocate socialistic views and for two years he has done able service for the com-
munity as a member of the town council, while at the present writing he fs county physician
for the western district of Dickey county.
0. K. HANSON.
North Dakota is largely indebted to the Scandinavian peninsula for its population.
From the countries of Sweden and Norway have come many substantial citizens who
have taken advantage of the natural resources furnished in this part of the country and
have aided in promoting the work of development and civilization here.. Among this number
is 0. K. Hanson, who follows farming in Raymond township, Cass county. He was born
in Norway on the 30th of October, 1853, his parents being Hans and Matilda (Helgenson)
Hanson, who were also born in the land of the midnight sun, where they resided until 1S78,
when they crossed the Atlantic to the new world. The family located in North Dakota
and the parents lived with their son O. K. Hanson until they \vcre called to their final rest.
In the family, were seven children, three of whom surviv£.
In the schools of Norway O. K. Hanson pursued liis education and when nineteen years
of age bade adieu to friends and native land and sailed for the United States, hoping to llnd
better business conditions in the new world than he felt he could secure in his native country.
He settled in Rice county, Minnesota, where he worked as a common laborer for live years,
and on the expiration of that period he came to Cass county, purchasing the farm whereon
he now resides. To his original investment, however, he has added from time to time until
he is now the owner of a valuable property of si.\ hundred and forty acres on sections 16
and 22, Raymond township. He has added many modern improven\cnts to the place, making
it a valuable farm property on which is a line grove and other attractive features. He
carefully tills the soil, prod\icing excellent crops, and as the years have gone by success has
attended his efl'orts. Moreover, he is regarded as a most enterprising business man in other
directions. He became one of the organizers of the State Bank at Prosper, of which he is
the president, and he is also a stockholder and director in the Farmers I'.levator at that
place and a stockholder in the insurance company. He likewise has an interest in copper
mines in Oregon, owns a half section in Brown county. South Dakota, and is vice president
of the bank at Houghton, South Dakota, and at all times his investments have been
judiciously made and have brought to him substantial returns. For more than thirtj' years
he has operated a thresher in connection with his farming interests and has done work
throughout his part of the county. In fact, his life has been one of untiring industry and
thrift and his success is the merited and just reward of his own labor.
On July 18, 1887, Mr. Hanson was married to Miss Mary Anderson, of Goodhue county,
Minnesota, a daughter of Frederick and JIary (Peterson) Anderson. Her mother died .January
12, 1914, aged eighty-one j'cars. Her father died December 14. 1901, aged seventy-four
years. Nine children have been born to Mr. arid Jlrs. Hanson: Henry F., who is married
t
CO
o
>
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 441
and has two ehildien, Robert M. and Frances L., and resides on the home farm; Martin F.;
Fred; Mabel E.; Hilda; Kvelyn, and three who died in infancy.
The parents and their children are members of the Lutheran church, in which Mr.
Hanson has served as one of the directors. He contributes generously to the support of the
church and takes an active interest in its welfare and ujibuilding, never neglecting his duties
in relation to the moral development of the community any more than he neglects his
business affairs. Fraternally he is connected with both the Modern Woodmen of America
and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In politics he is a stalwart republican and
has served as road commissioner and as a member of the school board. He cares little for
public office, however, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business interests, and
he deserves much credit for what he lias accomplished, for whatever he undertakes he carries
forward to successful completion. He has become one of the successful, prominent and
influential men of his community and is justly acknowledged among the representative
citizens of Cass county.
CARL F. KAZ.
Among the young men of Logan county who have already displayed marked business
ability is Carl F. Kaz, who is now serving so acceptably as assistant cashier of the State
Bank of Gackle. His entire life has been spent in North Dakota and he takes a just pride
in its development and prosperity. He was born in Logan county on the 12th of December,
1894, and is a son of Carl and Louisa (Fercho) Kaz, who came to this country from Ger-
many in early life and first located in Michigan. Fi-om that state they removed to Lamoure
counts', North Dakota, where the father was employed as a ranch hand for a time, but on
coming to Logan county he purchased land. He improved his property and as time has
passed he has prospered in his farming operations, steadily adding to his possessions until
he is now the owner of seven quarter sections of land besides some city lots in Bismarck.
He has not only gained financial success but has also become prominent in public affairs and
is now serving as county auditor of Logan county. He has efficiently filled that position
since 1906 and now makes his home in Napoleon, the coimty scat. His wife is also living
and both are held in high esteem.
Carl F. Kaz grew to manhood in Logan county and is indebted to its public schools for
his early education. Later he attended the Bismarck Business College and the Dakota
Business College at Fargo, thus obtaining a good practical knowledge, which has been of
great benefit to him since starting out in life for himself. At intervals he was employed
as clerk in the auditor's office under his father during vacations while still in school, and in
1913 accepted a position as stenographer in the Medina State Bank at Medina, North Dakota,
where he remained three months. The following seven months he was clerk in the state
treasurer's oifice at Bismarck and for ten months was in the oifice of the register of deeds
at Napoleon. In August, 1915, he went to Gackle and accepted the position of assistant
cashier in the State Bank of Gackle, which important position he is still filling to the entire
satisfaction of all concerned. The bank has a capital of twenty-five thousand dollars and
deposits amounting to eighty-five thousand dollars. It was organized in 1909 and its present
officers are H. H. France, president; A. Zimmerman, vice president; R. S. Metier, cashier; and
O. F. Kaz, assistant cashier.
FRANK 0. JOHNSON.
Frank 0. Johnson, proprietor of a hardware store at Tolley, has been identified with
commercial interests in that town since 1905. He was born in Chisago City, Minnesota,
April 3, 1872, a son of Magmis and .Johanna .Johnson, who were natives of Sweden but in
1869 came to the new world, establishing their home in Minnesota. The father secured a
government claim there and at once began to develop and improve the property, continu-
Vol. 11—21
442 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
ously cultivating that tract of land until 1898. He then retired and removed to the town
of Chisago City, where he spent his remaining days, covering a period of eleven years, his
death occurring in 1909. His widow survives at the advanced age of eighty-four years.
The youthful days of Frank 0. Johnson were spent under the parental roof in Minnesota
to the age of seventeen years, when he began providing for his own support by working in
a liardware store. He spent ten years in connection with tlie hardware trade and for four
years was on the road selling farm machinery. In 1902 he removed to JlcKinncy, North
Dakota, and filed on a homestead which he occupied for three years, carefully and persistently
improving and developing the place during that period. He was also interested in a hard-
ware store in McKinney and continued his connection with the same until 1905, when he
removed to the newly founded town of Tolley. There he opened a hardware store which he
has since successfully conducted, carrying a mammoth stock of goods for a town of that
size, drawing his patronage from a wide territory. His sales are now very extensive and
the business has become a profitable feature in the commercial circles of Renville county.
He also owns another store building besides that which he occupies in Tolley and he is the
owner of tw'elve hundred and forty acres of farm land from which he derives a gratifying
annual rental. He is likewise a stockholder in the Provident Life Insurance C'on)|iany of
Bismarck.
In December, 1904, Mr. Johnson was maiTied to Miss Mabel Brown, by whom he has
eight children, namely: Vern and Vera, twins; Lyie; Evelyn; Marjorie; Neva; and twins
not yet named. In religious faith Mr. and !Mrs. Johnson are identified with the Lutheran
churcli. He has attained high rank in Masonic circles, being now a member of the Mystic
Shrine, and he is also connected with the Modern Woodmen of America, the Independent
Order of Odd F'ollows and the United Commercial Travelers. He votes with the republican
party and since locating in Tolley lias served as town treasurer and as a member of the
school board, acting as president of the board for six years. He is ever deeply interested in
the cause of education and does everything in his power to promote the interests of the
schools, recognizing in them one of the bulwarks of the nation.
WILLIAM EDWAKD HOLBEIN.
William Edward Holbein, secretary of the Minot Commercial Club, was born in Summit
county, Ohio, on the 23d of July, 1872, a son of Elias and Lydia (Kulp) Holbein. The
father was also a native of the Buckeye state, and was there reared and educated, after
Avhich he learned the harnessmaker's trade according to the old methods when all work was
done by hand. He followed that business as a life work and thus provided for his family.
His wife was also born in Ohio, where she has always lived, her home now being in Wads-
worth, near which place the elder Jlr. Holbein passed away. They removed to that place
during the infancy of their son William, who in that place pursued his education, completing
a part of the high school course, after which he attended normal school. He made his initial
step in the business world in the capacity of printer's devil, and continued in active connection
with the printing business until lOl.'j,
The year 1907 witnessed his arrival in North Dakota, and at different times he resided
at Willow City, Westhope and Overly, moving to Lansford in 1909, where he established
the Lansford Journal. In 1915 he was appointed secretary of the North Dakota Commis-
sion to the Panama-Pacific-International Exposition at San Francisco, and was in full
charge of the North Dakota building at the fair. He devoted eleven months to that work,
and was a popular commissioner. At the end of that time he was appointed secretary of
the Minot Commercial Club, and still continues in that capacity. Under his direction the
Commercial Club has made great strides forward, extending the scope of its usefulness, activ-
ity and interests, and its secretary has become a popular and highly valued citizen of Minot.
All of his life's experiences have gone to further his work in this direction. The newspaper
field is a school in which one is constantly broadening his knowledge, and while at the San
Francisco exposition Mr. Holbein was studying methods of exploitation and extension of
business interests, and continually coming in touch with men who are doing things in the
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 443
world. Thus lie was storing up the information which is now serving as the basis for his
splendid work in connection with the Minot Cominercial Club.
Fraternally Mr. Holbein is connected with the Masonic lodge, with membership in the
Lansford, North Dakota, lodge, in which he has held several important offices. His political
allegiance is given to the republican party, and in 1914 he was a candidate for commissioner
of agriculture and labor of the state of North Dakota. He has been very prominent in the
activities of the North Dakota Press Association, serving as its secretary in the years 1911,
1912, 1913, and a part of 1914, and during that period the membership of the organization
increased from seventy-six to three hundred, largely owing to his efforts.
He was reared as a member of the Reformed chiuch, the church of his forbears. His
influence in every particular is on the side of advancement, progress and improvement, so
that he has contributed in large measure to the material, intellectual, social, political and
moral progress of the communities in which he has lived.
GUS G. SCHEELEK.
Gus G. Scheeler, engaged in general merchandising in Kintyre, was born in Boxbutte
county, Nebraska, in November, 1887, a son of Lewis and .Jennie (Richardson) Scheeler, the
former a native of Indiana and the latter of Pennsylvania. At an early day the father went
to Nebraska, where he took up a homestead claim which he owned and cultivated for five
years. He then removed to Dakota territory, where he operated a ranch for nine years and
on the expiration of that period became a resident of Logan county, North Dakota, where
he bought land and engaged in ranching until 1906. In that year he established his home in
Napoleon, where he began dealing in land and in grain, but in 1915 he discontinued his
operations in connection with the grain trade, confining his attention to his real estate
dealing.
Gus G. Scheeler was reared and educated in South Dakota and in Napoleon, North
Dakota, and after his textbooks were put aside he was employed bj' a creamery company
for four years. He next began buying grain for his father, with whom he was associated in
business for five seasons, and for one season he bought giain for the Farmers Elevator Com-
pany at Brittin, North Dakota. On the 18th of April, 1916, he purchased the general mer-
chandise stock of M. R. Farrell, the founder of Kintyre and the oldest merchant in the town
but now a resident of Washington. Mr. Scheeler can'ies a large stock and enjoys an exten-
sive patronage, his business methods commending him to the support of the public. He has
ever realized that satisfied customers are the best advertisement and he has therefore put
forth every eflFort to please and oblige his pations, while the integrity and honor of his
business methods are recognized by all. In addition to his mercantile interests he is a stock-
holder in the Farmers' Elevator Company of Kintyre.
On the 20th of .June, 1916, Jlr. Scheeler was married to Miss Jeanctte Cornie, a daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Claude W. Cornie, the former a native of Germanjr and the latter of Wales.
Coming to America in early life, they settled in Illinois and since 1903 have been residents
of Napoleon, North Dakota. In his political views Mr. Scheeler maintains an independent
course, voting according to the dictates of his judgment without regard to party ties. His
religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church and his honorable and useful life has made
him a valued and representative citizen of the community in which he makes his home.
JAMES M. COLTER.
James M. Colter, postmaster of Voltaire and actively identilied with farming interests
in McHenry countj^ since 1900, was born in Bruce county, Ontario, Canada, .January 20, 1860,
a son of James and Agnes (Hawthorne) Colter, who are natives of Ireland and Canada
respectively. The father was a farmer by occupation and was identified with agricultural
interests in Canada until 1897, when he came to North Dakota, where he carried on a farm
444 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
until 1906. lie then retired from active business life and returned to Canada, where lie now
resides at the age of seventy-nine years, while his wife is seventy-six years of age. On the
11 th of November, 1916, they celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of their wedding.
James M. Colter was reared and educated in Canada, remaining under the parental roof
until he attained his majority. He afterward worked at the carpenter's trade in Winnipeg
for two years and then, thinking to find better business opportunities across the border, lie
came to Korth Dakota in 1SS4, settling in Pembina county. Through the succeeding sixteen
years he devoted liis time and energies to teaching school and for seven consecutive years
was a successful teacher at Hensel, this state. In 1900 he removed to McHenry county and
took up a homestead claim which he at once began to develop and cultivate. His time and
energies have since been given to the improvement of his, place and from time to time he
has bought more land, now owning four hundred acres which pays to him a substantial
annual income owing to the care and labor which he bestows upon the farm. lie now makes
a specialty of raising shorthorn cattle and has an excellent herd upon his place. While thus
actively engaged in farming and stock raising, he makes his home in Voltaire and in 1914
was appointed postmaster of the town, which position he is now filling.
On the 1st of January, 1895, Mr. Colter was united in marriage to Jtliss Myrtle Turner
and to them was born a daughter. Myrtle T., whose natal day was October 10, 1913. On
that day the mother passed away and later Mr. Colter wedded her sister, Mrs. May Pringle,
who Jbecame his wife December 31, 1915. Fraternally Mr. Colter is connected with the
Masons, the Yeomen and the Foresters. His religious belief is that of the Jlethodist church
and his life is guided according to its teachings. Politically he is an earnest republican and
for five yeare has filled the office of assessor of Voltaire township and has also been township
clerk. He has likewise served on the school board since 1901 and the cause of education
finds in him a stalwart champion who puts forth every possible efi'ort to advance the
interests and raise the standard of the schools of his community.
ALBERT E. JONES.
Albert E. .Tones, of Lisbon, active in the business circles of the city as a real estate
dealer and president of the Jones Lumber & Implement Company, is actuated in all that
he does by a progiessive spirit that never falls short of the accomplishment of his purpose.
He was born in Hudson, Wisconsin, on the 13th of May, 1865, and is a son of Jerome B. and
Maria L. (Egbert) Jones, both of whom were natives of Indiana. They were married in
Wisconsin, however, having removed to that state with their lespective parents. The
mother died in 1908 but the father is still a resident of Hudson, where he is living retired
after long connection with active business interests there.
Liberal educational opportunities were accorded Albert E. .Tones, who after completing
a course in the Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois, entered the employ of the
McCormick Harvester Company in 1885. He was associated therewith until 1890, when he
removed to Fargo, North Dakota, and continued in the machine business with other firms
until 1896. He then embarked in the real ■estate business on his own account in Fargo,
continuing there until 1899, when he removed to Lisbon, where he opened a real estate
office, since which time he has handled property both for himself and others, negotiating
many important realty transfers. In 1904 he organized the Jones Lumber & Implement
Company, of which he becann^ president, with C. E. Jones as the secretary and his brother,
F. J. Jones, as treasurer. Theirs is one of the leading business enterprises of the so\ith-
eastern part of the state. In connection with his real estate business Mr. Jones maintains
a branch oflice in Steele, where he jiiirchased and sold a thirty-five thousand acre tract and
also owns another tract of four thousand acres. His operations in the real estate field
o'ertop those of almost any other dealer in North Dakota and have constituted an element
in the substantial development, settlement and improvement of the state.
On the 13th day of May. 1890, ^Ir. Jones was united in marriage to Miss Blanche
Durell, of Mitchell, South Dakota, by whom he has two sons and a daughter, namely:
Jerome B., a graduate of the Culver ^Military School of Culver, Indiana, and now connected
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 445
with the Clearlake Lumber Company at Clearlake, Washington; Marshal D., who is also
a graduate of the Culver Militarj^ School and is now connected with the Humbircl Lumber
Compan}' of Sandpoint, Idaho; and Grace Loraine, who attends Stanley Hall in Minneapolis.
In his political views Mr. Jones is a republican and his fellow townsmen chose liim as
their representative in the state legislature, in which he served from 1908 until 1913 or for
two terms. He was for three years mayor of Lisbon and his administration was character-
ized by progi-essiveness, reform and improvement. He belongs to Sheyenne Valley Lodge,
No. 13, A. F. & A. M.; Lisbon Chapter, No. 7, E. A. M.; Ivanhoe Commandery, No. 8, K. T.,
of Lisbon; El Zagal Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., of Fargo; Fargo Lodge, No. 260, B. P. O. E.;
Lisbon Lodge, No. 69, K. P. ; the Modern Woodmen of America ; and the Ancient Order of
United Workmen. He and his wife hold membership in the Episcopal church and it is a
matter of wide recognition that Mr. .Jones is ever loyal to any cause which he espouses.
What he undertakes he accomplishes and he labors just as zealously and earnestly for the
public good when in ofllce as he does for tlie advancement of liis individual interests in
business.
NICHOLAS N. HERJLVNN.
Nicholas N. Hermann, owner and editor of the Marion Sentinel, published at Marion,
Lamoure county, claims Wisconsin as liis native state, for his birth occurred in the city of
Jefferson in Augu.st, 1879, his parents being Matt and Mary (Biewer) Hermann, who were
natives of Germany. In early life they came to America and became residents of Chicago,
in which city the father served as a member of the police force. He afterward removed to
Jefferson, Wisconsin, where he also acted as a night watchman in a private plant, and in
that town his remaining days were passed. He died in September, 1913, and is survived by
his wife.
The boyhood and youth of Nicholas N. Hermann were spent in Jefferson, where he
attended the public schools and made his home until he reached the age of twenty-three
years. He learned the printer's trade in that city and afterward spent two years in working
at his trade in Chicago. In 1905 he arrived in North Dakota, attracted by the developing
opportunities of this section of the country. He filed on a claim in Adams county and
improved and operated his farm for two years, after which he took up his abode in Marion
and bought the newspaper plant and equipment of the Marion Sentinel. He has since pub-
lished the paper, which is a weekly journal, winning therefor a liberal circulation.
In November, 1908, Mr. Hermann was united in marriage to Miss Evelyn Auth and
they have become the parents of three children: LeEoy, born in January, 1910; Evelyn, in
January, 1913; and Paul, in February, 1914.
Mr. Hermann has membership with the Modern Woodmen of America and is a com-
municant of the Catholic church. His political endorsement is given to the republican party
and in its support he publishes his paper. His time is not altogether given to his news-
paper interests, however, for he conducts a real estate business and has negotiated many
important realty transfers.
SUSINER S. RENFREW.
For fifteen years Sumner S. Renfrew has been prominently identified with the busi-
ness interests of Harvey and is today one of the leading citizens of the town, taking a very
active part in its upbuilding and development along various lines. He was born in Plain-
field, Iowa, on the 3d of December, 1861, and is a -son of .John and Sarah (Pratt) Renfrew,
who were married in that state, although the father was a native of Glasgow, Scotland,
and the mother of New York. On coming to the new world in 1856 John Renfrew made his
way direct to Plainfield, Iowa, where he continued to reside until 1880, when he removed
to Park Rapids, Minnesota. There he took up land and engaged in farming for some time.
446 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
As 11 lU'iiiocrat he was prominent in politics and luMd many offices, iiiclnding that of probate
judge. He died at tlie home of his son Sumner in 1908, having survived his wife for several
years as she passed away in Park Kapids, Jlinnesota, in 1893. In the taniily of this worthy
couple were five children, namely: James, a resident of Now Eockford, North Dakota;
Sumner S., of this review; Robert, deceased; John P., a farmer of Fratuna, North Dakota;
and Mary J., tlie wife of George Crossen, a farmer of Wells county. North Dakota.
Sumner S. Renfrew obtained his education in the graded schools of Iowa, but at the
age of fourteen years he laid aside his textbooks and began working on farms, being tluis
employed until 1885. He then learned the creamery business in Plainfield and at tiie end
of a year and a half established the Rose Hill creamery, which he owned and managed for
two years. Prom 1887 to 1891 he was engaged in shipping horses to northern ^Minnesota
but in the latter year went to southein Illinois, where he put in operation three fruit
evaporators. In 1893, however, he sold out that business and came to Harvey, North Dakota,
taking up a claim in Wells county, three miles north of the town. He proved up on his
land and engaged in farming with good success for eight years. At tlie end of that time
lie rented his land and removed to Harvey, where in the spring of 1902 he built a twenty
thousand bushel elevator, which he operated until 190G, when he purchased another with a
capacity of sixty thousand bushels on the railroad. It is the largest elevator in the village
and in its management Mr. Renfrew has also been successful. In 1908 he purchased an
interest in the Bank of Harvey and has since served as its president. He established the
Harvey Electric Light & Power Comjiany in 1910 and two years later was made treasurer
of the corporation, in which capacity he is now serving. In 1912 he bought a third interest
in the Harvey Flour Mill Company and is acting as its vice president. It will thus be seen
that his business interests are varied and extensive and in their control he has manifested
exeellent business and executive ability. He has acquired a large amoxint of farming land,
amounting to about forty-five hundred acres, all improved and under cultivation.
In 1884 Mr. Renfrew was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Kellogg, of Plainfield,
Iowa, and they have become the parents of two children: Flossie, now the wife of Jack
Rich, living near Chinook, Montana; and True W., who is engaged in ranching near Harlem,
Montana.
The republican party finds in Jlr. Renfrew a stanch supporter of its principles and he
has been a member of the city council of Harvey for eight years. He has done much toward
the upbuilding and development of the city, where he owns a large amount of real estate,
both business and residence property, which he rents, and he also conducts a garage, liand-
ling the Overland automobiles. Upright and honorable in all his dealings he stands high
in business circles and has won the confidence and high regard of those with whom he has
come in contact.
HUDSON B. HENDRICKS.
Hudson B. Hendricks is a partner in the firm of Clow & Hendricks, who are leading
merchants at Merricourt, where they carry an extensive stock of goods and conduct a most
substantial business. Throughout his entire life Hu<lson B. Hendricks has dis]»layed the
spirit of western enterprise. He was born in Olmsted county, Minnesota, November 27, 1859,
a son of .lohn B. and Celia (Wliite) Hendricks, who were natives of Vermont. The father
followed merchandising during much of his life and ujion his removal to Minnesota in 1854
established business at Chatfield, where he remained until 1888 when he sold out and retired
from active commercial life. He then removed to Knoxville. Tennessee, where he spent his
remaining days, passing away December 22, 1913. For two years he had survived his wife,
who died November 2, 1911.
In his native state Hudson B. Hendricks was reared and educated and in 1S81 he went
to Fargo, North Dakota, and soon afterward to Tower City, this state, where he lived for
about two years. In 1882 he removed to Lisbon and in 1883 he went to Minnesota and
purchased his father's store, which he conducted until 1887 and then sold out, returning to
Lisbon, where he has since been associated in business with C. D. Clow, who is also his
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 447
partner in the Merricourt store. The latter was establislied in November, 1908, and the
firm owns its own building and carries an enormous stock of goods for a town of this size,
drawing its patronage from a wide territory. Its annual sales have reached extensive and
growing proportions indicative of the business ability and' enterprise of the owners.
On the 4th of February, 1903, Mr. Hendricks was united in marriage to Miss Ann
White, a daughter of Thomas and Mary (Atcheson) White, natives of Ireland. The father
died in New York, after which the mother removed to the west and passed away in Minne-
sota, April 9, 1904. Mr. and Mrs. Hendiicks hold membership in the Episcopal church and
he is also a member of the Masonic fraternity in which he has attained high rank, being now
identified with the Mystic Shrine. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party and
while living in Lisbon he served as a member of the city council and was defeated by only
fourteen votes for the office of sheriff of Eansom county. He has been more or less active
in local political circles, but he prefers to concentrate his energies upon his business atl'airs
which are of constantly giowing volume and importance, so that he lias become recognized
as one of the representative merchants of his part of the state.
EDWARD F. SAVAGE.
Edward F. Savage has been extensively engaged in farming in North Dakota, where
he arrived in pioneer times and secured a homestead near Bismarck. In 1912 he retired
from agricultural life, but indolence and idleness are utterljr foreign to his nature and in
order to be occupied he is now clerking in a drug store in Braddock. He was born in New
iork city, June 8, 1865, a son of William and Mary (.Joseplis) Savage, who were also natives
of the Empire state. The father was a carpenter and cabinetmaker by trade and followed
those pursuits throughout the entire period of his residence in New York or until 1889, when
he removed to North Dakota, establishing his home at Braddock. There he resided with his
sou Edward until his death, which occurred in April, 1906, when he was eighty-two years
of age. He had long survived his wife, who passed away in 1869. At the time of the Civil
war he responded to the country's call for aid, and although he did not do active duty
on the firing line, his service as a member of the bridge corps was of an equally important
and responsible character.
During his boyhood days Edward F. Savage became a resident of Taylor county, Iowa,
where he was reared and educated, there remaining until 1884, when he made his way to
Bismarck, North Dakota, and entered a homestead claim. W^ith characteristic energy he
began the development and improvement of that property and eventually bought more land
until he was the owner of a valuable farm of six hundred acres, which he brought to a high
state of cultivation and to which he added many improvements. He continued to till the
soil until 1912, when he sold that property and removed to Braddock, where, as previously
stated, he accepted a clerkship in a drug store because he could not content himself to sit down
and have no occupation. ^
On the 6th of Octolier, 1887, Mr. Savage was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ida Eoop,
a daughter of Joseph M. and Julia (Meyers) Eoop, the former a native of Maryland and the
latter of Ashland, Ohio. The father became a farmer of the Buckeye state and there con-
tinued to engage in general agricultural pursuits until 1883, when he came to North Dakota,
settling in Emmons county, where he entered a homestead and also bought railroad land,
devoting his remaining days to the further development and improvement of his property.
He died in 1906 and his widow is now living in Bismarck. Their daughter, Mrs. Savage,
passed away in October', 1902, and in January, 1909, Mr. Savage was again married, his
second union being with Mrs. Katherine McLaughlin, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W^illiam
Maddock, who were natives of England and Scotland respectively. They early became resi-
dents of Canada, settling in Ontario. Mrs. Savage had four children by her former marriage,
Gordon, Edna, John and Archlene.
Mrs. Savage was appointed postmistress of Braddock on the 19th of January, 1914,
and Jlr. Savage became deputy postmaster. For fourteen years he filled the office of treas-
urer in Logan township and his public duties have ever been discharged with a most con-
448 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
scientious sense of obligation. Politically he is an earnest republican and keeps well informed
on the questions and issues of the day. His religious faith is that of the Episcopal church
and fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of
Pythias and the Modern WoodnK'n of America. Much of his life has been spent west of the
Mississippi and the spirit of western enterprise and progress has been manifest throughout
his entire career. In this way he has won his success and has gained a place among the
representative citizens of Emmons county.
NELS IVERSON.
Among the progressive and representative business men of Moliall, Nels Iverson, cashier
of the Mohall Security Bank, is numbered. He was born at River Falls, Wisconsin, in March,
1871, and is a son of H. J. and Anna Iverson, who were natives of Norway and who came
to America in 1854. Making his way to Wisconsin, H. J. Iverson there secured a govern-
ment claim and at once began the arduous task of transforming the wild land into produc-
tive fields. He continued the further cultivation and improvement of his farm until 1910,
when he retired from active business life and now lives at Kenville, Jlinnesota. Before
starting out in business for himself he attended school in St. Paul in order to gain a knowl-
edge of the English language and further promote his preparation for life's practical and
responsible duties. He also worked in a hotel for three years. At the time of the Civil war
he responded to the country's call for troops and for three years was engaged in active duty
at the front with the Thirtieth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. In 1898 he was called upon
to mourn the loss of his wife, who passed away in May of that year.
Nels Iverson, spending his youthful days under the parental roof, attended the public
schools of River Falls, Wisconsin, and after attaining his majority devoted ten years to mer-
cantile pursuits in Wisconsin and Renville, Jlinnesota. In 1903 he arrived in Mohall, North
Dakota, and embarked in the banking business, buying out the interest of M. 0. Hall, for
whom the town was named. It was in 1905 that he became proprietor of the Mohall Bank,
which has a capital stock of twenty-five thousand dollars, while its deposits amount to one
hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The ofTicers of the bank are: H. J. Dale, president;
Mrs. S. Mason, vice president; Nels Iverson, cashier; and P. H. Lambert, assistant cashier.
In addition to his banking interests Mr. Iverson is the president of the Renville County
Land & Loan Company, which is conducting an extensive business in the purchase and sale
of lands ami in placing loans. His discrimination is keen and his sound business judgment,
supplementing his unfaltering entcr[>rise, has brought to him gratifying success.
In June, 1905, Mr. Iverson was united in marriage to Miss Anna Benson and thoy have
become the parents of four children, David M., Neal J., Elizabeth and Virginia. Tlie family
attend the Methodist church, of which the parents are members, and Mr. Iverson is a loyal
adherent of the Masonic order. Politically he is a republican and has served in several local
offices, to which he has been called by the vote of his fellow townsmen. He was for a num-
ber of year's a member of the town council and in 1903 was chosen school treasurer, which
office he is still filling. His aid and cooperation can be counted upon to further all meas-
ures and plans for tlie public good and he loyally supports every project that is a matter of
civic virtue and civic pride.
HENTIY J. SORLIEN.
Henry .1. Sorlien, a well known representative of the business interests of Bergen, being
vice president of the First State Bank and one of the partners in the Bergen Auto Com-
pany, was born in Bode, Humboldt county, Iowa, December 16, 1882, a son of John H. and
Bertha (Knudslien) Sorlien, who were natives of Norway. The father, a stockman and
farmer, came to America in early life, settling in Humboldt county, Iowa, where he pur-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA M9
chased land and carried on farming tlirougliout liis remaining days. He passed away August
5, 1907, and is still survived by his widow.
Henry J. Sorlien spent his youthful days upon the old homestead farm in Iowa and
after attending the ptiblic schools entered upon an academic course at Albert Lea, Minnesota,
while later he attended Luther College at Decorah, Iowa, from which he was graduated
with the class of 1905. For one w-inter he taught school in North Dakota and then entered
the employ of the Ross-Davidson Banking Company, with which he remained for four months.
In January, 1907, he accepted the cashiership of the F'irst State Bank of Bergen, in which
he became a stoelcholder. He continued to serve as cashier for seven and a half years and
was then made vice president, with Martin Apland as president and J. B. Palm cashier.
The bank is capitalized for ten thousand dollars and has a surplus and undivided profits
of forty-five hundred dollars, while the deposits amount to one hundred thousand dollars.
The bank was organized in November, 1905, and entered upon a period of progressive and
prosperous existence. In addition to his connection with the bank Mr. Sorlien is one of
three partners in the Bergen Auto Company, which handles Ford, Dodge and Paige cars and
does general repair work on automobiles. The company sold four hundred and seventy-five
Fords in the summer of 1916. Mr. Sorlien is also interested with ilartin Apland in farming
and stock raising, handling thoroughbred slock. They make a specialty of shorthorn cattle
and have at the head of the herd a bull valued at nine hundred dollars which has taken
premiums at many fairs. They also have a number of cows which cost as high as five hun-
dred dollars. They are farming fourteen hundred acres of land and own about three thou-
sand acres. Mr. Sorlien has thus gradualh' extended his business connections and interests
and today occupies a leading position among the most progressive and enterprising citizens
of MeHenry county, contributing in large measure to its substantial development and im-
provement.
Active in community afl'airs, Mr. Sorlien has served as town, treasurer, as justice of
the peace and as school treasurer and co-operates heartily in all plans and measures which
are for the public good and tend to promote civic virtue and civic pride. His political allegi-
ance is given to the republican party and his religious faith is that of the Lutheran church.
Bergen regards him as a valuable asset to its business circles and it was also a fortunate day
for Mr. Sorlien when he allied his interests with those of McHenry county, for here he
found the opportunities which he sought and in tlieir improvement has gradually won
substantial success.
ERNEST CARROLL HILBORN.
Ernest Carroll Hilborn, manager of extensive nurseries at Valley City, in Avliich con-
nection his business has reached large and profitable proportions, conducts his interests
under the name of the Northwest Nursery Company. In the management of these interests
he has displayed marked foresight, ability and enterprise and it is to such men that the state
owes her substantial development. He was born in Ripon, Wisconsin, December 31, 1876, a
son of Edwin and Celia (Pond) Hilborn, the former a pioneer settler of Wisconsin. The
latter was a sister of Major .J. B. Pond, the well known lyceum manager.
Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Hilborn both died when their son, Ernest C, was still quite young
and he then removed to Rogers, North Dakota, where his sister, Mrs. F. A. Sandberg, resided.
By working on farms he was able to pay his expenses through the grades and to enter the
Valley City Normal School. By teaching country school and by selling trees to the farmers
on the prairies during the vacations he made enough money to enable him to complete the
course at the normal school, graduating in 1903. He then entered the State University, in
which he completed a three years' course in two years, graduating with the class of 1905.
When his university work was completed he accepted the position of superintendent of the
public schools of Enderlin, North Dakota, in which position he continued for three years.
Through his experience in selling trees to the farmers during his vacations he became im-
pressed with the need of a home nursery in which the young trees and fruit stock would be
acclimated to the conditions of the northwest from the beginning and therefore much better
450 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
suited for j)Iantiiig in this district than stock j;ro%vii elsewhere, lie was so tlioroiighly con-
vinced of the opportunity whicli sucli a project ollered that he returned to Valley City and
promoted the Kortlnvcst Nursery Company, establishing the nursery in I'JOS. They started
on rented land, having twenty-six acres, but have steadily increased their holdings until they
now own four hundred and forty acres adjacent to Valley City, while theirs is the largest
nurserj' between ilinneajjolis and the Kocky Mountains. They carry every kind of forest
trees, besides fruit trees, apples, plums, etc., and small fruits. While originally their market
was North Dakota, their trade has so e.vtended that their sales now reach into Montana, South
Dakota, western Minnesota and Wyoming. The business has grown continuously from the
beginning and Mr. Hilborn lias been most successful in its management. He possesses i)he-
nomcnal energy and marked ability. They grow willows, poplars, green ash and box elders
by the million and these trees do well when transplanted owing to the fact that they have
been grown on the prairies and are put into the same kind of soil and have the same climatic
conditions in the districts to whicli they are shipped. The same applies to apples and other
fruits and to their small fruits as well. Their nursery stock has proven eminently satis-
factory wherever it has been shipped and theirs has become one of the most extensive busi-
ness enterprises of this state, exceeding in volume almost every undertaking of similar char-
acter in the northwest. They employ a large force permanently and during certain seasons
have from sixty to seventy men at the nurseries beside a number of office employes and a
large staff of salesmen on the road.
On the 29th of July, 1908, Mr. Hilborn was united in marriage to Miss Grace Washburn,
of Oxfordville, New Hampshire, who was a teacher in the Enderlin high school and is a
graduate of the Jlinnesota University. Their children are Ruth Alice and Edith Harriett.
Mr. Hilborn belongs to the Masonic lodge and to the Congregational chui-eh and is
superintendent of the Sunday school, connections which indicate the rules which govern him
in his conduct toward his fellow men and guide him in all his business interests. He is truly a
self-made man, having provided the means for his own education and for his start in the
business world. Prompt, energetic and notably reliable, he possesses in large measure that
quality of common sense which is too often lacking and which in its absence causes many
failures. Fortunate in possessing character and ability that inspire confidence in others, the
simple weight of his character and ability has carried him into important relations and Valley
City numbers him anumg its most representative and valued business men.
FKED HElNRICn.
Fred lleinrich, prominently identified with financial interests of Dickey county as
cashier of the First State Bank of Merricourt, was born in Russia, May 3, 1880, a son of
Gottfried and Christina (Sinkbeili Heinrich, who are also natives of Russia where the father
engaged in farming until ISSl when he came to America, settling in Hutchinson county.
South Dakota. There he secured a homestead and at once began the development and
improvement of his place, continuing the work of farming there until 1889 when he sold
the property and removed to ^Mcintosh county. North Dakota, where he purchased the land
upon which lie has since lived. He is now sixty-eight years of age while his wife has
reached the age of sixty-five.
Fred Heinrich was but a year old when his parents brought their family to the new
world and thus to all intents and purposes he is an American. His education was acquired
in the schools of South and North Dakota where his early training was that of the farm
boy for he remained upon the homestead with his parents until he attained his majority,
when in connection with his father he embarked in the general merchandising business at
Ashley, North Dakota, where he remained in business for five years. He was then elected
register of deeds in Mcintosh county and so acceptably filled the olliee that he was twice
reelected, thus serving for three terms. On the first of May, 1913, in company with others,
he purchased the F'irst State Bank at ^lerricourt and lias since served as cashier with T. S.
Johnstone as president and Christian Becker as vice president. The bank is capitalized at
ten thousand dollars and has a surplus and profits of eight thousand dollars, while their
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 451
deposits amount to seventy-five thousand dollars. The company has erected a modern bank
building on the principal corner of the tovpn and the business is still growing along substan-
tial lines, the policy of the bank being such as to gain the confidence and support of the
general public.
In February, 1905, Mr. Heinrich was married to Miss Emma Becker, a daugliter of
Christian and Carolina (Schlinker) Becker, who are natives of Russia and became pioneer
settlers of North Dakota. Mr. Becker is now in charge of the bank at Linton, North
Dakota, which is owned by the same people as the First State Bank at Merricourt, and is
conducted under the name of the German-American State Bank. Mr. and Mrs. Heinrich have
become the parents of three children, of whom two are yet living: Arthur, born January
24, 1906; and Lavinia Irene, born May 15, 1912. They lost one son, Theodore 0., who was
born July 7, 1907, and passed away October 24, 1910.
The parents are members of the German-Lutheran church and Mr. Heinrich is a republi-
can in his political views. He has served as town clerk for a year, as school treasurer for
two years and as village treasurer and is always alert to the best interests of his com-
munity, doing all in his power to further public progress and promote those things which
are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride.
WALTER A. DENISON.
"Walter A. Denison, cashier of the First State Bank of Cathay, North Dakota, is a native
of the Buckeye state, his birth occurring in Dayton, Ohio, on the 20th of September, 1S69.
He was only nine years of age when he came west in 1878 and became a resident of Minne-
apolis, Minnesota, where he was reared and educated, pursuing a high school course in that
city. In 1893 he came to Cathay, North Dakota, as station agent when the railroad was
built and put in operation. He filled that position in a most satisfactory manner for fourteen
years bnt in 1907 became identified with the banking business as a stockholder and cashier
of the First State Bank of Cathay, in which capacity he is still serving. The bank was
organized in 1904, by T. L. Beiseker, who became its first president and is still in control,
while C. L. Bishop is acting as vice president. Its capital is ten thousand dollars, with un-
divided profits of five thousand dollars and a surplus of ten thousand dollars. The afltairs of
the bank are in a most flourishing condition and its officers are men of known reliability and
trustwortliiness. In addition to banking Mr. Denison is also interested in farming and is
successfully operating two sections of land in Wells county but makes his home in Cathay.
In 1894 Mr. Denison was united in marriage to Miss Emily Sims, who is a native of
England and was about seven years of age when she came to the United States and became
a resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she made her home until she became the wife
of Mr. Denison. Fonr children have been born to them, of whom three are living, namely:
Alice, Phyllis and Clinton. The family is one of prominence in the community where they
reside.
K. A. BAIOCE.
K. A. Bakke, senior member of the firm of Bakke & Trapp, dealers in farm implements
at Marion, was born in Norway on the 5th of December, 1868, but almost his entire life has
been passed on this side of the Atlantic, for he was but five years of age when brought to
the United States by his parents, Amund and Margaret (TJlsaker) Bakke, who were likewise
natives of the land of the midnight sun, whence they crossed the Atlantic to the new world
in 1873, making their Avay to Goodhue county, ISlinnesota. Mr. Bakke rented land there and
cultivated a farm until 1876. when he removed to North Dakota, which was thirteen years
before the admission of the state into the Union. He settled on a homestead twenty-five
miles southwest of Fargo, near Kindred, and at once began the arduoiis task of converting
the wild prairie into productive fields. He persevered in the undertaking and improved and
452 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
operated his land for fourteen years, at the end of wliiili time he sold out to his sons, K. A.
and Tliore Bakke, although he continued to make liis home on the farm throughout his
remaining days. He passed away January 30, 1914, having for more than forty years sur-
vived his wife, who died in 1S73, just a month after their arrival in America.
K. A. Bitkke was reared and educated in Jlinnesota and Xorth Dakota, remaining with
his father until he reached the age of twenty-seven years. Not long afterward he and his
brotlier purchased the old home place of the father and devoted about three years to its
further development and improvement. K. A. Bakke then sold his interest to his brother
and took up the profession of teaching, which he successfully followed for two years in Cass
county and for five years in Richland county. In 1903 he arrived in Marion, where he engaged
in the hardware business in partnership with O. T. Holtgard, that relation being maintained
until 190G, when Mr. Holtgard disposed of his interest to B. Tobiason. After a time Mr.
Bakke bought out his partner and later disposed of his store to a St. Paul Ihm, but after
thiee years he bought it back and in 1915 admitted John R. Trapp to a partnership under
the present firm style of Bakke & Trapp. They have a well appointed store and tlieir sales
reach gratifying proportions, for their stock includes a full line of shelf and heavy hardware
and their business methods commend them to the confidence and respect of the public. In
1909 Mr. Bakke bought a half section of land three miles from JIarion which he improved.
In November, 1906, Mr. Bakke was united in marriage to Mrs. Eflie Root and they have
become the parents of five sons, Arthur, Irvin, Oswald, Woodrow and Morris. In religious
faith Mr. Bakke is a Lutheran, while his wife belongs to the Congregational church. Fra-
ternally he is connected with the Masons, being a member of Dickey Lodge, No. 63, A. F.
& A. M., of Dickey, North Dakota, and he is most loyal to the teachings of the craft.
Politically he is a republican and has served as town clerk of Marion, while for six years
he has been a member of the school board. He is deeply interested in matters pertaining to
tlie welfare of tlie community and is never remiss in the duties of citizenship.
JLARK JOHNSON.
. Mark Johnson, manager of the Potter, Garrick & Potter elevator of Fullerton, also
actively engaged in farming and well known as one of the representative citizens of Dickey
county, was born in Yorkshire, England, March 1, 1875, a son of David and Harriett (Raw-
ling) Johnson, both of whom were natives of the same county, whence they emigrated to
Canada in the year 1880. They settled first in Toronto, Ontario, but after five years
removed to a farm upon which they lived until they crossed the border into the United
States, establishing their home at Ellendale, Dickey county, North Dakota. There the father
purchased land on which he engaged in general farming for a considerable period but during
the past eight years he has lived retired in Ellendale, enjoying a rest to which his former
labors justly entitle him.
Mark Johnson, having acquired his education in the Ellendale public schools, turned to
the occupation of farming as a life work on attaining his majority and in 1904 made his
first purchase of land, becoming owner of one hundred and sixty acres two and one-half
miles west of Fullerton. In 1909 he purchased three hundred and twenty acres adjoining the
original tract and continues to operate his farm, which he has brought to a high state of-
cultivation, employing the most modern scientific methods in the production of his crops and
the care of his stock. He is an extensive breeder and raiser of Duroc-Jersey hogs and Gallo-
wa.y cattle and his live stock interests constitute an important feature of his business. In
1909 he further extended his activities by accepting the position of manager of the elevator
at Fullerton owned by the Caldwell Elevator Company, which sold to the firm of Potter,
Garrick & Potter in 1915. Mr. Johnson has had charge of this elevator for seven years and
during 1915 purchased two hundred thousand bushels of gi-ain for the company. He dis-
plays marked business enterprise and in inatters of importance his judgment is seldom, if
ever, at fault.
In 1910 occurred the marriage of Mr. Johnson and Miss Minnie Singleton, of Oakes, North
Dakota, and they have many friends in Fullerton and throughout the surrounding district.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 453
Jlr. Johnson bL'longs to Fullerton Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., and in politics is a republican, active in
the local ranks of his party. For the past twelve years he has been a member of the
republican central committee of Dickey county and lias at different times served as a dele-
gate to the state conventions of his party, while in the republican caucus of 1916 he was
nominated for the office of county treasurer. His opinions carry weight in party councils,
for his loyalty is recognized and his fellow townsmen, moreover, appreciate his ability and
trustworthiness, knowing that on all occasions he has manifested a public-spirited devotion
to the general good.
JOHN R. TRAPP.
John R. Trapp, junior partner in the firm of Bakke & Trapp, hardware and implement
dealers of Marion, was born in Wisconsin in November, 1879, a son of Dillman C. and Lena
(Greening) Trapp. The father, a native of Wisconsin, is a farmer by occupation and fol-
lowed that pursuit in the Badger state until 1881, when he went to South Dakota and
purchased land in Grant county, thereafter devoting his attention to its improvement and
cultivation until 1904, when he arrived in Lamoure county. North Dakota, and invested in
land three miles from Marion. This he is still operating, being numbered among the repre-
sentative agriculturists of his locality.
John R. Trapp was reared and educated in Grant count}', South Dakota, and the spirit
of western enterprise and progress has found expression in his life thi'oughout his entire
connection with the interests of the Dakotas. His youthful days were largely devoted to
the acquirement of a public school education and after he attained his majority he pur-
chased land in Grant county. South Dakota, bending his energies tow'ard its further develop-
ment and improvement. This he continued to cultivate for thirteen years and in the fall of
1906 he came to Lamoure county, where he purchased two hundred and forty acres of land
four miles south of Marion. With characteristic energy he began to improve that property
and there carried on general farming until 1913, when he rented the place and removed to
Marion, purchasing an interest in a hardware business. Selling out in September, 1915, he
soon afterward purchased an interest in the hardware and implement business of K. A. Bakke,
forming the present firm of Bakke & Trapp. His interest centers not only in trying to
make sales but he also tries to please his patrons and the prices of the firm are fair and
reasonable. In addition to his commercial interests ]\Ir. Trapp is engaged in the insurance
business, handling both fire and lightning insurance.
On the 16th of March, 1904, Mr. Trapp was united in marriage to Miss Mary Moser
and to them have been born three children: Earl, Ethel and Lj'le. The parents are members
of the German Evangelical church and Mr. Trapp votes with the republican party, believing
that its platform contains the best elements of good government.
LEWIS M. DOERSCHLAG.
Lewis M. Doerschlag, who since 1903 has been engaged in general merchandising in
Braddock and is now senior partner in the L. M. Doerschlag Company, which controls an
extensive business, has throughout his entire life displayed a spirit of marked enterprise and
progress. He has readily recognized and utilized business opportunities and has extended
his efforts into the field of banking and of farming, all of which interests are conducted with
equal success. He was born May 2, 1861, in Germany, while his parents were on a visit in
that countr}-. He is a son of Alfred P. and Caroline (Hendricks) Doerschlag, both of whom
were natives of Germany. The father became a wholesale liquor dealer in Madison, Wis-
consin, having crossed the Atlantic to the new world in 1S52, after which he continued
to make his home in the Wisconsin capital. At the time of the Civil w'ar he responded to
the country's call for troops, becoming a lieutenant in a Wisconsin regiment, with which
454 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
he served until killod in battle. His widow survives and is now a resident of Lincoln,
Nebraska.
Lewis M. Doerschlag was but an infant at the time his father was killed. He after-
ward was taken to Beloit, Iowa, where liis youthful days were passed and his education was
acquired. He later engaged in railroadins: for a time and at lengtli removed to South
Dukota, whore he made his home until December 25, 1SS4, when he arrived in Emmons
county, Xorth Dakota, and took up a homestead which he improved and developed. He
only followed farming for four years, however, and then turned his attention to the cattle
business, in which he has engaged at intervals since 1888. He has been interested in mer-
chandising since 1903, at which date he established a general store in Braddock which he is
now conducting under the firm style of the L. JI. Doerschlag Company, for James McCuskcr
and S. .J. Jloen have been admitted to partnership. They carry a large and carefully
selected stock of goods and enjoy an extensive and well merited patronage. In addition to
his mercantile interests Mr. Doerschlag is active in financial circles, being now president of
the Emmons County State Bank at Braddock, which is capitalized for ten thousand dollars
and whicli has deposits amounting to about one hundred tlumsand dollars. The other ollicers
of the bank are J. William Baxter, vice president; H. W. Allen, cashier; and John Aliens-
worth, assistant cashier, llr. Doerschlag is also a stockholder and director in the Braddock
Elevator Company and he has valuable and extensive farming interests, owning thirty-two
hunilrcd acres of land.
In April, 1897, Mr. Doerschlag was united in marriage to Miss Lillian Robinson and
they have become the parents of five children: Fay, Eay, Gladys, Nellie and Maxine. Ths
family attend the Union church and Mr. Doerschlag gives his political support to the
republican party, but while interested in the vital questions and issues of the day and well
informed concerning the political situation, he does not seek nor desire oflice, having always
preferred to concentrate his energies upon his business ail'airs, which have been continually
growing in volume and importance. His commercial and financial connections are now exten-
sive and he ranks among the prosperous and prominent citizens of Emmons count}'.
THOMAS D. ]MOEROW.
Tliomas D. ilorrow, attorney at law i)racticing at Drake, is a native son of Wisconsin,
his birth havin:r occurred at River Falls, that state, on the 7th of December, 1874, his parents
being Thomas D. and Agnes (McCIure) Morrow, who were natives of the north of Ireland.
The father came to America in 1846 and it? was in 1865 that Agnes McClure crossed the
Atlantic. He was a river m.an and for several years worked on boats but in 1851 went to
Wisconsin, where he took up land and began farming, devoting his time and energies to
the cultivation and improvement of his property until his life's labors were ended in death
in April, 1898. His widow survived him for about thirteen years, passing away January 1,
1911.
Thomas D. Morrow was reared and educated in his native city, attending the State
Normal School there. He afterward took up the profession of teaching as well a.s the occu-
pation of farming in Traverse county, Minnesota, where he remained for three years, but
with the desire to become a mcmbe;- of the bar he entered the University of Minnesota in
1900 and was graduated on the comjiletion of Ihe law course in June, 1903. He then removed
to Bowdon, North Dakota, and entered upon the practice of his profession, while at the
same time he filed on a homestead and also served as postmaster of the town. For three
years he practiced there and then removed to Denhofl", where he followed his profession for
two years. At the end of that time the county Avas divided and the county seat was estab-
lished at McClusk)'. Mr. Morrow was appointed state's attorney and accordingly removed
to McClusky, where for four years he occupied the oflice, making an excellent record in that
position. In 1914 he removed to Drake, McHenry county, where he has since engaged in the
private practice of law. His ability is widelj' recognized and is attested by many well
known and prominent citizens of the northern part of the state. He is now accorded a large
and distinctively representative clientage that connects him with much important litigation
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 455
and his presentation of a cause before the courts is al\va\'S clear and lucid, never failing
to impress court or jury and seldom failing to win the desired verdict. Mr. Morrow was the
first states attorney of Sheridan county and was very active in bringing about the division
of the county, which he named.
On the 22d of October, 1905, Mr. Morrow was united in marriage to Miss Ida Olafson
and they have become the parents of four children: Harry L., born June 10, 1907; Phillip
S., December 18, 1908; Thomas D., May 6, 1911; and Duane McClure, December 15, 1914.
Mr. Morrow exercises his right of franchise in support of the principles and candidates
of the republican party and fraternally he is connected with the Masons, the Odd Fellows
and the Knights of the Maccabees. In the first named organization he has attained high
rank and is a member of the Jlystic Shrine. He and his wife hold membership in the
Congiegational church and warm regard is entertained for them throughout the community
in which they live.
CALVIN SPENCE BEIGHLE.
With the development of Ward county Calvin Spence Beighle, now a retired farmer
living in Sawyer, has been closely associated. He was born in Ford county, Illinois, Decem-
ber 5, 1871, a son of Elias B. and Catherine (Wallace) Beighle. The father's birth occurred
in Butler county, Pennsylvania, in 1836 and there he was reared and educated, removing
to Adams county, Ohio, in 1851, making the trip westward by boat on the Ohio river. He
engaged in farming near the town of Tranquility for eleven years, or until 1863, when, in
response to the country's call for troops, he enlisted as a member of Company D, Second
Ohio Heavy Artillery, with which he served for two and a half years. He was promoted
successively to the rank of corporal, sergeant and fu'st sergeant and he was on active duty
in Tennessee, guarding the mountain passes until honorably discharged in 1865. He then
returned to Adams county, Ohio, and in 1869 removed to Ford county, Illinois, where he con-
tinuously engaged in farming until 1904, when he retired from business life and took up his
abode in Eoberts, where he passed away in 1S09. At difl'erent times he held local offices in
his township, was also connected with the school board and was a member of the Grand
Army of the Republic. His wife was born in Adams county, Ohio, near Tranquility, in
1842, was reared and educated there and passed away on the old homestead farm in Illinois
in 1883.
Calvin S. Beighle spent his youthful days un<ler the parental roof and supplemented his
dit-trict school training by study in Grand Prairie Seminary at Onarga, Illinois. In early
manhood he taught school in his native county for five years and in 1900 he arrived in
Ward county. North Dakota, taking up a homestead on section 27, Willis township, near
Sawyer. He was accompanied by his two brothers and a sister. Miss Turie Beighle, and
all took up homesteads. They were the first settlers in their part of Ward county who were
actual farmers, their neighbors all being ranchmen. Calvin S. Beighle proved up on his
property in 1901 and returned to Roberts, Illinois, where he engaged in the farm implement
business until 1906. He then again located on his homestead, which he further cultivated
and improved until 1912, when he retired and went to Sawyer, renting his farms, compris-
ing four hundred eighty acres. He is now secretary, treasurer and manager of the Farmers
Elevator Company at Sawyer.
On the 2d of April, 1902, at Roberts. Illinois, Mr. Beighle was married to Miss Irene B.
Bunker, who was born at that place and there obtained her education. She is a daughter
of J. E. and Hannah M. (Bigelow) Bunker, natives of Maine. Her father was a sailor and
served in the United States Navy during the Civil war. After the close of hostilities he
went upon a whaling vessel and in that connection twice sailed around the world, but
eventually established his home in Ford county, Illinois, where he engaged in farming. To
Mr. and Mrs. Beighle has been born a daughter, Grace Louella, whose birth occurred in
Roberts, Illinois, in 1913.
With community affairs Mr. Beighle has been closely associated. He was the organizer
of Willis township, Ward county, and was the first chairman of the township board. He
456 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
also served on the school board as long as he remained upon the farm and at the present
time he is a member of the town and village boards and also of the school board of Sawyer.
His political allegiance is given to the republican party and in 191-1 he was its candidate for
representative in the state legislature, lie belongs to the Congregational church and is a
member of its choir, possessing an excellent voice. He is rated as one of Sawyer's pro-
gressive citizens, enterprising and alert, and wliat he has accomidishca entitles him to rank
with the leading men of the town.
GILBERT W. STEWART.
Gilbert W. Stewart, editor and proprietor of the Wilton News, imblished at Wilton,
North Dakota, was born on the 24tli of July, 1874, near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, his
parents being William G. and .Jennie (Wright) Stewart, the former born in York county,
Pennsylvania, in 1840, and the latter in Ohio in 1849. The mother is now deceased, but the
father, who is a Presbyterian minister, is still living in the Keystone state.
Gilbert W. Stewart passed' his boyhood and youth in Pennsylvania and acquired his
early education in the public schools near Pittsburgh. Later he was graduated from Wash-
ington and Jefferson College at Washington, Pennsylvania, with the degree of A. B., and
later entered the Western Theological Seminary at Pittsburgii, having previously determined
to enter the ministry of the Presbyterian eliurch. Before attending the last named institu-
tion, Iiowever, he had taught school for one year and was in the employ of the Westinghouse
Air Brake Company for a time.
In 1905 Mr. Stewart came to North Dakota and entered upon his ministerial labors. He
began preaching in the wilderness among the cowboys, who played many jokes upon him,
so that his life among them was not a particularly enviable one. For two summers he had
charge of a church at Haley, North Dakota, seventy-five miles south of Dickinson, and then
removed to Wilton as pastor of the Presbyterian church, which he served for two years.
He next had charge of the church at New Salem for a time but later returned to Wilton
and on the 1st of Septemfcer, 1910, i)ur<hased the Wilton News. This paper was established
by M. H. Jewel and John Satterlain. of Washburn, who sold it to E. A. Hull, and from him
Mr. Stewart purchased it. Und'er his management it has gained a large circulation and has
become a paying enterprise with a good advertising patronage.
It was on the 1st of September, 1909, that Mr. Stewart was united in marriage to Miss
Charlotte Macomber, a daughter of Walter P. and Jeanette Maeomber, who are natives of
Maine and Pennsylvania respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Stewart have two children: Gilbert W.,
Jr., and .Jeanette Macomber. They are people of prominence in the community where they
reside and wherever known are held in the highest esteem. Mr. Stewart is a progressive
republican in politics. Both personally and through his paper he exerts a wide inlluence for
good, doing all in his power to promote the moral and material welfare of town and county.
FRANlx W. YOUNGMAN.
l-raid< W. Youngnian, who is engaged in the general real estate, loan and collection
business at Minot, was born at Ellsworth, Wisconsin, September 12, 1863, a son of .Jacob and
Elizabeth (Sepp) Youngman, who were natives of Germany, the former born in 1837 arid
the latter in 1842. Jacob Youngman was a youth of sixteen years when in 1843 he crossed
the Atlanlic and his wife was eleven years of age when she came to the United States. In
early manhood he engaged in merchandising. After living for a time in southeastern Indiana
he removed to Wisconsin about 1852, settling in Ellsworth county. The trip was made with
a party of emigrants who drove o\ teams to their destination. He secured a farm of two
hundred and forty acres and continued his residence upon his home place up to the time of
his demise. At various periods he was called to public ollice, serving at one time as treasurer
of his county and in various township positions. He died June 4, 1884, while his wife
FR.^'K W. YOUNGXIAN
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 459
survived until September 9, 1S86. In their family were nine children, of whom Frank W.
Youngman was the fourth in order of birth.
Frank W. Youngman attended the public schools of Wisconsin and pursued a business
course in St. Paul, where he was graduated with the class of 1883. He ari^ved first in
Dakota territory in 1882, at which time he took up his abode at Mitchell, where he learned the
druf business. There he remained until 1886, when because of the close confinement of the
store he disposed of his interests at that place and returned to St. Paul, where he engaged in
the real estate business until 1894. He then came to North Dakota and was employed as a
salesman by the firm of Wemott, Howard & Company, wholesale importers of cut glass
and silverware, with headquarters at Grand Forks and Minot, but in 1901 he removed to
Minot, where he opened a real estate office and has since been active in that line of
business. In 1907 he established the Frank W. Youngman Land Company and has since
conducted a general real estate, loan and collection business, having a good clientage which
makes his undertaking a profitable one. He is also the owner of farm lands in North
Dakota, which he rents, as he devotes his entire attention to his real estate business and
loan and collection interests in Minot. He displays sound business judgment and keen
sao-acity and his unfaltering energy has been one of the salient features in his growing
success.
On the 26th of February, 1901, Mr. Youngman was united in marriage to Miss Ida V.
Lindquist, a native of Chicago and a daughter of John and Albertina Lindquist, who were
born in Sweden and are now deceased. After emigrating to the United States they estab-
lished their home at Thief River Falls, Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs. Youngman have one son,
Frank W., Jr., who was born December 23, 1903, and is now attending school.
In politics Mr. Youngman is a progressive republican but has never been an ofiice
seeker. He is well known in Masonic circles, holding membership in Adoniram Lodge, No. 91,
F. & A. M., of which he was the first master, in Tirian Chapter, No. 14, R. A. M., and
De Molay Commandery, No. 10, K. T., all of Minot. He also belongs to the Consistory at
Fargo and to Kem Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Grand Forks. He has served several
times as junior warden in the commandery and scribe in the chapter. He was the first
commercial traveler to locate in j\Iinot and organized the j\Iinot Council No. 277, U. C. T.,
of which he was elected the first senior councilor. He also organized the Commercial Club
of Minot, was one of its directors, and for several years was its secretary and treasurer and
at all times has been deeply interested in those activities which work for the upbuilding and
benefit of his city. All such receive his hearty indorsement and cooperation, for he is a
most public-spirited man and one who recognizes the duties and obligations as well as the
privileges of citizenship.
T. E. SLEIGHT.
During a period of sixteen years, covering his residence in North Dakota, T. E. Sleight
has gained a substantial and enviable position in business circles at Drake, where he is con-
nected with various enterprises that have to do with the development, progress and upbuild-
in" of town and county. He now operates an elevator at that place and is also the owner
of the electric light plant and an ice cream factory. Moreover, he is one of the most
prominent farmers of McHenry county and his section of the state, owning and cultivating
eio-hteen hundred and forty acres of land. The story of his progress should serve to inspire
and stimulate others who must depend upon their own resources, as Mr. Sleight has done
from the age of thirteen years. He was bom in Iowa county, Iowa, May 21, 1864, and is a
son of Thomas E. and Laura A. (Predmore) Sleight, who were natives of England. The
father came to America at the age of twenty-one years and settled in Hagerstown, Indiana,
where he worked at the machinist's trade for some time. He then removed to Iowa county,
Iowa, where he entered land, after which his time and energies were devoted to general
farming until his death, which occurred April 14, 1898, when he had attained a venerable
age. His wife survived him until June 19, 1903.
T. E. Sleight remained upon the home farm until thirteen years of age, when he started
Vol. 11— 25
460 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
out to earn his own living, and since that time lias been dependent entirely upon liis own
resources. He went to Des iloines, where lie learned the machinisfs trade, and then took
up railroading, becoming a passenger conductor on the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern
Kailroad, in which position he continued for a number of years. In 1000 he arrived in North
Dakota and filed on a homestead in JIcHenry county, which he began to develop and improve.
At the same time he continued to run his train on the Soo Kailroad and remained active in
railroad work until 1904. He has never ceased his operations along agricultural lines,
however, and from time to time has added to his property as his financial resources have
increased until his holdings now embrace eighteen hundred and forty acres, all of wliich
he farms, and from this extensive tract he derives a gratifying annual income. His farm
work is carried on along practical and progressive lines productive of good results. When
he abandoned railroading in 190-i he established a grain and elevator Ijusiness and also con-
ducted a general store and lumberyard. He still remains active in the grain trade, being
the owner of an elevator at Drake, and in addition he has the electric light plant there
and also engages in the manufacture of ice cream. His bu.siness interests have thus become
extensive and important, ranking him with the alert and enterprising men of McHenry county
whose efforts have been a most potent element in promoting the material progress and
upbuilding of the district. In addition to his other holdings he owns eleven dwelling houses
in Drake. His property holdings also include city realty in Cedar Ivapids. Iowa, and in
addition he is a stockholder in the Providence Life Insurance Company of Bismarck and the
Underwriters of Duluth, Minnesota.
In July, 1905, Mr. Sleight was married to Miss Anna Schaefer. They hold membership
in the Congregational church and Mr. Sleiglit is a member of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows. Politically he is an earnest republican and does everything in his power to pro-
mote the growth and ensure the success of his party because of his earnest belief in ita
principles. He was the first mayor of Drake and aided substantially in organizing and
developing the city and establishing its policy. He has also served on the city council and
for sixteen years has been the efficient and valued president of the school board. He organized
the school districts, incorporated the town, organized the township and named it. It will
thus be seen that his time and energies have been by no means concentrated upon t!ie attain-
ment of individual success. He is never remiss in any duty of citizenship but on the con-
trary has been a leading spirit in promoting public progress and enterprise.
JOHN FRANaS BOOTH.
John Francis Booth, farming on section 13, Sawyer township. Ward county, wa.s born
at Poughkeepsie, New York, October 11, 1862, a son of Charles Gossard and JIary (Laws)
Booth. The father's birth occurred on the Hudson, in New York, and there he remained
until he reached early manhood. Ho became a contractor and architect and to those pur-
suits devoted his attention until the time of the Civil war, when he enlisted in a New York
regiment for active service at the front. He was married in the Empire state and in ISfiG
left New York for Red Wing, Minnesota, traveling westward partly by train and jiartly
by boat. He became a pioneer contractor of that section and there remained until 1870,
when he removed to Sioux Falls, Dakota territory, where he engaged in carpentering. He
also worked at Sioux City, Iowa, and was employed as an architect until 1881, when he
withdrew from that field of business and opened an undertaking establishment at Sioux Falls,
where ho also conducted an art gallery. There ho continued to make his lioine until his death,
which occurred in 191.3, when he was seventy-eight years of age. His wife was born in
England and in her girlhood became a resident of New York, where she was reared and mar-
ried. She passed away in Red W'ing. Minnesota, in ISliO,
John F. Booth was educated in the district schools at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, then a
frontier town, and in the fall of 1879, when a young man, he went to the present site of
Huron, South Dakota, where he engaged in hunting and trapping for two years, or until 1881,
after which he was employed at farm labor until 1882. At that date he went to the Mouse
river in company with his brother Ed and James Wilson, and traveling overland by wagon.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 161
they eventually veached Stevens county, now Ward county, North Dakota, settling near
the present site of the town of Sawyer. John F. Booth was one of the first settlers in that
localit}', there being at the time only three or four settlers who had come two or three weeks
before Mr. Booth came and who had settled along the Mouse river. Mr. Booth squatted on
some land before a survey was made and built a log house, cutting logs in the woods. While
he broke some sod he largely devoted his attention to hunting and trapping, securing fox,
beaver, mink and other fur-bearing animals. He also hunted deer, the hides of which were
sold for the linings of coats and robes. He had to go to Bismarck, a distance of one hundred
and twenty miles, for supplies, generally making the trip twice a year. During the first two
or three years of his residence in Ward county he was employed near Fort Stevenson, work-
ing on the Tom Winston ranch as a hand in the harvest field in order to secure ready money.
After five years he began farming on his own account, devoting his attention to general agri-
cultural pursuits from 1886 until 1892, when he took sheep on shares and raised large bands
of sheep. In 1900, however, he disposed of his sheep and turned his attention to cattle rais-
ing, in which he continued until 1910. In that year he put some of his land under cultivation
and is now farming three hundred and fifty acres in Ward county. He at first secured pre-
emption and tree claims and later he took up a homestead and owns five hundred and twenty
acres. He is now one of the best known farmers in Ward county and his work is carried on
along the most progressive lines. He uses a tractor engine and other modern equipment
and improvements and his farm is adorned with a fine residence and substantial barns and
outbuildings, which furnish ample shelter for grain and stock. He lived in Ward county before
a single town in the county had been established and even before the county as such had an
existence.
In 1887 Mr. Booth was joined in wedlock with Miss Mary A. Wilson at her father's
farm near what was then known as Scriptown, now Velva. She is a daughter of James
Wilson, who came to North Dakota in company with Mr. Booth and his brother. Mrs. Booth
was born in Sioux Falls, Dakota territory, and was reared and educated in Ward county,
where she arrived when a little maiden of but nine summers, coming in 1883. She was one
of the first children born in Sioux Falls, Dakota, and she has lived to see remarkable changes
in her native state and in the localit_y where she now makes her home. Mr. and Mrs. Booth
have become the parents of six children, Charles, Edward, Lawrence, Verne and Vance, twins,
and Pearl, all born where the family homestead is now maintained. The eldest son married
Nellie Arbuckle and yet lives on his father's farm.
Mr. Booth is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and in politics is a republican.
For tlie past two years he has served as justice of the peace of Sawyer township and he
has been a member of the school board in district No. 16 for seven years. ' He is contented,
however, to concentrate his efi'orts upon his business alTairs and while he is now successfully
engaged in the cultivation of his land, he also raises registered shorthorn cattle. He like-
wise owns three houses in Sawyer, which he rents, and his business affairs are thus being
wisely and profitably conducted.
ELDRED B. EOSCOE.
A valuable farming property comprising seven hundred and twenty acres pays tribute
to the care and cultivation of Eldred B. Eoscoe, whose home is situated on section 26, Roscoe
township, Lamoure county. From pioneer times the family has been a prominent one ini
that county and Eldred B. Roscoe has five brothers who are successful and enterprising
farmers and valued citizens of that locality, while the township in which he lives was named
In honor of his father. He was born in Nova Scotia, November 21, 1861, and is a son of
Milledge and Susan (Robinson) Roscoe, who were also natives of Nova Scotia. The father
was a farmer and in the spring of 1880 brought his family to North Dakota, filing on ai
homestead in Lamoure county which he developed and improved, converting the wild land!
into a productive and well kept farm which he continued to cultivate until 1900, when he
retired from business life and removed to Dickey, there remaining until his death, which
462 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
occurred in October, 1905. His widow is still a resident of Dickey and is now seventy-eight
years of age.
Eldred B. Roscoe was reared and educated in his native country, where he remained to
the age of nineteen years and tlien came with his parents to North Dakota, lie, too, filed
on a homestead and with characteristic energy began the arduous task of breaking the sod
and preparing the fields for the plow. Year after year he carefully tilled his farm until 1901,
when he disposed of that property and purchased his father's old home place, adding thereto
until his landed possessions comprise seven hundred and twenty acres of fine land. He has
since lived upon that farm, which responds readily to the care and labor which he bestows
upon it, as his work is at once of a practical and progressive character. His place is pleasantly
situated four and one-half miles northwest of Grand Kapids and five miles southeast of
Dickey, so that the advantages of town life are easily obtainable.
On the 18th of December, ISSS, Mr. Roscoe was united in marriage to Miss Barbara
Walter, of Wisconsin, and they became parents of five children: Ena, Milledge, Ethel,
Florence and Asenath. The wife and mother passed away October 18, 1900, after three
weeks' illness, her death being deeply regretted by many friends who had learned to esteem
her for her admirable traits of character.
Mr. Roscoe gives his political support to the democratic party and has served on the
town board, while for a number of years he was also a member of the school board. He
was also at one time the democratic nominee for the office of representative to the state
legislature and fraternally he is connected with the Masonic order and the Modern Woodmen
of America, while his religious faith is evidenced in his membership in the Baptist church,
to the teachings of which he loyally adheres, ever attempting to follow the Golden Rule
in all liis relations with his fellowmen.
HARRY H. FRANCE.
One of the most prominent business men and influential citizens of Logan county is
Harry H. France, president of the State Bank of Gackle and a dealer in lumber and grain.
He was born on the 6th of March, 1S61, in Summit county. Ohio, of which state his parents,
Isaac W. and Mary A. (Wise) France, were also natives. In early life the father learned the
harness maker's trade, which he followed for some years, and then purchased land in Sum-
mit county and turned his attention to farming. He made many improvements upon his
farm and engaged in its cultivation for many years but is now living retired in Grecnsburg,
Ohio, at the advanced age of eighty-six years, honored and respected by all who know him.
His wife is also living as are all of their seven children, the youngest being now forty-five
years of age.
Harry H. France grew to manhood, in his native state and was educated in the schools
of Greensburg. After putting aside his books he learned the carpenter's and millwright's
trades, at which he continued to work in Ohio and Minnesota for about ten years. He was
next employed as manager of lumberyards for different firms, and in that capacity came to
Gackle, North Dakota, in 1905, being placed in charge of the lumberyard of Salzer & Com-
pany. On coming to Logan county he took up a homestead and has since devoted a portion
of liis time to its improvement and operation. After serving as manager of the lumberyard
in Gackle for six years he purchased an interest in the business and is still a partner in the
firm and is manager of the enterprise. As previously stated he is also president of the State
Bank of Gackle and is a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company of the same place.
On the 9th of December, 18S8. Mr. France was united in marriage to Miss Emily M
Richard, a daughter of David and Anna (Uooverl Richard, who were natives of Ohio. Her
parents were still residing in that state when the Civil war broke out and the father enlisted
in an Ohio regiment, serving until hostilities ceased. Subsequently he removed to Minne-
sota and purchased land sixteen miles from Minneapolis, where he engaged in farming
throughout the remainder of his life, passing away in December, 1913. His widow is still
living. Mr. and Mrs. France are the parents of four children, namely: Oscar, who is now
assistant cashier of the Logan County Bank at Gackle; Abbie, at home; Myrtle, the wife of
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 463
Henry Brooks, a farmer living' near Nortonville, Xorth Dakota ; and Isaac W., a carpenter of
Cackle.
In religious faith Jlr. France is a Methodist and his political support is given the men
and measures of the republican party. He has been honored with official positions of promi-
nence, having served as a representative in the general assemblj- during the sessions of 1911
and 1913. He has also served as school clerk continuously since attaining his majority, the
cause of education having always found in him a warm friend. He is worthy of the high
esteem in which he is uniformly held for his life has been above reproach. In his business
dealings he has always been found upright and honorable and no trust reposed in him has
ever been betrayed.
JOHN SWENSON.
•John Swenson, of Mohall, who is filling the office of states attorney of Renville county,
was born in Kansas in April, 1877, a son of Nels and Betty (Anderson) Swenson, both of
whom were natives of Sweden. In the year 1865 the father bade adieu to friends and native
land and sailed for the new world, attracted by the favorable reports which he had heard
concerning the business opportunities that could be enjoyed on this side of the Atlantic. He
made his way to Kansas, where he took up a homestead claim which he developed and
improved throughout his remaining days. He died in December, 1902, while his widow sur-
vived until Jlay, 1915. They were numbered among the worthy and respected residents of
the community in which they long lived.
John Swenson spent the period of his early boyhood in Kansas and attended the public
schools, but when a lad of only thirteen years he left home and was employed as a farm
hand for several years. Since that time he has been dependent entirely upon his own resources
and deserves much credit for the success which he has achieved. In 1901 he arrived in
Renville county, North Dakota, and for five years was employed in a store in Mohall. Later
he proved up on a homestead and afterward went to Grand Forks, where he became a law
student in the State University. He was graduated with the class of June, 1910, and in
the fall of the same year was elected states attorney of Renville county, which position he
acceptably filled for two years. The succeeding two years were devoted to the private prac-
tice of law but in 1914 he was again elected states attorney and is now occupying that
position. He is a strong and forceful lawyer, clear in argument, logical in his deductions.
He still owns his homestead property of one hundred and sixty acres and also a tract of
equal size adjoining it, and his farming interests are bringing to him a substantial return.
Mr. Swenson has always voted with the republican party since age conferred upon him
the right of franchise and his position upon any vital question is never an equivocal one.
He is a Mason of high rank and has become a member of the Mystic Shrine. His life
exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the craft, which is based upon a recognition of the brother-
hood of mankind. Whatever success he has achieved is attributable entirely to his own
efforts, for by persistent energy he has worked his way upward, utilizing every opportunity
that has come to hand, and, prompted by a laudable ambition, he has directed his elTorts to a
profession where advancement depends entirely upon individual merit and ability.
W. E. DICKINSON.
Important financial interests of Dickey county are in charge of W. E. Dickinson, who is
the cashier of the Fullerton State Bank and also manager of the Fullerton elevator. The
steps of an orderly progression have brought him to the position which he now occupies as
a representative business man of his community. He was born in St. Charles, Minnesota,
May 33, 1876, a son of Jerry and Mary (Pike) Dickinson, the former a native of New York
and the latter of Illinois. They were married, however, in Wisconsin, to which state they
had removed in childhood with their respective parents, both families having been pioneers
464 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
of Illinois and of Wisconsin. Soon after their marriage Mr. and Mr.s. Jerry Dickinson
became residents of Minnesota, whore for many years the former was identified witli the
grain business, while from the farm lands which he owned he received a good rental. Both
he and his wife passed away at Balaton, Jlinnesota.
W. E. Dickinson completed his education in the Balaton high school and in his boyhood
worked upon his father's farm, early becoming familiar with the best methods of tilling
the soil and caring for the crops. At the age of sixteen he took up the study of telegraphy,
to which he devoted his attention for four years. He afterward engaged in the hardware and
machinery business in Balaton in partnership with George A. Tate and was identified with
that undertaking for four years. Through the succeeding year he was emploved by the
Korthwestern Kailway Company in the capacity of brakeman and later lie turned his atten-
tion to the grain trade in Balaton, where in connection with Mr. Tate he operated an inde-
pendent elevator for four years.
In 1906 Mr. Dickinson arrived in Xortli Dakota, making his way to Oakes, where for
a year he had charge of the Blackenburg elevator, and in 1907 he came to Pullerton as man-
ager of the elevator of the Marshall, McCartney Company. The business was reorganized
in 1914 under the name of the FuUerton Elevator Company, Mr. Dickinson remaining in
charge after the reorganization and so continuing to the present time. In 1912 he accepted
the position of cashier of the Fullerton State Bank and is also serving in that capacity at
the present time. He is most faithful to the important interests entrusted to his care and
his business ability constitutes an element in their growing success. Individually he owns
three hundred and twenty acres of farm land four miles west of Fullerton, which" he is con-
verting into one of the highly improved farms of Dickey county.
In 1907 was celebrated the marriage of W. E. Dickinson and Miss Mabel Selle, of Poy-
nette, Wisconsin, and to them have been bom four children: Jerry, Gene, Conrad and Joe B.—
a promising family of young sons of whom the parents have every reason to be proud. Mr.
Dickinson belongs to Oakes Lodge. F. & A. M.; and Fullerton Lodge, No. 120, I. 0. O. F., and
exemplifies in his life the beneficent spirit upon which those organizations rest. Early trained
to habits of industry, economy and perseverance, those qualities have constituted the basis
upon which he has builded his later success, gaining a creditable place in the business circles
of his couiitv.
WILLIAM BAXTER.
William Baxter, vice president of the Emmons County State Bank at Braddock, was for-
merly actively identified with farming and stock raising interests, which he conducted on an
extensive scale. He came to the northwest from Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred
in that state on the 8th of October, 1864. His parents, John and Esther (McCYeary) Baxter,
were also natives of the Keystone state and the father there followed farming throughout
his entire life. Both he and his wife passed away in the year 1870.
William Baxter was reared in Pennsylvania and was also educated there. He worked
out as a farm hand in the Keystone state until 1884, when he went to Ohio and was employed
as engineer in a planing mill until 1886. In March of the latter year he arrived in Emmons
county. North Dakota, where he took up a homestead which he improved, and after winninu'
title to that property he bought more land from time to time as his financial resources
increased until he is now the owner of over fifteen hundred acres, constituting a very val-
uable property. He was busily and successfully engaged in farming until lOLI, when he
removed to Braddock, where he also owns property. He is now in considerable measure living
retired from the active conduct of business yet is the vice president of the Emmons County
State Bank, in which he owns an interest.
Mr. Baxter has three children, Nellie, .Tohn Bernard and William Wayne. Mr. Baxter
holds membership in the Presbyterian church, while his wife is of the Catholic faith. In
politics he is a republican and for eight and one-half years he served as county commissioner
of Emmons county, discharging his duties most promptly and faithfully, his efforts contribut-
ing much to the welfare of the county. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 465
Pythias. For three decades he has lived iu Emmons county and throughout the entire period
of his residence here has so conducted his interests and directed his life that he enjoys in
the fullest measure the conhdence and goodwill of those with whom he has been brought
in. contact.
HENHY P. WEBER.
Henry P. Weber, engaged in the abstract business at Jloliall, was born in Will county,
Illinois, December 18, 1880, a son of Otto A. and Julia (Lee) Weber, the former a native of
Germany and the latter of Norway. In early bo.yhood the father came to the United States
and established his home in Illinois. He took up the occupation of farming and bought land
in that state which he cultivated for several years. Prior to that time, however, he learned
the carpenter's trade and also followed it to some extent. In 1886 he became a resident of
Renville county, Minnesota, where he purchased land and carried on general farming for a
number of years or until he retired from active business life. He and his wife are now resi-
dents of Franklin, Minnesota.
Henry P. Weber was a lad of but si.x years at the time of the removal of the family
to Minnesota and in that state he pursued his education, remaining under the parental roof
until he had attained his majority. He then started out in the business world on his own
account and for five years was employed as a bookkeeper in ^Minot. He afterward filled
the office of deputy register of deeds in Ward county for three years, on the expiration of
which period he engaged in the abstract business in Minot for two years. In 1910 he arrived
in Mohall, where he opened a set of abstract books, and he is now condvicting business along
that line under the name of the Renville County Abstract Company, in which connection
he has gained a large clientage that makes his business a profitable one.
On the 1st of January, 1903, Ml'. Weber was married to Miss Cecelia Torbenson and
they have become parents of three children, Ernest L., Arthur C. and Laura I. Mr. and
Mrs. Weber are members of the Lutheran church and his political endorsement is given to
the republican party, which finds in him a stalwart champion. He is now serving for the
second term as city treasurer of Mohall and he is also a member of the school board, of which
he served as clerk for two years. His aid and influence are always given on the side of
improvement and advancement and his eft'orts have been a potent element in the work
of public progress in the northern part of tlie state.
W. L. JOHNSON.
W. L. .Johnson, cashier of the Ashley State Bank and well known as one of the progres-
sive young business men of Ashley, was born in Hoskins, Mcintosh county, North Dakota,
November 27, 1887, a son of Clarence D. and Louisa (Castor) Johnson, the former a native
of Buckeye. Hardin county, Iowa, and the latter of Michigan. In 188.5 Clarence D. .Johnson,
then a young man, removed to South Dakota, becoming the first white settler of Brown
county, and later he made his way northw^ard, establishing his home near Green Lake, Mcin-
tosh county. North Dakota. 'When the old town of Hoskins was laid out he removed to
that point and there remained until the town was moved to Ashley, of which place he then
became a resident, continuing to make his home there up to the time of his death, which
occurred in November, 1898. He was a republican in his political views and was elected
the first sheriff of Mcintosh county, acceptably occupying the office for two terms. He
belonged to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and to the Ancient Order of United Work-
men, and Ashley accounted him one of her foremost citizens.
To the public schools of Ashley. W. L. .Johnson is indebted for the early educational
privileges which he enjoyed and later he attended school in Oregon, the mother having removed
with her family to that state after her husband's death. There she still makes her home,
but after six years spent in Oregon. W. L. Johnson in 1906 returned to Mcintosh county,
466 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
settling at Wishek, where he received his initial training in the banking business as an
employe in the First State Bank, with which he was connected for two years. He then
returned to Ashley to accept the cashiership of the Ashley State Bank, in which important
position he has since continued. Aside from his interest in the bank he owns two hundred
and fortj' acres of land in Mcintosh count}' and his farming interests constitute an element
of his growing success.
In 1910 llr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Mildred Warren, of Whitehall,
Wisconsin, and to them has been born one child, Claire W. In politics Mr. Johnson is a
republican and fraternally he is connected with Ashley Lodge, No. 115, I. O. 0. F. He is a
young man who early in life has learned the lesson of the value of earnest, persistent effort,
and the intelligent direction of his labors has brought to him substantial and well merited
success.
MORTEN MOETENSEN.
Among the farming population of Cass county a large percentage have come from
Norway and have proved their worth as citizens in aiding in the development and upbuilding
of the district in which they have located. Among the number whose work has been a most
creditable and valuable force in advancing the agricultural development of Cass county
is Morten Mortensen, who was born in the land of the midnight sun December 3, 1850,
his parents being Morten and Kari Mortensen, who were also natives of that country,
where their entire lives were passed They had a family of ten children, seven of whom
are living, three being still residents of Norway, while four have come to America.
Morten Mortensen was reared and educated in Norway and in 1870 crossed the
Atlantic, making his way to Minnesota, where he spent a year. On the 1st of April,
1871, he arrived in North Dakota, taking up his abode in Harwood township, Cass county,
where he lived for several years. In 1877 he filed on the farm which he now occupies on
section 28, Harwood township, comprising at the present time two hundred acres of fine
land which he has since splendidly improved. When he first came to the county he worked
at the carpenter's trade but with the exception of a brief period has always carried on
general agricultural pursuits and success has rewarded his efforts in substantial measure
In 1890 Mr. Mortensen was united in marriage to Miss Ingrid Youngberg. a native
of Sweden who came to the United States in 1882, locating in Cass county, North Dakota.
To them have been born three children, namely: Minnie A., who is a graduate of tlie Oak
Grove Seminary and is now teaching school; Martin Arthur, deceased; and Oliver Kenneth,
who is ten years of age.
The parents are members of the Lutheran church and, possessing many sterling traits
of character, they have gained the warm regard and friendship of many with whom they
have come in contact. Mr. Mortensen is independent in politics and for a period of ten
years has filled the office of township clerk. He has also long been a member of the town-
ship board of supervisors, of which he was chairman for several years. His has been
an active and well spent life and he is a self-made man who as the architect of his own
fortunes has builded wisely and well.
THEODORE S. LINDLAND.
Native-born citizens, it often seems, come by the privileges of American life too easily
to appreciate them in the fullest degree. At least some of those who have sacrificed and
suffered to obtain them value these blessings more highly than those to whom they come as a
matter of course. Believing that ho might have better opportunities in the new world
than he could secure in his native land, Theodore S. Lindland, when a young man of twenty
years, crossed the Atlantic to America and made his way direct to North Dakota, since
which time he has continued a valued and representative resident of the state. He is now
successfully engaged in the practice of law at Valley City, although in previous years he
THEODORE S. LINDLAND
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 469
was identified with agricultural interests in Barnes county. His birth occurred at Sogndal,
Norway, October 30, 1867, his parents being Tonnes and Hansine (Rossland) Lindland, the
former also a native of Sogndal, Norway, while the latter is a representative of old
Scandinavian stock. The father died during the boyhood of his son Theodore, who obtained
his education in the public schools of Norway and during the course of his studies took up
the study of English. He was a young man of nineteen years when in 1887 he crossed the
Atlantic and made his way direct to Barnes county, where resided his brother, A. W.
Lindland, who had become owner of a farm in the township of Thordenskjold and who had
come to the new world in 1884. After living in this country for fifteen years, however, he
returned to Norway in 1899 and occupies the old family homestead there.
Theodore S. Lindland took up the occupation of farming and two years later, in order
to further perfect himself in the use of the English language, he attended Willmar Seminary
at Willmar, Minnesota, where he pursued his studies from 1889 until 1891. Returning to
Barnes county, he was occupied in various ways. For a time he was a student in the State
Normal School at Valley City and for several terms he taught school but regarded this
merely as an initial step to other professional labor, for it was his desire to become a member
of the bar and with that end in view he began studying in the office of Frank J. Young,
under whose direction he read law until admitted to the bar in October, 1896. He afterward
practiced with Mr. Young, who was a member of the firm of Y'oung & Burke, and when
Mr. Young withdrew from that firm Mi". Lindland became the associate of Mr. Burke on the
1st of January, 1900, under the firm style of Burke & Lindland. That association was
maintained until 1905, when Mr. Burke became district judge, and through the intervening
period to the present Mr. Lindland has practiced alone. He is withal an earnest student,
well versed in the principles of jurisprudence and seldom, if ever, at fault in the application
of a legal principle. His strength lies in counsel rather than in pleading and his judgment
is most sound and discriminating. His ability has won him a good clientage of a distinctively
representative character. Fraternally Mr. Lindland is a prominent Mason, having taken the
degrees of lodge, chapter, commandery and Mystic Shrine, and he exeiqplifies in his life the
beneficent spirit and purpose of the craft.
HON. DENNIS EDWARD BLAKE.
Hon. Dennis Edward Blake, now living at St. Paul, is vice president of the Citizens
State Bank of Lisbon and has been one of the legislators of North Dakota. Throughout
the period of his residence in this state he ever seemed to readily recognize its possibilities
and labored eflfectively to promote its welfare and advance its progress. He was born in
Huron county, Ontario, January 25, 1869, a son of Thomas and Mary (Geary) Blake,
both of whom were natives of Ireland. In his childhood days the father came with his
parents to the United States and settled in Vermont, where he was reared t.o manhood
and then removed to Canada. He turned his attention to farming and stock raising and
was for many years one of the extensive stock buyers and shippers of Huron county.
He married Mary Geary, who in her girlhood days was brought to the United States by
her parents, who established their home in Clark county, Wisconsin. It was in the year
1881 that Mr. Blake removed with his family to Wahpoton, North Dakota, where he and hia
older sons took up land amid the wild rice districts of that part of Ransom county which
is now Sargent county. He and one son secured three quarter sections, a part of which is
still owned by the son. Locating upon that place, the father concentrated his energies upon
its development and improvement and passed away upon the farm in 1885.
Dennis E. Blake was a youth of twelve years at the time of the removal to this state
and in the public schools of Wahpeton and in the district schools near his father's home
he acquired his education. He also attended the Milnor Normal School and through broad
study in his youthful days and through later experiences he has become a well informed
man, possessing an observing eye and retentive memory. He took up the profession of
teaching as a vocation and for ten years gave hia attention to educational work. During that
470 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
period ho also liecanie tlic owner of ono luiiulivd and sixty acres of land and increased his
lioldings to three liundred and twenty acres. During the last year in which he engaged
in teaching he took care of eigliteen head of stock as well as managing his school, for all
tlirough tlie decade of his educational work he was farming as well. In 1898 he established
a lumber yard and in 1899 became connected with the banking business at De Lamcre, Sar-
gent county, under the name of the De Lamere State Bank, which was capitalized for ten
thousand dollars and had a surplus of fifteen thousand dollars. Mr. Blake was president of
the banlc for eight years and he also owned and conducted extensive mercantile interests
at that place but in 1914 disposed of his banking and commercial connections at De
Lamere and removed to Lisbon, investing largely in the stock of the Citizens State Bunk,
of which he was made vice president. His business affairs have been most wisely managed
and he is today a large owner of farm lands in Ransom county.
His activities have ever covered a broad scope and have been a marked element in
promoting public progress. While in De Lamere he was instrumental in organizing the
Tri-County Drainage Compan.y, an eighty thousand dollar project, and he it was who
pushed the work of putting in the ditch to a successful completion. The result of his
labors was so satisfactory and beneficial that his fellow townsmen, who recognized his
public spirit in this connection, elected him to the legislature, on which occasion he polled
every republican vote in his district. In 1916 he was elected president of the Fourth District
Group of the North Dakota Bankers Association. With keen insight he recognized oppor-
tunities which he utilized to the benefit of his individual fortunes and for the public prosperity
as well.
In 1892 Mr. Blake was united in marriage to Miss Phoebe C. Blouin, of De Lamere, by
whom he had six children, five of whom still survive, as follows: Margaret C, who com-
pleted the five year course in the State Normal School at Valley City; Henry and Grace P.,
both of whom are graduates of the Lisbon high school; and George and Madge, high
school students.
Mr. Blake is a prominent representative of Masonry, belonging to Corner Stone Lodge,
No. 99, A. F. & A. M., of Fergus Falls; Minneapolis Consistory, No. 2, A. & A. S. R.;
and El Zagal Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He and his wife are members of Minerva Chapter,
No. 67, 0. E. S. He likewise belongs to Lisbon Lodge, No. 69, K. P., to El Lizri Temple, No. 8,
D. O. K. K., and to several beneficial orders. He studies closely questions and issues of the
day and his view of any vital situation is a comprehensive one.
CECIL C. CHAMBERLAIN.
Cecil 0. Chamberlain, j)ostmaster of Enderlin. was born in Maine on the 1 Uh of
February, 1853, a son of Luther and Cornelia (Hammond) Chamberlain, who were also
natives of the Pine Tree state and representatives of old New England families which were
represented in the American soldiery of the Revolutionary war. Cecil C. Chamberlain was
educated at the Maine State College in Orono, where he was graduated with the class of
1878, winning the degree of Bachelor of Science. He began teaching school during his
college term and followed that profession through five terms. In the fall of 1878 he went
west to Geneseo, Illinois, where he engaged in the lumber business, continuing active along
that line until 1881, when he removed to Anoka, Minnesota, where he was identified with
the lumber trade for two years. He afterward engaged in the furniture business there for
three years but in the summer of 1887 removed to Sault Saint Marie, Canada, where he
conducted a real estate business. In 1889, however, he returned to Minnesota, settling in
Duluth, where he conducted a hardware store until the fall of 1891, at which date he
arrived at Enderlin and accepted a position with the Sawyer & Arnold Lumber Company.
About 1898 the company sold out to the Salzer Lumber Company, with which Mr. Chamber-
lain remained until 1903, in which year he organized the Chamberlain & Wallace Lumber
Company, Incorporated, of which he became secretary and treasurer. He is still active in
the management and control of that business, which is today one of the important commer-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 471
cial enterprises of the city, and at the same time he is filling the office of postmaster, to
which he was appointed in April, 1915.
In 1881 Mr. Chamberlain was joined in wedlock to Miss Mai-y Eldridge, of Minneapolis,
who was born in England. They had a daughter, Edith, who passed away in 1908, when
eighteen years of age. They also adopted a daughter, Jennie, who is now living in Spokane,
Washington.
In his political views Mr. Chamberlain is a stalwart democrat and for several
years served as a member of the board of aldermen and as a member of the school board.
Fraternally he is identified with the following organizations: Liberty Lodge, No. 49, A. F. &
A. M.; Enderlin Chapter, No. 19, E. A. M.; and Maple River Lodge, No. 134, L 0. O. F. He
and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and their interest has ever
been manifest along lines which uplift and benefit. Actuated by a spirit of laudable
ambition. Mr. Chamberlain left New England to seek his fortune in the middle west and
gradually' he has advanced, the stops in his orderly progression being easily discernible.
The course which he has followed commends him to the confidence and goodwill of all
and his fellow townsmen have come to know that he is a man to be trusted and that his
word is as good as any bond.
/
HENRY E. BYORUM.
Henry E. Byorum, cashier of the Second National Bank of Minot, and by reason of his
business activity and enterprise accounted one of the substantial and progressive residents
of that city, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 9, 1872, a son of Ole and
Ellen (Nelson) Byorum. The mother was a native of Chicago, born April .10, 1848. The
father's birth occurred in Norway, December 31, 1844, and in early life he became a resi-
dent of the new world: He engaged in the general produce and grocery business for a time
and afterward opened an undertaking establishment in Minneapolis. His wife's parents
were early settlers of Minnesota, taking up their abode near Houston. Mrs. Byorum resided
with relatives during her girlhood, having lost her parents. Some of her relatives removed
to Wisconsin, settling on claims near Eau Claire and it was there that she met and
married Mr. Byorum, with whom she soon afterward removed to Minneapolis. It was in
the fall of 1871 that they took up their abode in that city, where Mrs. Byorum still resides
but Mr. Byorum passed away in the spring of 1903. He had served as city assessor of
Minneapolis for one term, as a member of the board of aldermen and also represented his
district in the state legislature. He exerted considerable influence over public thought and
action and was one of the worthy and highly esteemed residents of that place.
Henry E. Byorum is the eldest in a family of five children and at the usual age he
became a public school pupil in Minneapolis, passing through consecutive grades until
graduated from the South Side high school with the class of 1893. He afterward spent
eighteen months as a student in the University of Minnesota. While attending school he
began working for others, depending upon his own resources for a living from the age
of thirteen years. He handled a newspaper, also worked for his father in the store and
was otherwise employed. At the time of the gold excitement in Alaska he was about
twenty-five years of age and in the preceding years he had learned to place correct
vahiation upon industry, perseverence and determination. Wishing to win success in the
gold fields he made his way to Alaska, landing at Valdez. He was eighteen months
on the trail to Dawson, at the end of which time his supplies were exhausted. He secured
employment in the mines there through the winter and with a partner engaged in prospecting
again in the spring. He continued in Alaska for three and a half years and because of his
father's illness he returned to Minneapolis, remaining in that city through the winter.
The next spring he went to Northfield, Minnesota, where he entered the Northfield National
Bank, in the capacity of bookkeeper, spending eighteen months in that institutipn. He
afterward in company with Joseph Roach went to Minot in the fall of 1903 and entered the
Second National Bank as teller. There his ability soon after won him promotion to the
position of assistant cashier and in January, 1913, he became the cashier, in which capacity
472 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
he still continues, devoting practically his entire time to the bank, the success of which is
attributable in considerable measure in his eft'orts, business ability and enterprise. For five
years he has been manager and secretary of the Jlinot Clearing House Association.
On the 19th of May, 1913, Mr. Byorum was married to Miss Hazel F. Moon, who was
born in Ortonville, Minnesota, a daughter of Owen H. Jloon, who resided on a farm in
Minnesota but removed to North Dakota and settled on a claim near Sherwood. There
he reinained for a number of jears, after which he came to Minot. He was engaged as a
traveling salesman for a number of years and is now building inspector for the city of
Minot. Mr. and Mrs. Byoioim have two children: Henry Moon, born March 28, 1914; and
Glen Edward, born August 3, 1916. Fraternally Mr. Byorum is a Mason, connected with
capitular and chivalric Masonry. He has served as master of his lodge, as high priest and
treasurer of the chapter and is also treasurer of the commandery. He likewise belongs to the
Mystic Shrine at Grand Forks and he is treasurer of the Masonic Temple Building Association
of Minot. He also belongs to the Sons of Norway. Politically he is an independent republi-
can and is now filling the ofiice of commissioner of finance and revenue at Minot. He was
elected and served for a number of terms as school treasurer in the Harrison district
and is interested in all those efforts which work for the upbuilding and development of the
city in which he makes his home and for the general progress of the state. His efforts are
put forth along lines which take recognition of the needs of the community and the common-
wealth and at all times his public spirit has been a factor in advancing public progress.
JOHN J. GILSETH.
The rapid growth and development of some of the cities of the northwest deserve to be
ranked with the wonders of the world. Moliall is one of the enterprising towns which have
sprung up along the northern border of the state, entering upon a period of progress that
seems almost magical. Its rapid and substantial development, however, is due to the enter-
prising efforts of its business men, which number includes John J. Gilseth, a lumber mer-
chant, who since 1903 has been closelj' identified with the town and its interests. He was
born in Norway, June 3, 1865, a son of John and Karri (Peterson) Gilseth. The father
was a laboring man in his native country. In 1865 he crossed the Atlantic and settled in
Redwing, Goodhue county, Minnesota, where he engaged in carpentering and contracting, there
carrying on business until his life's labors were ended in death in 1875. His wife passed
away in June, 1865.
John J. Gilseth was but eight days old when his mother died. He was reared and
educated in Norway to the age of fifteen years and then came to the United States, estab-
lishing his home in Todd county, Minnesota, where he was employed at farm labor for sev-
eral years. Later he began farming on his own account and purchased land in that county
which he developed and improved for four years. At the end of that time he went to South
Dakota and bought land in Roberts county, where he carried on farming for four years.
In 1901 he came to Bottineau county, wliere he .secured a homestead which he developed
and improved, carrying on farming for abovit three years. After selling that place he took
U]) his abode in Mohall, where he opened a lumberyard in 1903, and through the intervening
period he has conducted the business with growing success, his patronage being now extensive,
so that the business returns to him substantial profits. He also owns an interest in three
quarter sections of land in Bottineau county, and extending his efforts in connection with the
lumber trade, he is now conducting yards at Loraine, Sherwood and Greene, all in Renville
county. Well defined plans, carefully executed, have constituted the basis of his growing
success and made him one of the leading and prosperous merchants of his part of the state.
He is also president of the Mohall Telephone Company.
In March, 1893, Mr. Gilseth was married to Miss Nettie C. Hole and they have become
the parents of ten children: Mabel L., Myrtle J., Alice, Pauli, Fred 0., Mina and Viola, all
yet living; Carl, who died when a year old; Matilda, who died at the age of ten days; and
Theodore, who was thirteen months old when he passed away.
In politics Mr. Gilseth follows an independent course, voting according to the dictates
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 473
of his judgment and the exigencies of the case. He served on the school board in Bottineau
county and for one term, 1913 and 1914, was mayor of Moliall but is not ambitious in the
way of office holding, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business aii'airs. Fra-
ternally he is connected with the Masons and is loyal to the teachings of the craft. In com-
mercial circles he has constantly extended his efforts and his enterprise has brought excellent
results.
WILLIAM H. COLE.
William H. Cole, president of the Stirum State Bank, is actuated by a spirit of progress
not only in his business affairs but in his relations to the public and ever seeks the substan-
tial welfare and upbuilding of the district iu which he lives. A native of Wisconsin, he was
born near Oshkosh, September 27, 1860, was educated in the schools of that state and in
1S82, when a j'oung man of twenty-two years, came to North Dakota. He homesteaded a
claim in Vivian township, Sargent county, being the last man in the township to take up
government land. His tract, located on section 4, was undeveloped and unimproved, but
while residing thereon he wrought a marked transformation in its appearance, bringing the
wild prairie to a high state of cultivation and greatly enhancing its fertility by the practical
and progressive methods which he followed. From time to time he added to his holdings by
the further purchase of quarter sections and now owns altogether five quarters. He continued
to reside upon his farm until 1907, wlien he put aside the active work of the fields and
removed to Stirum, where he established the Stirum State Bank, of which he became the
president. He still continues in that position and is the active head of the bank. His farm
also claims much of his attention and both branches of his business are carefully, wisely
and successfully managed. His judgment is sound and his discrimination keen and as the
years pass his success is increasing.
On the 29th of June, 1900, Mr. Cole was manied to Miss Clara Mallinson, a native of
Minnesota, who came to North Dakota about the same time as Mr. Cole and settled in the
same locality. They now have a daughter, Florence, who is in school.
Fraternally Mr. Cole is connected with the Modern Woodmen camp at Cogswell. His
political allegiance is given to the republican party and his fellow townsmen, appreciative
of his worth and ability, have called upon him to serve in various township and school
offices, the duties of which he has discharged with promptness and fidelity. He has never
sought to win any spectacular position in connection with the interests of the state but has
day by day rnet the duties that have devolved upon him as a law-abiding, loyal and progres-
sive citizen and has thus contributed much to the substantial improvement of the county
in which he lives.
ALVnSr C. METCALF.
Alvin C. Metcalf is known as tho father of the town of Drake, McHenry county, and his
efl'orts in its behalf have been of farreaehing efl'ect in promoting its material development,
its upbuilding and improvement. Alert and enterprising, he has diligently labored along the
lines of honorable success and his judicious investment and untiring activity have made
him one of the men of affluence in McHenry county. He was born in Indiana, .July 8, 1842,
a son of Henry 0. and Mary M. (Fleming) Metcalf, the former a native of New York and the
latter of Louisville, Kentucky. The father was a plasterer by trade and in early life left
New York for Indiana, where he resided until 1845, when he took his family to Illinois, pur-
chasing land in Bureau county, where he carried on general farming for fifteen years. He
then went to Iowa and bought a farm in Linn county which he continued to further develop
and improve throughout his remaining days. His death occurred in 1896, while his wife
passed away in October, 1911, at the advanced age of eighty-nine years.
Alvin C. Metcalf spent the greater part of his boyhood and youth at Princeton, Illinois,
and in 1861, when a youth of nineteen yeare, responded to the country's call for troops to aid
474 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
in defense of the Union, enlisting as a member of Company E, Tliirty-tliird Illinois Infantry,
with which he served for four and a half years, or throughout the entire jieriod of the Civil
war. He was four times wounded and was also injured in a railroad wreck. His military
record was most creditable and commendable, for at all times he was brave and loyal to
duty. When the war was over he joined his parents, who had removed to Iowa, and in Linn
county he purchased land which he improved and developed, carrying on general farming there
f<ir thirty-five years. He is still the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of valuable land
in that county. He resided for a year at Central City and for a year in Walker, Iowa, and
in I'JOO he removed to MeHenry county. North Dakota, where he secured a homestead claim
a mile and a quarter west of the town of Drake. This he cultivated and improved for two
years, since which time he has rented it. In 1902 he founded the town of Drake and there
established a mercantile enterprise, conducting the store with growing success for eight years.
He then sold his stock of goods but still owns the building. After retiring from the mercan-
tile field he removed to Alberta, Canada, where he took up a homestead and still owns a half
section of land there. After farming in Alberta for three years he returned to Drake, where
he has since resided. His business afTairs have been so carefullj', wisely and successfully con-
ducted that he is now numbered among the men of wealth in McHenry county.
On the ITth of November, 1S60, llr. iletcalf was united in marriage to Miss Margaret
A. Alexander, a daughter of John and Margaret (Boak) Alexander, who were natives of
Pennsylvania. The father was a farmer and followed that pursuit in Pennsylvania, Ohio
and Iowa, his last days being spent in Linn eountj', Iowa, where he located in the period of
its pioneer development and continued to reside until called to his final rest in 1891, when
seventy-seven years of age. His wife survived until 1895 and died at the age of seventy-
seven years. To Mr. and Mrs. Metcalf were born eight children: Marcella, Leonidas L.,
Essie M., Delia A., Lena, Clarence C, and Arthur V., all of whom are living; and Margaret
M., who died in infancy.
Jlr. Metcalf belongs to the Odd Fellows lodge at Drake and is one of the owners of the
Odd Fellows' hall which has recently been erected there. He is also a loyal representative of
the Masonic fraternity and his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Evangeli-
cal Methodist church. Politically he is an earnest republican and has served as alderman
of Drake and as justice of the peace. He has been a member of the school board for several
years and its treasurer for two years. He is as true and loyal to the duties af citizenship
today as he was when he followed the old flag upon southern battlefields. Patriotism has
always been one of his marked characteristics and his devotion to the general good has been
manifest in many tangible ways.
GEORGE H. DEXTER.
George H. Dexter, engaged in the real estate business in Braddock, was born in Beaver
Dam, \yisconsin, in August, 1862, a son of Peabody and Jeanettc (Hall) Dexter, the former
a native of Nova Scotia and the latter of New York. The father was a stone mason by trade
and wlien but seven years of age went to Wisconsin with his parents. He afterward took up
the occupation of farming, which ho followed in that state until he removed to Minnesota,
where he bought land which he cultivated for six years. He next went to Bigstone county,
that state, where he operated a farm throughout his remaining days, his death occurring
in December, 1910, while his wife survived until October, 1911.
George H. Dexter was a lad of twelve years when his parents went to Minnesota and
there he completed his education, remaining upon the home farm until eighteen years of age.
He then began earning his living as a farm hand and was thus employed until he reached
the age of twenty-five years, when he went to Wausau, Wisconsin, where he spent one
winter working in a planing mill. He was next at Council BlufTs, Iowa, where he engaged in
the real estate business for four years and later removed to the state of New York, where
he took charge of a building and loan association for a year. He afterward turned his atten-
tion to railroading, accepting the position of brakeman on the New York C<?ntral, by which
corporation he was employed for about eight years, the last year being spent as a conductor.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 475
He left the road in order to enlist for service in the Spanish-American war and went with
the Two Hundred and Second New York Volunteer Infantry to Cuba, seizing with that com-
mand for a year. On the expiration of that period he returned to Des Moines, Iowa, where
he operated a milk route for a year and then, again taking up his abode in Minnesota, he
engaged in carpentering and painting for a year and a half. In 1902 he arrived in Emmons
county. North Dakota, and filed on a homestead which he improved and developed for twelve
years and which he still owns, deriving therefrom a substantial rental. He also owns another
half section wliich he rents, but for the past eight years he has been concentrating his efforts
on the real estate business and in the spring of 191C opened an office in Braddock, at which
point he is now engaged in the sale of farm lands and town property as well. He is also
a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company at Temvik.
In June, 1899, occurred the marriage of Mr. Dexter and Miss Elzada Surring and they
have become parents of three children, Virgil, Violet and Leonard.
Mr. Dexter gives his political support to the republican party and for two years served
as justice of the peace of Highland township, Emmons county, but has always preferred to
concentrate his eii'orts upon his business affairs rather than occupy public office. Fraternally
he is connected with the Knights of Pythias and his religious faith is that of the Methodist
church. Those who know him esteem him for his sterling worth and substantial traits of
character, and those who have had business connections with him have found him thoroughly
reliable as well as enterprising.
EDGAR B. KNAPP.
Edgar B. Knapp, who is engaged in farming on section 29, Island Park township, Ransom
county, was bom at Brookdale, Pennsylvania, December 30, 1857, a son of Zophar and Aurilla
(C'halker) Knapp, the former born in New York in 1828, while the latter was born in Brook-
dale, Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, in 1830. They came west in the fall of 1880, set-
tling first at Moorhead, ilinnesota, where they remained for two years. In 1882 they removed
to Ransom county, North Dakota, and thereafter lived with their children in Island Park
township. The father was called to his final rest December 24, 1890, when si.xty-two years
of age, and the mother now makes her home with a daughter, Mrs. William Mangold, in
Fargo, at the age of eighty-six years.
Edgar B. Knapp was the second in a family of six children. He pursued his education
in the schools of Brookdale, Pennsylvania, and afterward worked in a mill owned by his
father until he came west. In 1878 he made his way to Winona, Minnesota, and was there
employed as a farm hand by the month for a year. On the 18th of March, 1879, he went to
Fargo, and in that locality again worked at farm labor for a year. He spent the following
winter in the woods and in 1880 removed to Ransom county, where he took up a claim, his
tract of land being entirely raw and undeveloped. In the succeeding winter he conducted a
lumber camp at York Mills, Minnesota, and from 1881 until 1883 inclusive he spent the sum-
mer months in work at the carpenter's trade in Fargo and at Moorhead, Minnesota.
On Christmas Day, 1883, Mr. Knapp was married to Miss Helen Sanders, who was born
in Trumbull, Ohio, in 1854 and spent her girlliood there, pursuing her education in the
public schools until she completed a high school course. It was while upon a visit in Moor-
head, Minnesota, that she formed the acquaintance of 5ir Knapp, who sought her hand in
marriage, and soon afterward their wedding was celebrated. She is a daughter of Grove and
Mary (Worthing) Sanders, who are farming people and have always lived in Ohio. Mr.
and Mrs. Knapp have become the parents of three children: Harry G., who is a graduate of
the State University of North Dakota and of Rush Medical College of Cliicago and is now a
practicing physician of Minot: E. Bert, a mining engineer located at Timmins, Ontario; and
Marjory E., who is a graduate of the Lisbon high school and of Fargo College and is now
a professor of science at Pembina, North Dakota.
About two years after his marriage, or in 1885, jMr. Knapp removed to Ransom county
and purchased the southwest quarter of section 20 and later the northwest quarter of sec-
tion 29, in the same township, and at the end of two years added to his holdings the nortli
476 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
lialf of the northeast quarter of section 29. His next purchase made him the owner of the
east half of section 31 and he is now farming seven hundred and twenty acres of rich and
arable land, all of which he has brought to a high state of cultivation. At dilferent times
he has bought and sold other land and his real estate dealings have added not a little to
his profits. lie carries on general agricultural pursuits and also raises Durham cattle, hav-
ing fifty head upon his place. He also has twenty-seven head of Percheron liorscs and forty-
five head of Duroc-Jersey hogs. He erected all of the buildings upon his farm and hauled
the first load of lumber taken west of Lisbon, bringing it from Fargo. In 1911 he erected
two large barns upon his place, of modern construction and equipment, and everything about
his farm is indicative of his practical and progressive spirit. His residence was erected in
1892 and is commodious and comfortable. He drives a Mitchell car and provides every pos-
sible convenience for his family. In addition to his agricultural interests he is the owner of
an interest in an elevator at Elliott, but he maintains his residence in Lisbon.
In politics Mr. Knapp is a republican but has never been active as an office seeker
although for four years he served as treasurer of Ransom county. He has also been school
director for ten years. In Masonic circles he is prominent, having taken the degrees of lodge,
chapter and commandery, and in his life he exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the craft.
He is notably prompt, energetic and reliable and possesses in large measure tlie quality of
common sense which is too often lacking and without which success is never achieved. He
early recognized the eternal principle that industry wins and he has made industry the beacon
light of his life.
CHARLES HEIN.
Cliarles Hein is intimately connected with many business enterprises of Hankinson,
Richland county, and is especially active as vice president of the Farmers & Merchants Bank
and as president and treasurer of the Hankinson Nursery Company, which sells nursery
stock throughout North and South Dakota, Minnesota and Montana. He has also made an
excellent record as an official, having served in a number of public offices.
Mr. Hein was born in Germany on the 15th of March, 1856, and there continued to live
until he was twelve years of age, when he accompanied his parents, Gottlieb and Amalie
(Bethke) Hein, to America. The family landed in New York city in June, 1868, and at
once proceeded westward to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where they lived for three years. They
then returned to New York city but after residing there for a year came to Dakota territory
and settled in what is now Belford township, Richland county. North Dakota. There the
father engaged in agricultural pursuits until his demise, which occurred in February, 1895.
Charles Hein accompanied the family on their various removals and after reaching
mature years engaged in farming in Richland county until 1890. He then removed to
Hankinson and engaged in the mercantile business and in buying and selling live stock until
the fall of 1899, when he disposed of those interests and turned his attention to real estate
and banking. He bought and sold land in this state and in .South Dakota outriglit and his
operations netted him a good profit. He still owns four hundred acres of land near Hankin-
son and is still interested in the real estate business to some extent. He finds, however,
that his duties as vice president of the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Hankinson demand
much of his time and attention and he has made an enviable reputation as a financier.
The bank is capitalized for twenty-five thousand dollars, has a surplus of fifteen thousand
dollars and its average deposits are one lumdrcd thousand dollars. The institution was
organized in 1899 by Mr. Hein and John H. Jones, the latter being still the president thereof.
Mr. Hein is likewise connected with banks at Rutland and Ellendale, North Dakota, and
at Chelsea, South Dakota, and is a stockholder and director of the L'nited Grain Commission
Companj' of Duluth, Jlinnesota, and a stockholder in the United States Life Ins\irance
Company of Chicago, the Hankinson -Vuto Company, which has the agency for the Studebaker
car, and the Wipperman Mercantile Company of Hankinson. He is also president and
manager of the Farmers Elevator Company of Hankinson. He finds time to take an
important part in the management of U\e affairs of the Hankinson Nursery Company, of
CHARLES HEIN
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 479
■n-hiuli he is president and treasurer and which was established in 1904. It is a large nursery
concern and its territory covers not only the Dakotas but also ilinnesota and Montana.
He is very much interested in this company and, in fact, gives more attention to it than to
any other of his business interests. His wide experience, his sound judgment and financial
acumen are important factors in the growth of all of the companies with which he is con-
nected and his advice is often souglit on business matters.
llr. Hein was married in Richland county on the 10th of November, 1882, to Miss
Fredricka Schroder, who was born in Dodge county, Wisconsin, on the 27th of March, 1860.
To their union have been born eight children, as follows: Louisa E., the wife of Paul Kim,
■ who is engaged in the automobile business in Hankinson; Emma, who is clerking in a store
in Hankinson; Louis C, a merchant of Plentywood, Montana; Charles G., a resident of
Duluth, Minnesota; Richard H., at home; Alfred, a druggist; Lora, who is a teacher by
profession; and Wilhelmina, at home.
Mr. Hein is recognized as one of the leaders of the democratic party in Richland county
and beginning with 1897 held the office of county commissioner for five years, during two
years of which time he was chairman of the board. He was then for some time school
director and did all in his power to advance the educational interests of the county. He was
also the first mayor of Hankinson and in that as in all other offices which he has held
proved eflicient and conscientious, giving the municipality a businesslike and public-spirited
administration. Fraternally he belongs to the Masonic blue lodge, the commandery and the
Shrine at Fargo. He is also identified with the Modern Woodmen of America, of which he
has been a member for twenty years, and has served as state delegate to the conventions
of that order at Peoria and Buff'alo. His religious faith is that of the German Evangelical
church and at all times his influence is on the side of righteousness and justice. When he
came to this state he had but twelve dollars, but he possessed assets more valuable than
capital, namely, ambition, energy and sound judgment, and through the exercise of those
qualities he has become one of the foremost citizens and one of the leading business men of
his section of the state.
JOHN ROSCOE.
The student of history cannot caiTV his investigations far into the annals of Lamoure
county without learning of the close and prominent connection of the Roscoe family, whose
efl'orts have been a most potent element in promoting the agricultural development and
upbuilding of that section of the state. The family comes from Xova Scotia, the parents
being Milledge and Susan (Robinson) Roscoe, mentioned in connection with the sketch of
E. B. Roscoe on another page of this work. John Roscoe was born in Nova Scotia, July 23,
1858, and there acquired his education and spent his youthful days. The year 1880 wit-
nessed his arrival in North Dakota, then a young man of twenty-two years, at which time he
filed on a homestead on what is now section 26, Roscoe tcwwnship, Lamoure county, five miles
northwest of Grand Rapids. He at once began the work of improving his place and within
a short time furrows had been turned and fields developed, bringing forth substantial crops.
Since then he has added to his holdings whenever his financial resources have permitted and
he is now the owner of an entire section of land. After farming for a time he began work
for the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, acting as section foreman for six years. He
then returned to the farm, upon which he has now remained for twenty-four years and has
made it one of the finest improved places in the state, adorned with a substantial and com-
modious residence and large barns and outbuildings. The place is divided into fields of con-
venient size by well kept fences and the latest improvements in farm machinery are found
upon his place, indicative of his progressive spirit. He makes a specialty of raising thorough-
bred Poland China hogs and he has met with substantial success in the conduct of his farm
owing to his practical and progressive methods. He has become a stockholder in the Farmers
& Merchants Bank at Dickey, also in the Dickey Grain Company and in the Farmers Elevator
Company.
On the 30th of May, 1890, occurred the mairiage of Mr. Roscoe and Miss Bertha
Vol. n— 26
480 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Seidsclilag, and they have become parents of nine children: Arthur; EITie L.; Albert E.;
John; Henry; Carl and Millcdge, twins; Bertha ]\I.; and Franklin, who is deceased. Tn
religious belief the parents are Baptists, interested in the work of the church and doing what
they can to extend its influence. Mr. Koscoe is a thirty-second degree Mason, loyal to the
teachings of the craft, and he is also identifiod with the Modern Woodmen of America. Politi-
cally he is a republican and has served as assessor of his township, while for twenty-four
years he has been a school director, being deeply interested in the cause of education, recog-
nizing that public instruction is the bulwark of the nation, qualifying the young for larger
responsibilities and more efficient service. His own life is characterized by a,dmirable traits
which make his record in harmony with that of a family long prominent and honored in
Lamoure county.
HANS KNUDSON.
Hans Kmidson, the owner of a well improved farm on section 14, Adrian townsliip,
Lamoure county, was born in Denmark, August 19, 1864, a son of Knute and Marie Knudson,
who were also natives of that country. The father, who was a carpenter, worked at his trade
throughout his entire life in Denmark, his labors being ended in death in January, 1898. His
widow survived him for thirteen years, passing away in March, 1911.
Hans Knudson was reared and educated in Denmark, there remaining until 1S84, when
he crossed the Atlantic, attracted by the favorable reports which he had heard concerning
the opportunities offered in the United States. Making his way to Minnesota, he purchased
land in Cottonwood county, becoming the owner of one hundred and sixty acres. Later he
■went to Clay county, where he bought three hundred and twenty acres, and there he engaged
in general farming until 1901. when he sold that property and removed to Lamoure county,
North Dakota, where he invested in fourteen hundred acres situated on sections 13, 14 and
23, Adrian townsliip, his buildings being on section 14. He has made splendid improvements
upon the place, converting it into a valuable and productive farm which "constitutes one of
the attractive features of the landscape. Every accessory of the model farm property is
here found and the methods which he employs in its further development bring him substan-
tial results. He is also a stockholder in the Equity Elevator at Adrian.
In July, 1887, Mr. Kmidson was married to Miss Carrie Emilly and they have become the
parents of ten children. Agnes, Mamie, Elmer, Francis and Elvina, twins, Roy. Knute, Bert,
Glenn and Grover. Politically Mr. Knudson is a republican and has filled the offices of town-
ship trustee and school director. He and his wife hold membership in the Presbyterian church
and guide their lives by its teachings, their many substantial and admirable qualities gaining
for them a large circle of friends in the community.
HON. C. E. KNOX.
Hon. C. E. Knox, member of the state legislature, farmer, grain biiyer, and one of the
foremost citizens of Dickey county, resides on a farm adjoining the town of Oakes. He
was born in Hudson, Wisconsin, October 14, 18fil, a son of Cliarles B. and Rhoda (Parker)
Knox, the former a native of New York and the latter of Maine. They accompanied their
respective parents to Wisconsin in childhood and were married in Hudson, that state, after
which they removed to Dickinson coimty, Towa, in 1867. and there spent their remaining days,
the father being actively engaged in the live stock business.
C. E. Knox began his education in the district schools and continued his studies under
his mother's instniction. she having been a successful school teacher in her early life. On
reaching young manhood he, too, took up the profession of teaching and for ten years was
identified with educational work. He was one of eight children, all of whom became school-
teachers and held first grade certificates. As early as his* twenty-second year he identified
himself with the grain trade and with farming and stock raising and to these occupations
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 481
lias since given his attention. He was connected with grain buying in both Iowa and Minne-
sota and in 1903 came to North Dakota, settling at Oakes. Three years later he embarked
in the grain trade on his own account and soon afterward purchased the elevator which
he now owns and operates at Oakes, while subsequently he became the owner of an elevator
in Ludden. Further extending his operations in the grain trade, he is today the owner of
two elevators in Oakes, one in Ludden and one in Glover. He also owns and cultivates five
hundred and sixty acres of land two and a half miles east of Oakes and resides upon that
place. It is a well improved property, in the midst of which stands a comfortable and com-
modious residence, and the success which he has achieved in business affairs enables him to
enjoy not only the necessities but some of the luxuries of life.
In 1S97 Mr. Knox was united in marriage to Miss Zadie E. Clark, of Emmet county,
Iowa, and they have become the parents of three childi-en, Daisy Belle, Ethel and Doris.
Mr. and Mrs. Knox hold membership in the Methodist church and he belongs also to Oakes
Lodge, No. 40, I. 0. 0. F., and to the Modern Brotherhood of America. His political indorse-
ment is given to the republican party and his opinions carry weight in its councils, for he is
one of its active and prominent representatives in Dickey county. For the past eight years
he has represented his district in the state legislature, having four times been elected to that
body, a fact which indicates that his record has been satisfactory to his constituents and has
been characterized by a loyal regard for the best interests of the community and common-
wealth. He has also served for eight years as chairman of the town board and for ten years
has been a member of the school board. He has a wide and favorable acquaintance through-
out the state and is best liked where best known.
GEORGE A. LENHART.
George A. Lenhart was one of the founders and promoters of the Farmers State Bank
at Hazelton, of which he has been cashier since its organization in 1909. North Dakota claims
him as a native son, his birth having occurred in Davenport on the 28th of June, 1882. His
parents are Michael M. and Anna (Plath) Lenhart, the former a native of Germany and the
latter of Jo Daviess county, Illinois. The father was but four years of age when he accom-
panied his parents to the new world, the family home being established in Fountain City,
Wisconsin, where he was reared and educated. He afterward took up the occupation of
farming in that state and later came to North Dakota, purchasing land in Red River valley,
near Fargo. There he carried on general agricultural pursuits until 1910, when he retired
from active business life and now he and his wife make their home in Bismarck. His rest is
well deserved, as it is the fitting reward of persistent and earnest labor in former years.
George A. Lenhart acquired his preliminary education in the common schools of Cass
county and aftenvard attended the State Normal School at Valley City. He then took up
the profession of teaching, which he followed for two years, at the end of which time he
engaged in the lumber business, to which he devoted five years, meeting with substantial
success in that undertaking. In 1909 he removed to Hazelton, Emmons county, and organized
the Farmers State Bank, of which he has since been cashier. The bank is capitalized for ten
thousand dollars and its deposits amount to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. It has
a surplus of eight thousand dollars and the business from the beginning has proven a growing
and profitable one. The other officers are: A. P. Lenhart, of Bismarck, president; and A. E.
Klabunde, vice president. The last named is proprietor of the largest mercantile establish-
ment in his section of the state and also the owner of large landed holdings, while A. P.
Lenhart is sole owner of the business conducted under the name of the Lenhart Drug Com-
pany of Bismarck. This bank has grown more rapidly than any other in the county. Its
treatment toward its customers has been most liberal and in return they have given to the
institution loyal support. The bank has made a specialty of taking care of the farmers'
needs at all times of the year, regardless of money and crop conditions, and as a result has a
large list of satisfied customers who have been doing business with the bank since its organi-
zation. The institution has been an important factor in the upbuilding of the territory that
482 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Hazelton serves. In addition to his Hazelton connections Mr. Loiihart is a director of the
Security State Bank of Flasher and is its manager.
In April, 1903, Mr. Lenhart was united in marriage to Miss Caroline Haynes and to them
have been born two children: Rachel, born .luh' 19, 1907; and Alton, September 12, 1008.
Mr. Lenhart exercises his right to franchise in support of the men and measures of the repub-
lican i)arty and is one of the active party workers, serving at the present time as chairman
of tlie central committee. He has filled the ollice of clerk of Hazelton township and is now
president of the school board. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons and the Odd
Fellows and in religious faith is a Presbyterian. He stands loyally for all those forces which
are an element in the progress and upbuilding of the community and does everything in his
power to bring about the further improvement of his section of the state.
THOMAS ROWAN.
Thomas Rowan, postmaster of Sherwood. Renville county, was born in Rice county, Min-
nesota, .January 1, 1866, his parents being Luke and Bridget (Dempsey) Rowan, who were
natives of Ireland. Coming to America in early life, they settled in Hastings, Minnesota,
and there Luke Rowan was employed for a time, while later he removed to Rice county, !Minne-
sota, filing on land which he converted into a rich and productive farm, continuing its
cultivation until 1870, when he removed to Traverse county, Minnesota. There he took up
a preemption and operated the farm for several years but eventually retired from active
business life and removed to Sherwood, making his home with his son Thomas throughout
his remaining days. He died September 24, 1012, having for about two and a half years
survived his wife, who passed away on the 131h of March, 1910.
Thomas Rowan was reared and educated in Rice county, Minnesota, and remained under
the parental roof until he reached the age of twenty-four years. He then began farming in
Traverse coimty, that state, purchasing land which he carefully tilled, developing his place
into one of the productive farms of that locality. He resided thereon until 1901, when he
removed to Renville county, North Dakota, and took up a homestead, whereon he engaged
in general agricultural pursuits until the spring of 1916, when he rented that property and
established his home in Sherwood. On the 3d of .Tune of that year he was appointed post-
master and took possession of the office on the 6th of September, so that he is tlie present
incumbent in the position. ^^Hiile \ipon the farm he made a specialty of raising thoroughbred
horses and shortliorn cattle and his live stock interests contributed in substantial measure
to his success.
On the 7th of January, 1800, Jlr. Rowan was united in marriage to Jliss Mary Haney
and they have adopted three children, Ray, -lohn and Katherine, aged respectively twenty-
one, eleven and eight years. The family are adherents of the Catholic church and Mr. Rowan
belongs also to the Knights of Columbus. Politically he is a democrat, giving unfaltering
allegiance to the party and its principles. From the organization of Calhoun township until
his appointment as postmaster he was clerk of that township. His life has been a biisy and
useful one and his determination and unremitting energy have carricil him forward along the
path of success.
R. M. BLACK.
R. ^r. Black, who.se position in educational circles, established by the consensus of public
opinion, is among the foremost, now makes his home in KUendale, being president of the
State Normal and Industrial School. Throughout his entire career he has been actiiatcd by
high ideals which have found expression in practical methods. He was born upon a farm in
Ashtabula county, Ohio. .Tune 18, 1867. a son of ;Milton and Ruana C. (Hyde) Black, both of
whom were natives of Ohio and were of New England lineage. On the mother's side the
ancestry is traced back to John and Mary Gladding, who came from England in the seven-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA _ 483
teenth century and were among the founders of Bristol, Rhode Island. On the paternal side
the family is equally old, for representatives of the name came from England and settled
in the vicinity of Springfield, Massachusetts, at an early period in colonial history. The
great-grandfather, Alexander Black, was one of two brothers who were left orphans at an
early age, their father probably being killed while serving in the Kevolutionary war, after
which they were reared by General Mattoon, and Alexander Black eventually became one of
the prominent merchants of Springfield, Massachusetts. Milton Black, father of Professor
Black, was a farmer by occupation but at the time of the Civil war put aside all business
and personal interests to go to the front in defense of the Union, serving with the rank of
corporal in Company C, One Hundred and Seventy-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Fol-
lowing the close of hostilities he resumed farming in Ohio, where he lived for many years,
his death there occurring in 1905, while his wife passed away in 1911.
R. M. Black at the usual age became a district school pupil and afterward attended the
high school at Geneva, Ohio, from which he was graduated with the class of 1890. Later he
became a student in the Ohio Wesleyan University, where he completed his course with the
graduating class of 1895, winning the Bachelor of Arts degree. He spent the year 1901-2 at
the University of Chicago and in 1910 the Ohio Wesleyan University conferred upon him the
Master of Arts degree. Throughout his entire life he has been closely identified with
educational interests. He began teaching in the district schools of Ohio in 1885, and was
afterward teacher in the eighth grade of the Geneva (Ohio) schools in 1890-1. During
the summers of 1893 and 1894, while attending the Ohio AVesleyan University, he acted as
associate principal of a normal academy in Sigel, Pennsylvania, and following his gradua-
tion from the Wesle.yan University he came to Xorth Dakota in 1895 to accept the position
of professor of mathematics and Greek in the Red River Valley University at Wahpeton,
there remaining until 1897. For two years thereafter he was principal of the schools of
Hamilton, North Dakota, and then returned to Wahpeton, where from 1899 until 1903 he
was a member of the faculty of the Red River Valley University. Accepting the proffered
position of city superintendent of schools at Wahpeton, he continued in that connection
until 1905, when he was elected county superintendent of Richland county and so served
until 1909. In the latter year he accepted the position of teacher in the State School of
Science, there remaining until 1914, when he was chosen president of the State Normal and
Industrial School at Ellendale.
On the 12th of August. 1897, Mr. Black was united in mariiage to Miss Lovilla C.
Proeious, of Sigel, Pennsylvania, by whom he has three children, naraelv: Cei-j'l E., who
is a senior in the State Normal and Industrial School of Ellendale; Marguerite E., a
sophomore in the Ellendale high school; and Wendell R., a grade student. In politics
Professor Black maintains an independent course. He and his wife are members of the
Methodist Episcopal church, doing all in their power to promote its growth and extend its
influence. Through appointment of Governor Hanna he is now serving as a member of the
state board of education. Perhaps no better estimate of his character can be given than
by quoting from President Fred E. Smith of the State School of Science, who at the time
Professor Black resigned his position in that institution wrote to the State Normal and
Industrial School at Ellendale as follows: "I wish to give an appreciation of Professor
R. M. Black, a member of the faculty of the State School of Science, recently elected by
your board of trustees to the presidency of the State Normal and Industrial School at
Ellendale. I have known Professor Black for nearly ten years and during the last four
years have been closely associated with him in this institution. In helping work out the
new plans of the State School of Science he has shown a keen insight into the problems of
industrial education and has been a strong advocate of the combination of a high degree of
cultural training with the practical applications of manual arts. Diu'ing nineteen years'
residence in this state Professor Black has been college professor, principal of a village
RCliool, superintendent of city schools, county superintendent and teacher in a trade and
vocational school. He has been successful in each position and has left it only when
promoted to a better one. The fact that fifteen years were spent in four positions in one
city speaks for his standing among his fellow citizens. As a member of the community
he is a good citizen, perfectly trustworthy in business relations and a Christian gentleman.
His scholarship is accurate and of a wide range. He is inspirational in his teaching and
484 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
as a leader wliile county superintendent lie was unusually successful in developing an
esprit de corps among his teachers. He wins the confidence and holds the respect of his
associates. As county superintendent his reputation became state wide. He has been on
the programs of the State Educational Association six or seven times in the past nine
years; holds active membership in the National Education Association and is a member
of the editorial board of the State Historical Society. In 1909, when the governor was
authorized to appoint 'three of the best known and best posted school men in this state'
to re-codify the school laws, Professor Black was made a member of the School Law
Compilation Commission, and again in 1911, under a new law creating a state board of
examiners for teachers' certificates, he was selected by the governor as a member.
"Tn public work he was the personal representative of the state superintendent for
two summers and delivered addresses at teachers' institutes and directors' meetings. He
lias conducted institutes in several counties, was organizer of the Richland County Teachers'
Training School, has taught in it and will be its conductor during the present summer
session. Professor Black has contributed several articles to educational magazines and
edited a book of literary selections for language study in the grades, which was published
as a volume of the Riverside Literary Series. In 1910 his History of the Constitutional
Convention of 1889 was published and it has won recognition as standard authority on that
period of our state history. With his mature scholarship, his thorough acquaintance with
all school work, his good judgment, his constant desire for professional growth and his
sterling character, your people may have every confidence that the State Normal and
Industrial School is in tried and efficient hands."
JOHN H. MAJSTTZ.
John H. Mantz, a merchant of Anaraoose, was born in Russia, September 4, 1877, a son
of Gotlieb and Barbara (Schlenker) Mantz, who were natives of the same land. Coming to
America, they settled in Ellendale, North Dakota, on the 4th of May, 1S94, and the father
took up a homestead in Mcintosh county which he developed and improved and to which
he is still giving his attention. He and his wife are now sixty-two years of age.
John H. Mantz pursued his education in the German schools of Russia to the age of
seventeen years, when he accompanied his parents to the new world. He had learned the
harness maker's trade in his native land and after coming to the United States he worked
at his trade in Kfilm for about a year but received, however, only forty-seven dollars for his
services during that period. He then returned homo but his father made him go back to his
employer and ho continued to engage in harness making at Kulm until 189S. On October 12,
1898, he removed to Fossenden, where he worked for the same man until December 2.'!, 1900,
which was the date of his arrival at Anamoose. Tn 1901 he opened a harness store in that
town and continued active in the business until May 12, 1902, when he entered into partner-
ship with J. J. Hirsch. They were associated as dealers in hardware, harness, furniture and
undertaking goods until Januaiy 1, 1916, when Mr. Mantz bought out his partner and is now
sole proprietor of the business. He has a large trade and his business, conducted along
progressive lines, has brought to him substantial success.
On September 15, 1900, Mr. Mantz was married to Miss ^lagdalena Siebold and they
have become the parents of one child and have adojitcd one. The little daughters of the
household are: Esther, boin August 13, 1903; and Lydia, born in August, 1010.
Mr. and Mrs. Mantz hold membership in the Baptist church and take a very active and
helpful interest in its work. For a number of years Mr. Mantz has been church treasurer
and is also assistant superintendent of the Sunday school and is teacher of a class of twenty
children. His political endorsement is given to the democratic party and he has served a?
chairman of the village board for two years. He has also been chief of the Anamoose fire
department for three years and vice president of the Commercial Club for two years. His
active aid is given to every movement that tends to promote substantial progress and improve-
ment in his community and his infiuonce is always on the side of those projects which work
for the uplift and betterment of the individual. His life has been one of untiring industry
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 485
and activity. Starting out to earn his own living at a comparatively early age, he has known
earnest toil, but persistency and energy have enabled him to continue in his course and
ultimately reach a position of prosperity.
HARVEY HARRIS.
Harvey Harris, who as a member of the constitutional convention and of the joint com-
mission that divided Dakota left his impress indelibly upon the history of the state, resided
for many years in Bismarck, where he established his home in 1883. He was born in Oxford,
Butler county, Ohio, December 13, 1852, and passed away in North Dakota's capital May 16,
1900. His parents were John H. and Mary A. (Rose) Harris, who were natives of Ohio and
Pennsylvania respectively. The father was a farmer and both he and his wife were held in
high esteem in the community in which they lived because of their sterling traits of character.
Harvey Harris acquired his education in the public schools of his native county and at
an early age entered upon a professional career as a teacher in the schools of Butler county,
proving notably successful in that connection owing to the readiness and clearness with which
he imparted to others the knowledge that he had acquired. Later he engaged in merchandis-
ing in Oxford but the opportunities of the west attracted him and in 1883 he arrived in
Bismarck, where he engaged in the real estate and loan business until his death, meeting
with substantial success in that connection. He conducted business affairs of importance and
negotiated man_y notable real estate transfers.
His efforts were constantly directed through the channels of his business and in other
ways toward the upbuilding of both the city and the state of his adoption. He was at the
time of his demise one of the county commissioners, having been elected to that office in 1894
and again in 1897. He was deeply interested in the welfare of the public schools and was
a member of the board of education for twelve years, while for eight years he served as
president of the board. In politics he was a lifelong republican and was a recognized leader
in the ranks of his party in North Dakota. He became a very influential member of the con-
stitutional convention and when tVie division of Dakota was proposed he became a member
of the joint commission that brought about that result. He aided largely in shaping the
policy of the state during its formative period and his labors in that connection marked a
recognition not only of immediate needs but of the opportunities and possibilities of the
future.
On the 13th of November, 1884, at Oxford, Ohio, Mr. Harris was married to Miss Eliza
W. Jackson. He was a consistent member of the Methodist church from early boyhood and
was deeply interested in all that pertained to the interests of the local church and the gen-
eral organization. For many years he served as superintendent of the Sunday school in the
Bismarck church and his efforts for moral uplift were of no restricted order, while the results
attained are manifest in the lives of many who came under his influence.
REUBEN NELSON STEVENS.
Reuben Nelson Stevens is engaged in the private practice of law in Bismarck and his
record shows that while he has argued many cases he has lost but few. No one better knows
the necessity for thorough preparation or more industriously prepares for the presentation
of his cause before the court, and his handling of a case is always full, comprehensive and
accurate, while his analysis of the facts is clear and comprehensive. He has filled various
official positions where his legal knowledge has been called into play and has thus aided in
shaping the course of the commonwealth.
Mr. Stevens is a native of New York, his birth having occurred in Orleans county,
August 10, 1858. His father, Stephen Stevens, was born in Genesee county, New Y'ork, in
1808 and wedded Elizabeth Jane Grindell, who was born in Baltimore, Maryland. In 18G1
486 . HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
they removed westward to Pekin, Illinois, and afterward took up their abode upon a farm
in Jlenard county, that state, where their remaining days were passed, the father departing
this life in 1872, while the death of the mother occurred in 1882.
Keuben N. Stevens was but a young lad at the time of the removal to Illinois, so that
his early education was acquired in the common schools of that state. He studied law at
Petersburg, Illinois, and in February, 1SS2, he removed to North Dakota, settling in Fargo,
hater he took up his abode at Lisbon, where he engaged in law practice from 1SS3 until
IS'JO. He was then appointed assistant attorney of the department of justice to consider
Indian depredations and went to Washington, U. C, where he remained in the discharge of
his official duties through the Harrison administration and the first year of President Cleve-
land's administration. In 1894 he came to Bismarck and assumed the editorship of the
Bismarck Tribune, a daily paper of which he thus had charge for two years. On the expira-
tion of that period he resumed the practice of law. which he followed uninterruptedly until
lUUO, when he was again called upon for public service through aiipointnicnt to the position
of United States commissioner of the Nome district of Alaska, remaining in that country
in the discharge of his duties until l'J03. Upon his return to Bismarck he again entered
upon active law practice and was connected with much important litigation tried in the
courts of the state until 1911, when on the 17th of March he assumed the duties of register
of the United States land office, so continuing for four years or until May, 1915. ' In his
retirement he again entered upon the private practice of law, in ^^hich eoimection he is
accorded a large and distinctivelj' representative clientage.
His ])ublic service, however, covers a still broader field tlian already indicated, for he
was made a member of the North Dakota constitutional convention which met at Bismarck
in July, 1899. Ten years prior to that time, or in 1889, he was made chairman of the com-
mittee sent to Washington to secure statehood for North Dakota and after its admission to
the Union he was four times elected to represent his district in the general assembly, proving
a most active and able working member of the house of representatives, in which he served
on various important committees, while upon the floor of the house he did much to shape
legislation.
Mr. Stevens has been twice nuirricd. On the Gtli of April. 1870, at Petersburg. Illinois,
he wedded Miss Sarah E. Rourke, who j)assed away in 1890. leaving three children, as fol-
lows: Clara E.; Emma J. who is the wife of Ralph D. Ward, of Garrison, North Dakota;
and Mary .1., at home. On the 9th of May, 1896, in Bismarck, North Dakota, Mr. Stevens
was again married, his second union being with Miss Mary H, Rourke, a cousin of his first
wife.
Fraternally Mr. Stevens is idArtified with the York Rite Masons, the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. No history of North Dakota would be complete
without reference to Retiben Nelson Stevens, so closely has he been identified witli its
progress and .so important have been his activities as an official and in the strict |)ath of
his profession. He has studied closely juiblic conditions, the needs, demands and opportiniities
of the state, and with singlen<'ss of jjurjiose has worked for the benefit of the common-
wealth, his labors being directly resultant in placing North Dakota in tlie prominent position
which it occupies.
S. A. jnKALSON.
S. A. IMikalson, actively and successfully engaged in business at Hazelton under the
name of the Hazelton Mercantile Company, is one of the substantial citizens that Wisconsin
has furnished to North Dakota. He was born in the Badger state November 33, 1873, a
son of Andrew and Annie (Hegna) Mikalson, who were natives of Norway and came to
the new world in the '50s, settling in Columbia county, Wisconsin. The father was a
farmer by occupation and homesteaded in that county, after which his children developed
and operated the farm, while he sailed on the Great Lakes and also on the ocean. In 1883
he went to Brown county. South Dakota, where he again took uji land, jjcrsonally giving
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 487
his attention to its development and improvement until his death in 1892. His widow
survived until 1903 and passed away in North Dakota.
S. A. Mikalson was reared and educated in South Dakota, largely spending his youth
at Aberdeen. He remained with his parents until he attained liis majority and in 1900 lie
removed to Emmons county. North Dakota, becoming an important factor in agricultural
circles there. He operated a ranch of six hundred and forty acres in that county, his
attention being largely given to the raising of cattle and horses. In 1905 he purchased
a stock of general merchandise at Hazelton and conducted a store in connection with his
brother for seven years, but in 1912 their business was destroyed by fire. The brother then
removed to Montana but S. A. Mikalson resumed business in Hazelton, erecting a new
building and putting in a new stock of goods. His interests are now conducted under the
name of the Hazelton Mercantile Company, his partner being John Baker, a ranchman. The
trade is now large and gratifying and Sir. Mikalson has ever recognized the fact that
satisfied patrons are the best advertisement.
In June, 1913, occurred the marriage of Mr. Mikalson and Miss Marie Adolph and to
them have been born two children: Albert, whose birth occui-red Febniary 10, 1915; and
Klaine, who was born in March, 1916. Mr. and Mrs. Mikalson hold membership in the
Lutheran church and he also belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity. Politically
he is an earnest republican and has filled a number of local offices. He served as deputy
sheriff of Emmons county for four years and has been nominated for the office of sheriff
on the republican ticket. He was also supervisor of Hazelton township for two terms and
has been president of the school board for five years. He has thus ever recognized his
duties of citizenship and to all such has given loyal support.
JOHN H. HEITMAN.
Every student of economic conditions recognizes the fact that in the west there is a
spirit of enterprise and progress unknown to the conservative east. Alert, energetic men
are building cities and are promoting therein business enterprises that lead to rapid and
substantial development of town and surrounding country. Such a citizen at Anamoose is
John H. Heitnian, who is engaged in the farm implement and automobile business. He was
born in Bremen, Germany, March 17, 1872, a son of John and Williclmina (Meier) Heitman,
who were also natives of Germany, where the father lias spent his entire life, being now
seventy-three years of age. His wife passed away June 12, 1914.
John H. Heitman attended school in the fatherland until fifteen years of age, when he
crossed the briny deep to the new world and made his way to Dawson, North Dakota, in
which vicinity he was employed as a farm hand for eight years, spending the entire period
upon one place — a fact which is plainly indicative of his thorough trustworthiness, industry
and ability. He afterward devoted several years to threshing and in 1898 filed on a home-
stead in that section of McLean county which is now Sheridan county. He improved and
cultivated that property for seven years, after which he sold out and made a trip back
to his native land, spending seven months in Germany. He did not desire to take up his
permanent abode there, however, and, again coming to the new world, he embarked in the
farm implement business at Anamoose, purchasing an interest in the store of Schmidt &
Gulack. The association with Mr. Schmidt has since continued and Mr. Gulack also remained
with the firm until he retired from active business and removed to California, where he now
resides. Not only has the company built up an extensive business in farm implements but
they have also turned their attention to the automobile business and now handle the Ford,
Overland and Dodge cars, for which they find a ready sale, for, in keeping with the
progressive spirit of the west, the motor car has been quickly adopted throughout their
section of the counti-y. Mr. Heitman is also one of the stockholders in the Anamoose
National Bank and bis business interests have thus become extensive and important.
In November. 1899, Mr. Heitman was united in marriage to Miss Susie Billigmeier and
through the period of their residence in Anamoose they have gained many warm friends.
They are members of the Lutheran church and Mr. Heitman is a republican in his political
488 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
views. He served as assessor in McLean county and has been a member of the town board
of Anamoose. He belongs to the Commercial Club and is in hearty sympathy with its
projects for the upbuilding of the city, the extension of its trade relations and the promotion
of those interests which are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride.
JACKSON G. McCLEARY.
Jackson G. JlcCleary, living on section 8, Saratoga township, Lamoure county, has for
ten years resided in that part of the state, having previously made his home in Iowa and
South Dakota. He was born and reared, however, in Iowa, his birth having occurred in
Polk county, April 16, 1S66, his parents being Abel J. and Kmily C. (Hedge) McCIeary, the
former a native of Indiana and the latter of Ohio. The father, who was a farmer by
occupation, removed to Polk county, Iowa, in 1S54 in company with his parents. There
he was reared and finally he purchased land and engaged in farming on his own account,
remaining for many years one of the representative agriculturists of the district. In 1896
he retired from active business and removed to Mitchellville, Iowa, where he now resides
at the age of seventy-two years, while his wife has reached the age of seventy-one.
Jackson G. McCIeary was reared and educated in his native county and through the
period of his boyhood and youth when not occupied with the duties of the schoolroom he
assisted his father in the work of the fields. He remained on the home farm until he
reached the age of twenty-four, when he went to the western coast, there spending about
eight months. Following his return to Iowa he bouglit eighty acres near his father's farm
and further developed and improved that property, cultivating his land there for ten
years. In 1901 he went to South Dakota and bought three hundred and twenty-eight
acres which he cultivated for five years, coming in 1906 to North Dakota, at which time he
invested in land two and a half miles from Adrian, his farm comprising section 8, the west
half of section 5 and the southeast quarter of section 6, Saratoga township. He has since
given his attention to the further improvement of this property, which is one of the
valuable farms of the district, carefully and systematically cutivated, his labors being
attended with substantial success. He is extensively engaged in raising cattle in addition
to producing the usual crops and he now ships about a carload of cattle eacli year. He is
also president of the Farmers Elevator Company of Adrian, which was organized in 1907.
On the 5th of March, 1890, Mr. McCIeary was united in marriage to Miss Lydia M.
Garber, and to them were born nine children: Vera and Veran, twins, Blanche, Goldic, Ward,
Clair, Fay, Ferd and lie. The religious faith of the family is that of the Methodist church
and in his political views Mr. McCIeary is a democrat. He has served as supervisor and
road overseer in his township and is the present assessor. The cause of education finds in
him a stalwart champion who has done good service for the schools as a director. His life
has in a measure been quietly and uneventfully passed, but he belongs to that class of
representative citizens who find in the workaday world an incentive for their best elToits
and who constitute the chief element in the substantial upbuilding of county and state.
PERRY BROWN.
Perry Brown, cashier of the Farmers & Merchants State Bank of Sherwood, has been
a resident of North Dakota since 1901, at which time he took up his abode in Renville
county and has since remained within its borders. He was born in Webster county, Iowa,
July 31, 18T9, and is a son of .James M. Q. and Estella E. (Rowley) Brown, the former a
native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Iowa. At an early age James M. Q. Brown became
a resident of Webster county, Iowa, where he engaged in general merchandising. He also
helped to build the Illinois Central Railroad into Fort Dodge and afterward carried on busi-
ness there for many years. He died in April. 190), nnd for a brief period was survived by
his wife, who passed away in .January, 1907.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 489
The youthful days of Perry Brown were spent in his native county and his time was
•divided between the work of the schoolroom and the pleasures of the playground. Starting
out in life for himself, he secured a position in coal mines and was thus employed for
several years. In 1901 he arrived in Renville county and filed on land wliich he at once
began to develop, adding thereto many substantial modern improvements. He continued to
engage in the cultivation of that place until a recent date but now rents the land. He was
appointed the second postmaster of Sherwood and occupied that position for five years.
He also engaged in the implement business for a time and in 1912 he entered the Farmers-
& Merchants State Bank as cashier, in which capacity he still continues, and he is also
a stockholder and director in the bank.
On the 15th of November, 1909, Mr. Brown was married to Miss Elizabeth Hall and
they have become the parents of four children, James Falkner, Lois E., Elizabeth H. and
Margaret. The parents loyally adhere to the teachings of the Methodist church, in which
they hold membership, and fraternally Mr. Brown belongs to the Masons, the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows and the Woodmen, all of Sherwood. In his political views he is a
republican. He does not seek nor desire office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon
his business affairs, and his well defined plans and unfaltering activities have brought him
substantial success.
RAGNVALD T. HAGE.
Ragnvald T. Hage is a partner in the Sawyer Mercantile Company, which owns a large
and attractively equipped general store at Sawyer. He also has other important business
interests, showing tliat his has been a well spent, active and useful life. He was born near
Bergen, Norway, October 24, 1879, a son of Herman and Brynhelde (Olsen) Hage, who
were also natives of the land of the midnight sun, where they were reared, educated and
married. The father became an officer in the Norwegian army in connection with the
training service. He was graduated from the common schools and a military academy. In
1885, with his family of five children, he came to America, settling at Willmar, Minnesota.
He rented land near Belgi-ade and there engaged in farming for three years, or until 1888,
when he removed to McHenry county. North Dakota, where he secured a squatter's claim
three miles north of Velva. After residing thereon for three years his right to the
property was contested, but he fought the case and won his suit. Upon the farm near
Velva the parents continued to reside until 1906 and there they reared their cliildren, five
more being born in the new world, and all are yet living. In 1906 Mr. Hage retired and on
account of the condition of his wife's health removed to Oregon, where they now reside.
Death has as yet occasioned no break in the family circle, consisting of the parents and ten
children.
Ragnvald T. Hage is indebted to the district school system of McHenry county for
the educational privileges which he enjoyed, and when a young man, took up the occupations
of farming and cow punching, being thus engaged on the present site of the town of Velva.
He afterward lioniesteaded in McHenry county and for eleven years secured a good income
from the operation of a threshing machine. He afterward sold his farm and removed to
Velva, where he engaged in the lumber business, becoming manager of a large yard, in
which position he continued until 1915. He was then induced to take over the management
of the Sawyer Mercantile Company and became connected in this work with G. T. Erickson.
Later as partners they bought out the business of which they are now owners and they
are today conducting the largest mercantile enterprise in the southern part of Ward county.
On the, 19th of January, 1909, Mr. Hage was united in marriage to Miss Vina E.
Jacobs at Velva. She was born and reared at Black River Falls, Jackson county, Wisconsin.
and was graduated from the high school there in 1907. She came to North Dakota with
her parents, .John S. and Anna (Evans) Jacobs, who were also natives of Jackson county
and there engaged in farming until 1907, when they came to North Dakota, settling on a
farm near Ruse, where the father secured a homestead claim. Both he ,ind his wife are of
490 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Xorwegiau descent.' To Mi-, and ills. Huge luive been born two cliildron: \'ernon Eay,
who was born at Velva, November 6, I'Jll; and Horace Belmont, born January 19, 1914.
Mr. Hage filled the office of justice of the peace at N'elva for three years, re.-iigning
the position on his removal to Sawyer. He assisted in organizing the Farmers Elevator
C'()ni|iany, of whicli he is a director, and he was instrunu'nlul in organizing; the I'Ceystone
Telephone Company, of which he was a director and tlie secretary for many years. He owns
tliree Imndred and twenty acres of fine agricultural land in McHenry county, all in a
high state of cultivation. This he rents but is largely interested in farming and does
e\orytliing in his power to improve agricultural methods and conditions. He is now, how-
ever, largely concentrating his energies upon the interests of the Sawyer Mercantile Com-
l)any, which owns an excellent store, well equipped with a large and carefully selected stock,
while the business methods of the house commend it to the confidenee and support of the
public. In politics he is a republican and both he and his wife are members of the
>!orwegian church, the latter being secretary of the Ladies' Aid Society at Velva.
HON. TOBIAS WELO.
Hon. Tobias \Velo, a prominent pioneer figure in the upbuilding of the state and actively
and helpfully connected with the various stages of later development and progress in North
Dakota, is widely known as a successful merchant and leading business man of Velva and
as a legislator connected with the work of framing the laws of the state in both house and
senate. He was born in Norway on the 14th of .January, 1858, a son of John and ilartha
(Hage) Welo, who were also natives of the land of the midnight sun, where they resided
until 1894 and then followed their children to the United States, all having come to the
new world save one son, who is living in Christiania, Norway. After reaching this country
the parents made their home with their son Tobias.
After attending the public schools of Norway, Tobias Welo continued his education in
a military school and later served for three years as a noncommissioned officer in the
Norwegian army. His brother John, now of Christiania, is a noncommissioned officer in the
regular army. It was in the spring of 1882 that Tobias Welo came to the United States,
first locating in Minnesota, where be had some distant relatives, but soon afterward he
went to Canada and during the greater part of the succeeding four years he was employed
on the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railroad from Winnipeg to the coast. In the
spring of 1887, after tlie building of the Great Northern Bailroad into ilinot, he made his
way to that city and soon filed on a preemption of one hundred and si.xty acres at Des Lacs,
Ward county. He stocked his claim with cattle and while proving up on his property
looked after his cattle interests and also was employed by James J. Hill, railroad magnate,
having charge of the section and supervising the work of special construction gangs. He
remained upon the ranch for ten years and was also employed on the railroad tlirough
practically the entires period. His ranch extended clear to the station, making it possible
for him to continue in both lines of work. lie was one of the first men to prove up on a
claim in his section of the state and his cattle grazed over a vast stretch of country.
In the summer of 1897 Mr. Welo came to Velva, at which time there was upon the town
site but a single store — the property of .lohn Muns. Mr. Welo purcliased a half interest in
the business and thus became identified with merchandising there only two or three years
after the railroad had been built through the Mouse river valley. His partnership relation
continued for four years, at the end of which time he purchased the interest of Mr. Muns
and four years later he erected his juesent substantial and commodious business block,
while in the old building he established the Velva Implement Company, an incorporated
company of whicli he was made the president and with which he was connected until 19i;!,
when he sold his interest in that business. In the spring of 1910 he bought out the
Cilbertson & Swanson Implement Company, incorporating the business as the Velva Supply
Company, of which he is the president. He is also extensively interested in farming, owning
three sections of land, one section of which he personally cultivates and which is said to be
the finest section of farm land in that part of the state. He has put upon it many
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 491
splendid improvements and tlie work is carried on along the most progressive metliods of
agriculture.
In 1885 JIi-. Welo was united in marriage to Jliss Nettie Matson, a native of Norway,
who was brought to, America in her early girlhood and was reared in Fillmore county,
Minnesota. To them were born twelve children, seven of whom are yet living, namely:
Nora, Dora, Arthur, Walter, Esther, Wanda and Victor. The wife and mother passed away
in June. 1913, and later Mr. Welo wedded Mrs. Maggie Anderson, nfie Chelson.
Politically Mr. Welo is a republican and for the past tliirty years has been prominent
in local political circles. He served for a number of years as justice of the peace, rendering
decisions which were strictly fair and impartial, and for several years he has been a member
of the school board, serving at the present time as its president. In 1900 he was elected
probate judge and prior to the expiration of his term of office in 1902 he was elected to
represent his district in the state legislature, serving in 1903. In November, 1905, he was
again elected to the general assembly and in 1908 was chosen to represent his district In the
state senate for a four year term. During this time he was chairman of the committee on
highways, bridges and ferries, and served on several other committees. He is a member of the
Lutheran church and high and honorable principles have actuated him at every point in his
career. Viewed in any light, his record has been fearless in conduct and stainless in
reputation. He has ever loyally supported a cause or measure in which he believes and
a laudable desire for advancement has actuated him in all his business career. His life
proves conclusively what may be accomplished when determination and energy lead the way.
Arriving in the new world empty handed, he sought employment that would yield him an
honest living, and making it his rule of life to spend less than his income, he thereby
gained the capital which eventually enabled him to embark in business for himself. Point
by point he has progressed and he is recognized today as one of the foremost merchants and
agriculturists of McHenry county.
ED^VIN HERMAN MAERQCLEIN, M. D.
Dr. Edwin Herman Maercklein, physician and surgeon, engaged in active practice at
Ashley, qualified for his profession by study in the Slilwaukee Medical College, winning his
degree in 1903. He is a native son of Wisconsin, his birth having occurred in Waubeka, May
9, 1880, his parents being William J. and Minnie (Froelich) Maercklein, the fonner a native
of Germany, whence he came to the United States with his parents in his early boyhood.
He and four of his brothers and a brother-in-law were all representatives of the dental
profession and practiced in Milwaukee, where they became widely and prominently known
in that connection. The father died in that city in 1906, and the mother, who was a native
of Wisconsin, passed away in Oakes, North Dakota, in 1914 while visiting her children in this
state.
Dr. Edwin H. Maercklein completed his public school course by study in the high school
of Milwaukee and then, determining to make the practice of medicine his life work, matricu-
lated in 1899 in the Milwaukee Medical College, from which he was graduated as a member
of the class of 1903. Immediately afterward he sought a location in the northwest and he
made his way to Ashley, where for a year and a half he was connected in practice with his
brother. Dr. Fred W. Maercklein. who had been numbered among the physicians of the town
for twelve years but who is now a resident of Oakes. In 1904 Dr. E. H. Maercklein removed
to Forman, Sargent county, where he remained for two years, after which he returned to
Ashley to become the successor of his brother, who at that time became a resident of Oakes.
In the intervening period, covering ten years. Dr. E. H. Maercklein has built up an extensive
practice which he conducts most successfully, carefully diagnosing his cases and displaying
sound and discriminating judgment in administering remedial agencies.
In 1908 he was united in marriage to Miss Ella Johnson, a daughter of L. P. .Johnson,
cashier of the First State Bank of Ashley, and they have become parents of two children,
Dorothy and Florence. In his political views the Doctor is a republican but has limited his
ofllce holding to six years' service as superintendent of the board of health of Ashlej^. Fra-
492 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
teinally he is conneetod with Ashley Lodge, No. 115, I. O. 0. i*".; Bisniaiek Lodge, Ko. 1199,
B. P. O. E.; the Ancient Order of United Workmen; the Brotherhood of American Yeomen;
and tlie Modern Brotherhood of America. He and his wife are Episcopalians in religious
belief and are much interested in the moral progress of the community, while in the social
circles of their town they occupy that enviable position which is accorded in recognition of
personal worth. In his practice Di". jUaercklein has manifested a piogressive spirit that has
been evidenced in his search for new and improved methods of handling the intricate and
complex problems that continually confront the physician, and in his social, religious and
professional relations he has made for himself an enviable name and place.
C. ALBKECHT.
C. Albrccht, a general merchant of Temvik, was born in South Russia in May, 1884,
a son of John and Kate Albrecht, who are natives of that country and in the year 1899
came to America, settling in South Dakota. The father followed carpentering in his
native country but on crossing the Atlantic he rented land in South Diikota, which he
cultivated for a year and then removed to Emmons county, North Dakota, where he filed
on a homestead which he operated and improved until 1912. He then retired from active
business life and established his home in Temvik, where he and his wife are now living.
C. Albrecht spent the days of his boyhood and youth in his native land to the time
when his parents brought the family to the new world. He was then a youth of fifteen.
When the family home was established in Emmons county he, too, took up a homestead
claim which he farmed for six years, and at the end of that time he sold the property and
embarked in merchandising in Temvik, purchasing a general stock of goods to which he has
since added. He now carries a large and complete line of general merchandise and has a
gratifying patronage, drawing his trade from a wide territory. He is ever an obliging
merchant, courteous to all and reliable in his methods and his enterjirisc is winning for him
growing success.
In August, 1907, Mr. Albrccht was married to ]\Iiss Barbara Kiedling and to tliem
have been born five children: Reginald, Esther, Lydia, Manuel and Arthur. Politically
Mr. Albrecht is a republican, but w'hile well versed on the (juestions and issues of the day,
he docs not hold nor desire public ofTu-e. His life is guided by religious teaching and he is
a faithful member of the Ba])tist church.
DA^ID WIRCH.
David Wirch, cashier of the First State Bank of Kulm, Lamoure county, was born
in Russia of German parents on the 20th of October, 1885, a son of John and Maria
(Tillman) Wirch, both of whom were natives of Germany, whence they removed to south-
western Russia, where their son David was born. In 1889 they sought a home in the
United States and settled in Dickey county, North Dakota, where the father took up a
claim, on which he still resides, but in the meantime has extended the boundaries of his
farm until it now comprises over four hundred acres.
David Wirch was educated in the district schools of Dickey county, in the high school
of Ellcndale, and in the State Nonnal and Industrial School at that place. He was but
three years of age when brought by his parents to the United States, so that practically
his entire life has been passed in North Dakota. When his textbooks were put aside he
entered the First State Bank of Kulm as teller and occupied that position for eighteen
months. Later he was advanced to assistant cashier and three years afterward was made
cashier, in which capacity he still continues, contributing much to the successful manage-
ment of the bank by reason of his close application and capability and also through his
popularity, for the patrons of the bank find him always a courteous, efficient and obliging
official, ever ready to further their interests to a point that is not detrimental to the safety
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 493
of the institution. He also holds an equity in a well improved farm of four hundred and
eighty acres four miles south of Kulm.
In 1914 Mr. Wlrch was united in marriage to Miss Edith Lange, of Kulm, a daughter
of G. Lange, a pioneer merchant of the town, now deceased. In politics Mr. Wirch is a repub-
lican, now serving as city auditor, and he is also clerk of the school board, while he and his
wife are members of the German Lutheran church. It will thus be seen that he has a deep
interest in the educational and moral as well as the material progress of the community in
which he makes his home. Although of foreign birth he is thoroughly American in spirit
and interests and does evetything in his power to advance the welfare of his adopted country.
GEORGE H. KEYES.
George H. Keyes, of Ellendale, is one of the foremost citizens of Dickey county, agent
and manager of the Baldwin estate properties of North Dakota, comprising fifty-six thou-
sand acres of valuable farm lands in Dicke}' county, while individually he is also a dealer in
farm lands. His business interests are therefore very extensive and important and in their
control he manifests notable energy, keen discrimination and sound judgment. He was
born at Lake Mills, Jefferson county, Wisconsin, April 13, 1845, a son of Abel and Mary E.
(Cutler) Keyes, the former a native of Northfield, Vermont, and the latter of Connecticut,
while both were representatives of old New England families. Ancestors in the paternal
line served in the Revolutionary war. The giandfatlier, Joseph Keyes, was a millwright by
trade and with his family removed to Wisconsin during the boyhood days of his son Abel,
who afterward became his associate in the building of several mills, some of which they
operated themselves for a number of years. In 1849 Abel Keyes removed to northern Wis-
consin, settling at Menasha, where he engaged in manufacturing interests and in the real
estate business. He wedded Mary E. Cutler, who in her girlhood days had accompanied her
parents to Wisconsin, in which state the Keyes family ranked as one of the most promi-
nent and influential.
George H. Keyes, after pursuing a course in the Menasha high school, attended the
Lawrence University, now Lawrence College, at Appleton, Wisconsin, and in 1864, when a
youth of nineteen, responded to the country's call for troops, serving as a member of Com-
pany D, Forty-first Regiment of Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, with which he remained until
after the close of the war. In 1866 he went to the west, settling in Central City, Colorado,
where he engaged in prospecting and mining, there remaining for three years, after which
he returned to Menasha, Wisconsin, where he was man-ied on the 24th of March, 1809, to
Miss Emma M. Thatcher. They began their domestic life in Menasha, where Mr. Keyes spent
the following fourteen years as a farmer and real estate dealer. In 1883 he brought his
family to North Dakota and homesteaded a quarter section of land in Dickey county, also
took up a tree claim and preempted another quarter section. He proved up on his three
claims and resided on the homestead until 1889, when he was elected county register of
deeds and removed to Ellendale but also maintained his home upon the farm, he and his
family there spending a part of the time. He was reelected to office and served for four
years, making a most creditable record by the prompt and faithful manner in which he dis-
charged his duties. Subsequently he opened an abstract and real estate office, concentrating
his energies upon that business for three years, after which he was elected a member of
the board of state railway and warehouse commissioners and was made its chairman, occupy-
ing that position for four years.
Resuming the pursuits of private life, Mr. Keyes continued in the real estate business in
Ellendale and has become one of the most extensive operators in farm lands in this state.
He was instrumental in influencing Mr. George Baldwin, of Appleton, Wisconsin, to make
his heavy investments in North Dakota farm lands, Mr. Baldwin consenting to this only
on condition that Mr. Keyes should look after the property and manage his investments
in this state. From time to time Mr. Baldwin bought land until he owned sixty-four thou-
sand acres and of this vast property Mr. Keyes has since had the management. Fifty quarter
sections have since been sold, while the present holdings embrace three hundred and fifty
494 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
<iuarter sections or fifty-six thousand acres of valuable farm land in Dickey county. No
resident of North Dakota is better informed concerniiij,' property values or knows better the
possibilities of the soil ::■. ditlerent sections of the state than Mr. Keyes and he has thus been
able to wisely direct the interests of the Baldwin estate as well as his individual investments.
To Mr. and Mrs. Keyes have been born four children: ilary A., the wife of Walter
De La Hunt, of Willmar, Minnesota; Abel, who is deceased; Norman, an agriculturist of
Dickey county; and George H., Jr., cashier of the Bank of Winslow at Winslow, Arizona.
Mr. Keyes is locally prominent as a supporter of the republican party and has served
for ten years as police magistrate of EUcndale and also as a member of the board of alder-
men. He is known throughout the state in Masonic circles, holding membership in KUendale
Lodge, No. 13, A. F. & A. M.; Oakes Chapter, No. 3 2, R. A. M.; Oshkosh Commandery, No.
11, K. T. ; and Dakota Consistory, No. 1, A. & A. S. R., of Fargo. He is also identified with
El Zagal Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., of F'argo, and it is a notable fact that his grandfather,
his father and his eldest son were all members of Oshkosh Commandery. Mr. Keyes has been
accorded high honors in the order, being a past grand master of the grand lodge of North
Dakota, a past grand high priest of the grand chapter and past grand patron of the grand
chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star, while Mrs. Keyes is past grand matron. He has
also been honored with the thirty-third degree, which comes only in recognition of valuable
service rendered by the individual to the organization. He is likewise a member of Aberdeen
Lodge, No. 1046, B. P. O. E., and of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and his wife is
a member of the Methodist church. By reason of his ])rominenco in JIasonie circles and his
operations in farm lands Mr. Keyes has become widely known throughout North Dakota and
the state is proud of him as a representative citizen.
LUTHER D. McGAHAN.
The press is universally recognized as a force whose inllucnce on modern life it is
impossible to estimate as it both forms and expresses public oi)inion and a knowledge of
the facts on which to base opinion must also be gained through its channels. For many
years Luther D. McGahan has been engaged in the newsjjaper business and his influence has
been felt in various parts of the state as he has published newspapers in a number of towns
throughout North Dakota. He is now the owner and editor of the Minot Messenger and is
very active in public affairs there.
He was born in Ravenna, Ohio, September 25, 18G5, a son of Jesse W. and Laurette
(Patterson) McGahan, natives respectively of Pennsylvania and Ohio. The father removed
to the Buckeye state and there engaged in the harness business for a considerable period
but for the last eighteen years of his life lived in California. He passed away in Los
Angeles, December 31, 1915. At the time of the Civil war he enlisted in the Union army
and was at the front for about a year. He received a gunshot wound and was also held
as a prisoner on Johnson's island by Morgan, the famous cavalry leader. His wife ])aased
away in California in 1897.
Luther D. McGahan, who is the youngest in a family of five children, attended school
in his native town until he was sixteen years of age. He then wiiil to .Meadville. Pennsyl-
vania, where he learned the printing business, and subse(iuently went to Akron. Ohio, where
lie remained until the spring of 1885, when he came west and settled at Stanton, Mercer
county. North Dakota. After engaging in ranching there for si.x months he becanu^ con-
nected with a newspaper at Mandan. In 1880 lie first became a newspaper owner, publishing
a weekly at Winona, Emmons county. North Dakota, ojiposite the Standing Rock Indian
reservation. In the spring of 1887 he left that place and with George W. Wilson removed
to Minot, which was at that time the terminus of the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste.
Marie Railroad. After working on a paper at Minot for a few weeks he went to Williston
and there established the Williston Beacon, which he conducted for about a J'ear. He then
moved the plant to Miiuit and founded the Minot .Tournal, which, however, he sold in 1891,
when he removed to Devils Uike. He was editor and manager of a paper there and later
established the Devils Lake Free Press, which he pulilished for a nuMiber of years. At length,
LUTHER D. McGAHAN
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 497
however, lie sold out and removed to Bismarck, where he started the Palladium, which he
conducted for six years, and then sold that paper and returned to Minot, where he served as
northwestern manager for the Edwards-Wood Company, a grain commission company oi
St. Paul, for one year. He was then appointed register of the United States land office,
which position he resigned a few months prior to the expiration of his term as he again
wished to enter the journalistic field. He bought the Minot Democrat, which was established
in 1907 and which he is still conducting, although he has changed the name to the Minot
Messenger. It is a weekly publication and has a large and representative circulation
throughout Ward county. Its news columns are complete and reliable, and its editorials are
forceful and cogent and it is well patronized as an advertising medium. In addition to
publishing the Messenger Mr. McGahan does a large job business, for which the plant is
thoroughly equipped. He owns property in Minot and is one of the substantial citizens
of the town.
Mr. McGahan was married on the 4th of June, 1889, to Miss Jennie H. Spellman, who
was born at Marlboro, Stark county, Ohio, a daughter of William 0. and Sarah (Brandon)
Spellman, both of whom were also born in the Buckeye state. The father is a cabinetmaker
by trade, but is now living retired. He served during the Civil war in an Ohio regiment,
remaining at the front for three years and making an excellent record as a soldier. He is a
cousin of the late Mrs. John D. Rockefeller. To Mr. and Mrs. McGahan have been born four
children, Aileen S., Luther S., Edward A. and Alice C. All are at home with the exception of
Luther S., who is now with Company D, First North Dakota Infantry, at Mercedes, Texas.
Mr. McGahan is an independent republican in politics and has been called to a number of
offices of public trust. During the thirteenth general assembly he represented Burleigh
county in the lower house and subsequently he served as chief enrolling clerk in the senate.
He was for a number of years a member of the city council of Bismarck and was also for
some time head of the police department and head of the public improvement department
in the city of Minot which is under Uie commission form of government. For four years he
was register of the United States land office under President Roosevelt and in this as in all
other official capacities he proved systematic, capable and conscientious in the discharge of
his duties. He was a director of the State Fair for several years. Ha takes a great
interest in everything affecting the welfare of Minot and Ward county and both personally
and through his paper is constantly seeking to promote the general welfare. Fraternally
lie is affiliated with the Elks and with the Knights of Pythias, in which he has passed
through all of the chairs, and also with several insurance orders. He is a widely known and
highly esteemed citizen of Minot, and his personal qualities are such that he has gained the
warm friendship of many.
WALTER PERiaNS MACOMBER.
McLean county has no more prominent citizen than Walter Perkins Macomber, who
for several years has been actively identified with its development along business and indus-
trial lines. His early home was in the east, for he was born in Bangor, Maine, on the 10th
of May, 1859, a son of James and Mercy (Perkins) Macomber. He attended .school in the
old Pine Tree state during his boyhood and continued his education for a time after his
removal to Minnesota. When a young man he became a resident of Anoka, Minnesota, and
was soon numbered among the most influential men of that city, being called upon to serve
as its mayor for two years.
It was in 1889 that Mr. Macomber came to North Dakota and located upon the boundary
line between McLean and Burleigh counties when that section was a pioneer region. He
became interested in the coal deposits there and developed productive mines, of which
he is the active manager. He has also been identified with other business enterprises of
importance and has can-ied on an extensive trade in land and grain. Farming has also
claimed liis attention and today he owns over one thousand acres of very valuable land in
this state. F'or several years past he has had charge of the commercial end of the enterprise
established by Senator W. D. Washburn under the name of The Washburn Lignite Coal Com-
Vol. 11—27 ,
498 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
paiiy, developing coal mines near Wilton, and they have built up one of the most important
industries of that section of the state.
On the 23d of August, 1877, Mr. Macomber was married in Anoka, Minnesota, to Miss
Jeannette L. Kelsey, and they have become the parents of two children: Elizabeth, now the
wife of Dr. R. C. Thompson, of Wilton; and Charlotte, the wife of Gilbert W. Stewart, of
Wilton.
Although a very modest and unassuming man, Mr. Macomber has always borne an
influential part in public affairs and for the past four years has been a member of the state
board of parole. He is generous almost to a fault and the city of Wilton has been greatly
benefited thereby, for he is always willing to aid any enterprise for the good of the com-
munity. He has a wide acquaintance throughout the state and is recognized everywhere
as a public-spirited and progressive citizen.
HALVOR P. LANGEMO.
Halvor P. Langemo, a representative of farming interests in Barnes county, was born
in Goodhue count}', Minnesota, April 6, 1865, and is a son of Peter Langemo, who is men-
tioned in connection with the sketch of Nels P. Langemo on another page of this work. His
boyhood days were spent upon his father's farm and after acquainting himself with the
branches of learning taught in the public schools he attended St. Olaf College at Northfield,
Minnesota, for two years. He afterward concentrated his attention upon farm work until
1886, when he left Minnesota and on the 3d of August arrived at Valley City, Barnes county,
North Dakota. There he joined his elder brother, Kels P. Langemo, by whom he was em-
ployed until 1894, when he took up farm work on his own account and has since concentrated
his attention and energies upon general agricultural pursuits. He now owns a section of
land, constituting an excellent farm, and upon his place he has planted a fine grove. There
is a substantial residence and good barns and outbuildings and he makes a specialty of raising
shorthorn cattla. He also cultivates grain, hay, oats and barley and he is a diligent and
untiring worker who owes his success to his close application and the many hours of labor
which he puts in each day.
On the 22d of November, 1899, Mr. Langemo was married to Miss Ida Maasjo, who was
born in Barnes county, Xorth Dakota, December 26, 1882, her parents being Mr. and Mrs.
Ole E. Maasjo, natives of Eidsvold, Norway. Mr. and Mrs. Langemo have become the
parents of nine children, Marie, Martha, Peter Oscar, Inga Matilda, Arthur Theodore, Henry
Ingvold, Edwin Norman, Ervin Maurice an'd Herman Milfrcd.
The parents are members of the Lutheran church and their many good qualities have
endeared them to all who know them, while Mr. Langemo's capabilty as a business man has
placed him with the substantial farmers of Barnes county.
CARL A. OWENSON.
With the business interests of Renville county, Carl A. Owenson has been identified
since 1905 and is today successfulh* engaged in general merchandising at Tolley. His birth
occurred in Danway, Illinois, August 28, 1877, and he is a son of Knute and Sophia (Harne)
Owenson, who were bom, reared and married in Norway. In the early '70s they came to the
United States and located in Illinois, but afterward removed to Hamilton county, Iowa, and
still later to Winnebago county, that state, where they spent the remainder of their lives.
The father died in 1893 and the mother in 1895.
Carl A. Owenson obtained a good practical education in the public schools and also took
a commercial course at the Metropolitan Business College of Minneapolis, Minnesota. In
early life he learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed at intervals for nine years. On
the founding of the town of Tolley, North Dakota, in 1905 he removed to that place and for
two years was employed in the hardware store of F. O. .Johnson. At the end of that time he
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 499
purchased an interest in the mercantile business of Fred Schmidt, becoming a member of the
lirm of Schmidt & Owenson, which was formed in August, 1907. lu February, 1910, he
bought out his partner but in the following August sold the business to W. E. Grinnell. For
three years Mr. Owenson was then engaged in the insurance business, but in February, 1914,
lie again embarked in mercantile pursuits, buying the store of William Schmidt, which he has
since conducted. He carries a large and well selected stock of general merchandise and
enjoys a good patronage. In 1903 he homesteaded in Renville county and later bought an
additional one hundred and sixty acres of land cornering on his original tract but has since
sold his farm property and now gives his undivided attention to merchandising.
On the 26th of September, 1907, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Owenson and Miss
Mabel Lyder, of Ellsworth, Iowa, and they have become the parents of two children: Vivian
Sophia and Lois Marie. They are consistent members of the Lutheran church, and Mr. Owen-
son also belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America, and to Minot Lodge, No. 10S9, B. P.
0. E. He has seen much of this country and has also traveled abroad. In 1901 he went to
Seattle, where he worked as a millwright and carpenter for a year and a half, and subse-
quently was at San Francisco and Los Angeles, whence he removed to ToUey, North Dakota.
He has also made several trips to Iowa and five years ago again went to Seattle. He visited
the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at St. Louis and in 1900 made a tour of Europe. The
democratic party finds in him a stanch supporter of its principles and he has served as a
member of the town board of Tolley. He is an advocate of all worthy measures for the good
of the community and is one of the representative citizens of Renville county.
C. K. RITCHIE, M. D.
Dr. C. K. Ritchie, a physician of marked ability practicing at '\'elva, was born in the
province of Ontario, Canada, on the Sth of September, 1858, a son of Peter F. and Margaret
(Kidd) Ritchie, who crossed the border into the United States in the fall following the birth
of the Doctor and established their home in Minnesota. Subsequently they made several
removals, at length returning to Canada, but still later they again came to this country
and spent their last days in the state of Washington.
Dr. Ritchie acquired a public school education and then in preparation for a professional
career entered the Barnes Medical College at St. Louis, Missouri, from which he was grad-
uated as a member of the class of 1901. He located for practice in Minneapolis! but a severe
case of asthma developed and forced him to leave that city. Accordingly in 1903 he sought a
change of climate by removing to Velva, where he has since remained, and his ability has
brought to him an extensive and growing practice. He has all the sterling characteristics
of the capable physician and is most careful in the diagnosis of his cases, while his judg-
ment is seldom, if ever, at fault in foreseeing the outcome of disease.
In 1888 Dr. Ritchie was married to Miss Scintilla Sexta Pond, of Minneapolis, and they
have become the parents of three children, namely: Lindsay K., a resident of Minneapolis,
Minnesota; and Agnes M. and Cyrus H., both at home. Fraternally Dr. Ritchie is a Mason,
belonging to Velva Lodge, No. 76, and he is also identified with Velva Lodge, I. 0. 0. F.,
the Rebeccas and tlie"^Iodern Woodmen. In politics he maintains an independent course nor
does he have desire for the honors or emoluments of office. It is his purpose to give undivided
attention to his professional duties and colleagues and contemporaries recognize his ability,
while the public endorses his course bj' a liberal patronage.
JOSEPH S. FISCHER.
It is a noticeable fact that young men are the dominant factors in the upbuilding of
the west. They have carried with them into that section of the country a spirit of progress
and enterprise combined with youthful enthusiasm, and their efforts have been most effective
and resultant. Active among the leading young business men of Strasburg is Joseph S.
500 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Fischer, who is assistant cashier in a bank tliere. He was born in Eureka, South Dakota,
April 12, 1895, a son of Stephen and Cecelia (Keonig) Fischer, who are natives of Russia.
In early life the father made his way from that country to the new world, settling in South
Dakota, where he engaged in farming with his father for several years. In 1900 he removed
to Wishek, North Dakota, where he engaged in general merchandising and in the grain
business, continuing active along those lines at that place for several years. He then dis-
posed of his interests there and removed to Strasburg, where he became one of the organizers
of the First State Bank, of which he has continuously been the president, with M. Van Soest
and Joe Dillman as vice presidents. This bank is capitalized for fifteen thousand dollars
and their deposits amount to about ninety thousand dollars. The bank was organized in
1914 and the company erected a modern bank building on the main street of the town. Mr.
Fischer is thus closely associated with the business interests of Strasburg, where he and his
wife are pleasantly located in an attractive home.
Their son, Joseph S. Fischer was reared and educated in Wishek, attended the common
schools, and later pursued a course in St. John's University at Collegeville, Minnesota, and in
St. Thomas College at St. Paul. He then entered his father's bank as assistant cashier but
performs virtually the duties of cashier and is thus active in the careful and conservative
conduct and management of the bank. He was reared in the Catholic faith, to which he still
adheres, and his political allegiance is given to the democratic party. His life is characterized
by the spirit of western enterprise and progress and his advancement seems assured.
ARGALUS WILSON GRAY.
Argalus Wilson Gray, an attorney at law practicing at Kenraare, was born neai Benezett,
Elk county, Pennsylvania, February 6, 1870, a son of Argalus White and Emeline (White-
naek) Gray. The father, a native of Bradford county, Pennsylvania, became a millwright
and farmer, following agricultural pursuits in Elk county, Pennsylvania, until the early
'50s, when he made an overland trip to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he established a general
store, becoming a pioneer merchant of that section of the state. In the '60s he removed to
Marion. Iowa, where he continued to engage in general merchandising. It was there he met
and married Miss ^Vhitenack, with whom he returned to Elk county, Pennsylvania, where he
purchased land and engaged in farming near the town of Dubois, living upon that place for
twenty years. He then retired from active business life and took up his abode in Dubois,
where he erected a fine residence, which he occupied until his death in 1900. His sons are
engaged in the printing business and the Gray Printing Company is one of the well estab-
lished and successful concerns of Dubois. His widow, who was born in Ohio in 1836, went
with her parents to Nebraska at a very early day. Since her husband's death she has con-
tinued to live in Dubois and has now reached the advanced age of eighty years.
A. W. Gray, whose name introduces this review, pursued his early education in the dis-
trict schools of Elk county. For a time he assisted his father on the home farm and later
engaged in the printing business at Dubois, where he served an apprenticeship, while later
he became associated with his brothers in conducting the Gray Printing Company and estab-
lishing their plant. Their business included the publication of a newspaper. A. W. Gray,
however, turned to the west in 1893, when he removed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he
worked at the printer's trade through the daytime and pursued a night course in the law
department of the University of Minnesota. At length he was graduated therefrom with
the class of 1898, after which he returned to his old Pennsylvania home, intending to practice
in Dubois, but he had lived too long in the west to again be contented in the cast, and in
1899 he again arrived in Minneapolis, where he followed his profession for a year. In the
spring of 1900 he reached W'ard county and opened an ofllce in Kenmare in the midst of what
was still at that time a frontier district. He was the first lawyer to establish an office in
Ward county outside of Minot, the county seat, thus becoming a pioneer attorney. He soon
built up a fine practice and he enjoys the entire confidence of the people by reason of his
professional ability and personal worth. He always prepares his cases with great thorough-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 501
ness and care, is a strong and logical thinker, clear in his reasoning and concise in his appeals
to the court — qualities which figure prominently in the attainment of success before the bar.
On the 12th of September, 1900, Mr. Gray was united in marriage to IMiss M. Lulu Carr,
of Minneapolis, Minnesota, who was born in Farmington, that state, and spent her girlhood
largely in Minneapolis. She supplemented her early education by study at Minneapolis,
Minnesota, where she pursued a teacher's kindergarten course and then taught in a kinder-
garten school in Minneapolis. Her father was Frank J. Carr, a native of Maine, who at the
outbreak of the Civil war enlisted in the Twelfth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, serving
from 1861 until 1865. In the '70s he removed to Farmington, Minnesota, where he purchased
land, which he developed and cultivated for many years. Later he took up his abode in
Minneapolis and was connected with its police department for twentj' years. He still makes
his home in that city but is now living retired. His wife, Elizabeth Wade, who was born
amid the White mountains of New Hampshire, also survives. Mr. and Mrs. Gray became the
parents of five children, of whom only two are now living: Argalus W., who was born in
Kenmare, August 3, 1905; and Elizabeth Lulu, born April 21, 1008.
'N^Tien Mr. Gray removed to Kenmare he and his brother, George M. Gray, purchased the
town newspaper, called the Kenmare News, conducting it while both were engaged in the
practice of law. In this work they were successful. At first they had an old Washington
hand press and they brought the first cylinder power printing press into Ward county.
While they were owners and edited the paper it had the largest circulation of any newspaper
in the county, but at length they disposed of their interests therein to devote their entire
attention to the practice of law. Mr. Gray homesteaded in Ward county in 1903 and yet owns
both farm land and city property. George M. Gray died at Fargo, North Dakota, October
31, 1912, while acting as chairman of the republican state central committee. With
financial interests A. W. Gray has also been prominently identified. In association with
others he organized the Citizens State Bank of Kenmare, serving as one of its directors for
some time, while he was likewise vice president and director of the Farmers & Merchants
Bank of Powers Lake, which he organized. With others he purchased the Bank of Donny-
brook and acted as its president for a number of years, but he has now disposed of his
banking interests and gives his attention entirely to law practice. His property holdings
include valuable fruit lands and city real estate in eastern Oregon.
Politically Mr. Gray is a republican and for two terms, or from 1913 to 1916, he served
as city attorney. He was also public administrator of Ward county for two terms. He is a
very active, prominent and influential citizen and for one year was president of the Com-
mercial Club of his town. Fraternally he is connected with the Masonic lodge, in which he
is now junior warden. Both he and his wife are active and loyal members of the Methodist
Episcopal church, in which Mr. Gray is serving on the board, while his wife is a member
of the Ladies' Aid Society and of the choir, and both do everything in their power to pro-
mote the growth of the church and extend its influence.
F. W. KEMPF.
F. W. Kempf, mayor of Kulm and identified with its business interests as a photogi-apher,
was born in Hastings, Minnesota, September 8, 187#, a son of August and Julia Kempf,
who were born near Berlin, Germany, and were there reared and married. They had one
child before they emigrated to the new world, at which time they became residents of
Columbus, Texas, where the father engaged in the stock business for a number of years.
From that point he removed northward to Hastings, Minnesota, where he conducted a butch-
ering business, remaining active along that line until he put aside business cares, spending
his remaining days in the enjoyment of a well earned rest. He died in St. Paul in 1915,
having for a number of years survived his wife, who passed away in Winthrop, Minnesota,
in 1902.
F. W. Kempf pursued his education in the schools of Winthrop until he had completed
the high school course, after which he attended the Hastings (Minn.) Commercial College.
For some years thereafter he was identified with newspaper work and with various other
502 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
lines of business. In 1903 lie came to North Dakota and the following year was appointed
assistant secretary of the North Dakota state senate, in which important position he served
acceptably during three sessions. Prior to his removal to this state he engaged in photography
in Winthrop and in JIankato, Minnesota, and following his removal to Kulm he established
a photographic studio in that city, where he has since continued, his ability as a representa-
tive of the art bringing to him a liberal and well deserved patronage.
In his fraternal relations 'Mr. Kempf is connected with Bismarck Lodge, No. 1199, B. P.
O. E., with the Royal Neighbors, and with the Modern Woodmen of America. Politically he
is an eanicst republican and for several years has served as constable and chief of police of
Kulm, and in 191G he was elected mayor of the city, receiving all but two votes east for the
office, a fact which indicates his personal popularity and the confidence and trust reposed in
him. He is a member of the German Lutheran church and his influemc (illicially and per-
sonally is always on the side of right, progress and imiirovement.
WADE A. MINAE.
Wade A. ilinar, a well known druggist of Tolley, is a native of Minnesota, his birth
occurring in Austin, September 25, 1880, and he is a son of Henry J. and Hattie (Hay)
Minar. His father was born in New York and his mother in Brownsdale, Minnesota, in
which state they were married. For a number of years Henry J. Minar was identified with
the real estate business in Austin, but in 1910 he came to North Dakota and has since made
his home in Tolley.
Wade A. Minar is indebted to the public schools for the educational privileges he enjoyed
during his boyhood. At the early age of twelve years he became a wage earner, being
employed in a groceiy store in Austin, Minnesota, where he worked before and after school
hours for about three years. He then entered a drug store and began the study of pharmacy.
He was in the employ of two different druggists in Austin for a number of years and in
1898 passed the state examination and was registered as a pharmacist in Minnesota. In
1900 he removed to Courtenay, North Dakota, where he was employed in the drug store of
H. J. Murphy, and subsequently he and Mr. Murphy established two branch stores, one at
Anamoose and the other at Carpio. Mr. Minar owned a half interest in both establishments,
which were sold between 1903 and 1905, and in the latter year he removed to Tolley and
established his present business. He carries a fine line of drugs' and has built up a good
trade. He also owns about a section of valuable farming land in Renville township and in
the management of his affairs has displayed excellent business ability and sound judgment.
Mr. Minar was married in 1900 to Miss Theresa Shay, of Pine Island, Minnesota, and
to them have been born two daughters, namelj': Catherine and Marian. Politically Mr. Minar
is an ardent republican and for some years he has efficiently served as a member of the school
board. He is a member of the Modem Woodmen of America and also belongs to Minot
Ijodge, No. 1089, B. P. 0. E.; and Tolley Lodge, I. 0. 0. F. He is one of the representative
citizens of his community and stands high in both business and social circles.
RUSH W. Dia<EY.
A leading citizen of EUendale is Rush W. Dicke}', who was born in Pine Island, Minne-
sota, April 25, 1863, a son of Oscar A. and Elizabeth (Burnett) Dickey, who were natives
of the Empire state and soon after their marriage removed from New York to Minnesota,
settling on a farm in Goodhue county, where the father engaged in general agricultural
pursuits throughoiit his active life. For a short period he was also identified with merchan-
dising in Pine Island. About 1879 he removed to South Dakota and homesteaded in Brown
county, twelve miles northwest of Aberdeen, there continuing his residence initil death called
him about 1904. Ilis widow survives and now resides with her sons in Frederick, South
Dakota.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 503
After mastering the district scliool course in Goodhue count}', Minnesota, Rush W.
Dickey continued his education in the Pine Island high school and also attended a night
school at Pine Island. In 1881 he removed to South Dakota and secured a squatter's claim
in McPherson county, which he held until he attained his majority and then entered it under
the homestead act. During those years he worked at the railroad station in Westport, where
he picked up a knowledge of telegraphy, and in 1883 he was given a position as a telegrapher
on the Milwaukee railroad, while in 1889 he was made station agent at Ellendale, which posi-
tion he held for eighteen years, being in the service of the Milwaukee system for a quarter
of a century. While employed as station agent at Ellendale he also operated a dray line as
a side issue, conducted a coal business and engaged in real estate dealing, beside cultivating
some of his farm properties. In a word, he is a man that has ever recognized and utilized
business opportunities and by his careful management of his interests has won success. In
1908 he built the Dickey Hotel, erecting one of the finest buildings of its class to be found
in any of the smaller towns in the state. For five years he conducted the hotel, making it one
of the well known and successful hostelries of the state, but in 1914 he sold the property and
has since given his attention to the management of his farming interests and to the buying
and selling of farm lands. His knowledge of realty values has enabled him to deal most
successfully along that line and his business interests are now meeting with a substantial
measure of prosperity.
On the 27th of .June, 1891, Mr. Dickey was united in marriage to Miss Mabel E. Denio,
of Ellendale, and they became the parents cf four children, of whom three are living: May
E., who is a graduate of the State Normal and Industrial School of Ellendale, of the St.
Mary's College of Faribault, Minnesota, and of the Chicago School of Art and is now teaching
in an art school in Evanston; Ada G., the wife of William Hecklesmiller, a merchant of
Ellendale; and Max Milford, who is still attending school.
Mr. Dickey is a representative and exemplary member of the Masonic fraternity, belong-
ing to Ellendale Lodge, No. 13, F. & A. M.: South Dakota Consistory, No. 4, A. A. S. R., of
Aberdeen, South Dakota; and El Zagal Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., of Fargo. He is also
identified with the Modern Woodmen of America. His political allegiance has been given
the republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and for two terms
he served as alderman of Ellendale, being a member of the citj' council which built the sewer
system and electric light plant and also the concrete sidewalks of this city. In a word,
he has been a dominant factor in the upbuilding and improvement of the town in many ways
and has been most closely and helpfully connected with its interests for a third of a cen-
tury, his labors being at all times effective and resultant.
■WILLIAM H. UHLENKOTT.
William H. Uhlenkott, cashier of the German State Bank and one of its stockholders
and directors, has thus been identified with the business interests of Strasburg since the 1st
of .lune. 1914. For several years before he had been a resident of North Dakota and he has
always lived west of the Mississippi. He was born in Stearns county, Minnesota, November
21, 1887, and is a son of George and Mary (Metzger) LTilenkott, the former a native of
Westphalia, Germany, and the latter of Bavaria. The father came to America with his
parents when a lad of but six years and after attaining his majority engaged in farming on
his own accoiint in Stearns county, Minnesota, where he was busily engaged in agricultural
pursuits until 1913, when he retired from active life. He and his wife are now residents
of Freeport, Minnesota.
Through the period of his boyhood and youth William H. Uhlenkott remained a resident
of Stearns county and his time was divided between the duties of the schoolroom, the pleas-
ures of the playground and the work of the fields upon the old homestead. He continued
under the parental roof until he reached adult age and then began working in a bank as book-
keeper and assistant cashier, occupying that position for three years. He afterward removed
to Randolph, Nebraska, where he was employed as second assistant cashier in the Security
National Bank for four years. He next went to New Leipzig, North Dakota, where he
504 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
remained as assistant cashier for nine months. On the 1st of June, 1914, he arrived in Stras-
burg and accepted the position of cashier of the German State Banlc, of wliicli lie is a stock-
holder and director, with F. A. Lahr as the president. This bank is capitalized for ten thou-
sand dollars, has a surplus and undivided profits of fifteen hundred dollars and its deposits
amount to forty-five thousand dollars. Mr. Uhlenkott was one of the organizers of this
bank and his experience, close application and energy have been strong elements in its grow-
ing success. In addition to a regular banking business the firm deals in real estate, makes
farm loans and writes insurance and their business in these connections is also substantial.
In October, 1909, Mr. Uhlenkott was married to Miss Cliristina Micklish and to them
were born three children: one who died in infancy; Eva M., born in April, 1912; and Flora,
who was born in September, 1915, and passed away in the same month. Mr. I'hlenkott holds
membership in the Catholic church and is also identified with the ICnights of Columbus. In
politics he is a democrat and is now filling the position of town clerk. His friends recognize
in him a progressive business man, alert and enterprising, to whom opportunity is ever a call
to action.
ST. lilARY'S PARISH.
St. Mary's parish at Grand Forks, of which the Rev. M. J. Driscoll is pastor, was created
by the Rt. Rev. James O'Reilly, D. D., on the 23d of June, 1914. It comprises all Catholic
families residing south of De Mers avenue and the Great Northern Railroad as far as the half
way line between Grand Forks and Thompson. Rev. Driscoll was appointed to take pastoral
charge of the parish by the bishop and the first mass was said September 15, 1914, in the
Knights of Columbus hall. Not long afterward the property on Belmont avenue opposite
the Winship Triangle was purchased, the lot being one hundred by one hundred and forty
feet. Already work has been begun on what when completed will be one of the most artistic
of the small church edifices in the state of North Dakota. The work under the charge of
Father Driscoll has been growing steadily and the parish is now well organized.
0. T. HOUSE.
0. T. House, the well known and popular postmaster of Napoleon, North Dakota, and
one of the pioneers of Logan count}', was born in West Union, Iowa, on the Gth of November,
1752, his ])arents being Alexander and Sarah (Sturgis) House. The father was a native of
New York state and the mother of Pennsylvania, but they were married in Iowa, whither
they had removed in early life. Mr. House secured a homestead in Fayette county, that
state, where he continued to reside until his death, which occurred in the town of Fayette in
1913. The mother of our subject had died in 1859 and the father had subsequently married
Miss Augusta Lovell, who passed away one month prior to her husband's death.
In the state of his nativity 0. T. House grew to manhood, pursuing his education in
the public schools and graduating from the Ainsworth high school in the class of 1871. After
putting aside his textbooks he worked on his father's farm for about a year and then started
out in life for himself. He spent two years in traveling throughout the western states,
during which time he was variously employed, and then returned home. In 1S83 he came to
North Dakota and first located in Steele, Kidder county, but the following year removed
to Logan county and filed on a honustead, on which he proved up, making that place his
home for ten years. Since that time he has been a resident of Napoleon and has followed
various occupations, being identified with the hotel and livery business for some time. He
has also dealt in land and has engaged in the stock business to some extent. He owns four
hundred and eighty acres of good land in Logan county, two hundred acres of which he is
farming at the present time with excellent results.
Mr. House was married in 1893 to Aliss Mary Helmer, of Napoleon, and they liave
become the parents of four children, nanudy: Olive Frances, now the wife of 0. K. Winjum,
a farmer of Logan county; and Alexine, Marion and Anna, all three at home.
REV. JI, J. DEISCOLL
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 507
It was in March, 1914, that Mr. House was appointed postmaster of Napoleon and lie
has since served in that capacity with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of
tlie general public. As a democrat he takes an influential part in political affairs in his
communit}' and has been called upon to serve in several official positions of honor and trust.
He was appointed the first sheriff of Logan county and was subsequently elected to that office,
serving in all four years. He has always been found true to every trust reposed in him
and is justly regarded as one of the prominent and representative citizens of his part of the
state.
JOHN B. MAKLENEE.
.John B. Marlenee, who was one of the promoters of the pioneer development of McHenry
county and is now a retired farmer living in Velva, was born in Jackson county, Ohio, July
3, 1849, a son of John and Jane (Patterson) Marlenee, the former a native of Maryland and
the latter of Ohio. When their son John was but three years of age they removed with their
family to Guthrie county, Iowa, where the father entered a homestead claim from which he
developed a farm that continued to be his place of residence until his death.
.Jolin B. Marlenee received only such educational advantages as could be secured in pio-
neer days in Iowa. His training at farm labor, however, was not meager, for from an early
age he assisted in the arduous task of developing and improving the fields upon the old Iowa
homestead. In 1876 he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah M. Moore, of Guthrie county,
Iowa, and he began farming on his own account in that locality. In 1883 he made his way
westward to McHenry county, North Dakota, where he took up a preemption of one hundred
and sixty acres on Mouse river, three miles west of Velva. There he resided for eleven years
or until 1894, when he went to Minot in order to give his children the benefit of education
in the city schools. The following spring, however, he returned to the hills and engaged in
sheep raising, with which industry he was identified for three ye.lrs. He then disposed of
his sheep and turned his attention to dealing in cattle and horses, remaining an active factor
in that business until 1904. He aftenvard .spent a year in British Columbia and in recent
years he has bought and sold horses but at the present time is living retired from busi-
ness, making his home in Velva. He still owns three quarter sections of land and through
the capable management of his business affairs in earlier days he won success.
To Mr. and Mrs. Marlenee have been born four children, three of whom survive, as fol-
lows: Loretta, who is the wife of Joseph Strong, of Ward county. North Dakota; Jerome,
a resident of Swift Current, Canada ; and Lawrence, an agriculturist residing in Montana.
Fratenially Mr. Marlenee is connected with Velva Lodge, No. 92, I. 0. 0. F. His political
allegiance is given to the democratic party but he has never been an aspirant for public
office. For a third of a century he has lived in the Mouse river district and his son Law-
rence was the first white child born on the Mouse river. Through all the intervening years
he has taken an active part in the work of development not only through its pioneer stages
but in the later periods of progress which have brought this section of North Dakota to its
present state of prosperity.
A. B. MALIN.
A. B. Malin, a real estate and insurance broker of Kulm, was born in Christian county,
Illinois, January 20, 1861, a son of Jeremiah and Amanda (Pierce) Malin, both representa-
tives of pioneer families of Christian county. The father removed to that locality with his
parents during his early boyhood. He was born in Ohio, of Scotch ancestry, and the Pierce
family is an old one in America, the grandfather of Mr. Malin serving under General Jack-
son in the Black Hawk war. Jeremiah Malin lived in Christian county, Illinois, from his
second year until 1908, when he sold his farm there and removed to Kansas, his home being
now in Lewis, Edwards county, that state. He is in his eighty-first year, but his wife
passed away about 1870.
508 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
A. B. Maliii suppli'inentcd a district school eilucation by a commeicial course in the
Pierce Business Colk^gc at Keokuk, Iowa, and for some years alterward drifted around,
being variously employed until 1883, when he came to Xorth Dakota. He worked through
the harvest season and in the fall of that year went south into Kansas, where he pre-
empted a quarter section of land in Edwards county. In the spring of 1885 he made further
arrangements for having a home of his own by his marriage to Miss Lilly Bowlus. In the
following fall he was elected register of deeds of Edwards county on the first democratic
ticket ever voted in that county. He served for one term and in the spring of 1889, after
the great land rush in Oklahoma, he removed to Guthrie, where he continued until the
opening of the Cherokee strip to settlers in 1893. He then established his home in I'erry,
where he remained until 1890, after which he spent the following three years in different
states. In 1899 he arrived at Kulm. Xorth Dakota, and subsequently engaged in the real
estate and insurance business, with which he has since been prominently identified, negotiat-
ing many important transfers and also writing a large amount of insurance. He has per-
sistently, carefully and wisely managed his business affairs and has gained thereby a sub-
stantial measure of success. He also owns a quarter section of land in Laraoure county
and an equity in four quarter sections in Logan county.
Mr. and ilrs. JIalin became the parents of three children: Bert B., who is with the
\V. S. Milner Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota, as instructor in their motor school; Daisy
A., the wife of H. E. Ross, a druggist of Glenn UUin, North Dakota ; and Asa C, who is a
teacher of manual training in the schools of Leeds, Xorth Dakota. The wife and mother
passed away April 7, I'BOg, and on the 3d of January, 1911, Mr. Malin was married to
Mrs. L. C. Gore, nee Moore, of Minneapolis, who by her former marriage had a daughter,
Irene Gore.
Mr. Malin exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the
republican party and has served as justice of the peace for several years, his decisions in
that office being characterized by strict fairness and impartiality. For si.K or seven j-ears
he has been clerk of the School board and he is interested in all that pertains to the educa-
tional progress of the community. Fraternally he is associated with the Modern Wood-
men of America and is prominent in ilasonic circles as a member of Maple River Lodge,
No. 41, F. & A. M., while of Edgeley Chapter, X^'o. 22, R. A. M., he is a charter member. His
wife belongs to the Universalist church and thej' are highly esteemed in their community,
where they have gained many warm friends, the hospitality of the best homes being cor-
diallv extended them.
HAROLD IXGVALDSON.
Harold Ingvaldson, who occupies a foremost position among the progressive business
men of Wells county, is now serving as cashier of the First National Bank of Fesscnden
and is also identified with several other banks in that section of the state. His early home
was on the other side of the Atlantic, for he was born at Haniar, Norway, October 2rj,
1886, and there he was reared, his early education being acquired in the schools of that
country. After his graduation from Hamar College, he came to the United States in 1907
and first located at Elbow Lake. Minnesota, where he worked on a farm for one year. He
then attended the Park Region Lutheran College at Fergus Falls, Minnesota, for one
term.
Since tliat time Mr. Ingvaldson has been a resident of Xorth Dakota and has been
actively identified with the banking business. He was first connected with the Citizens
State Bank of Enderlin, Ransom county, as bookkeeper and later as assistant cashier,
remaining with that institution for one year. He then accepted the position of cashier of
the Merchants State Bank of Drake, where he also remained a year, and in January, 1911,
became cashier of the First National Bank of Fessenden. in which capacity he is still .serving.
He is also a stockholder and director of that hank, which was organized as the Fessenden
State Bank in 1896 but was reorganized in 1903 under its present name. The capital stock
was originallv ten thousand dollars but when it became a national bank its capital was
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 509
raised to t\vcnt.y-five thousaiul dolhiis and it now has a surplus of fifteen tliousand dollars
and undivided profits of seven thousand dollars. Its present officers are H. Thorson, of
Drake, North Dakota, president; Otto Bremmer, of St. Paul, Minnesota, vice president;
Harold Ingvaldson, cashier: and S. P. Long, assistant cashier. The first two have held the
same offices since 1908.
Jlr. Ingvaldson is also serving as president of the Farmers State Bank of Cathay,
North Dakota, and vice president of the State Bank of Heimdal, and is interested in other
financial institutions in the same section of the state. He occupies a prominent position in
banking circles and in the conduct of his affairs has displayed excellent business and execu-
tive ability.
On the 2d of February, 1914, Mr. Ingvaldson was united in marriage to Miss Magda
Skogmo, of Manfred. North Dakota, who is .a graduate of the Valley City Normal School,
and they have become the parents of two children; Helen Sigrid and Harold Arnold. They
arc earnest and consistent members of the Lutheran church of Fessenden and Mr. Ingvaldson
affiliates with the republican party, now serving as secretary of the county central republi-
can committee. He is one of the representative citizens of his community, having the con-
fidence and high regard of all with whom he is brought in contact either in business or social
affairs.
CHARLES LANG.
Charles Lano, editor and proprietor of the Mohall Tribune-News, published at Mohall.
Renville county, was born at Cannon Falls, Minnesota, a son of Anton and Maria ( Stern 1
Lano, who were natives of Germany and in young manhood and womanhood crossed the
Atlantic to the new world. They were married in Chicago and afterward removed to Min-
nesota, 5Ir. Lano filing on a homestead which constitutes the present site of the city of St.
Peter. The land was so sandy that he gave up his claim and bought on the Cannon river
between Red Wing and Northfield. There ho carried on general agricultural pursuits and
for m.any years he also burned charcoal, thus adding materially to his income. He died
in 188-1, while his wife long survived, passing away in 1907.
After completing a course in the Cannon Falls liigh school at the age of seventeen
years Charles Lano left home and started out in the business world on his own account,
going to St. Paul, where he engaged in peddling cranberries. Subsequently he worked in
various capacities, spending a brief period in railroad work, and later he engaged in well
drilling, which business he followed for about five years. In 1896 he returned to Cannon
Falls and for four years was assistant postmaster at that place. In 1901 he became asso-
ciated with the International Harvester Company, which he represented for a year. In
1903 he identified himself with the banking business by securing a position as bookkeeper
in a bank at Nerstrand, ilinnesota, and in January, 1903, he removed to Mohall, North
Dakota, and opened the books for the Mohall Security Bank. During the latter part of that
year he purchased a well drilling machine and prospected for coal on the Mouse river. He
discovered coal for his employers but it was at a depth of two hundred feet and they had
not enough capital to develop a mine at that depth. In April. 1904, he was appointed
postmaster of Mohall and continued to occupy the position until September, 1913. Within
that period, or in 1911, he bought the Mohall Tribune and in May, 1914, he purchased the
Mohall News, consolidating the two papers under the name of the Mohall Tribune-News,
which is today the leading paper of Renville county. It is published according to the
methods of modern journalism and its editorial utterances are bright, trenchant, clearly
pointed articles, always commanding attention and many times awakening earnest thought.
Mr. Lano has been a prominent figure in fraternal circles. In 1905 he was associated
with H. H. Steele in organizing Mohall Lodge, No. 73, F. & A. M., and he is a member of
Jared Consistory, No. 2, A. & A. S. R. of Grand Forks, also of Kem Temple, A. A. 0. N. M.
S., of Grand Forks, and Minot Lodge, No. 6, K. P. He was one of the organizers and stock-
holders of the JTodern Woodmen of America Association which built the Woodmen Hall, a
modern brick building, in which a moving picture theater in which he is financially inter-
510 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
csted is being conducted. He took an active part in the division of Ward county and tlie
formation of Renville county and the location of the county scat at llohallj of which
he was then postmaster. He is chief of the fire department of Mohall and is thus actively
and prominently connected with public interests of moment, lending his aid and support
to all movements which are calculated to advance the general welfare and substantially pro-
mote public progress.
JUDGE \V. S. WICKERSHAM.
Judge W. S Wickersham, occupying the bench of the county court of Dickey county,
was born in Montgomery county, Illinois, on the 25th of November, 1866, and is a son of
Jonah R. and Sarah C. Wickersham, the former a native of Ohio, and the latter of Indiana.
In young manhood and womanhood they removed to Montgomery county, Illinois, where
they began their domestic life but in 1878 they removed to Shelby county, Iowa, where the
.Judge was reared on a farm and laid a foundation for his future success, and where his
father still lives at the advanced age of eighty-five years, his mother having died in 1S94.
Judge Wickersham mastered the elementary branches of learning in the public schools
of Shelby county and afterward attended Western College at Toledo, Iowa. When his
more speeificallj- literary education was completed he took up the study of law and com-
pleted that course and was admitted to practice at the Nebraska state bar in 1894, and at
once entered upon the active work of his profession. In 1896 he returned to Iowa where
he remained in active practice until 1900 when he came to North Dakota, settling at
Oakes, Dickej' county, where he was actively in practice until January, 1910, when he
was appointed to fill a vacancy in the office of county judge and in the November election
of that year he was regularly chosen to the oflice, to which he w'as returned in 1912 and
again in 1914, and at the primary election in June, 1916, he was again renominated to
succeed himself without opposition. He has already served upon the bench for more than
six years, making an excellent record by the fairness and impartiality of his decisions, his
capability being attested by the vote that has been given him at his rcelections and by the
further fact that there has never been an appeal from the county court since he has pre-
sided over it. He is a member of the State Bar Association of North Dakota, and secretary
of the North Dakota Association of County Judges.
In 1896 Judge Wickersham was married to Miss Emma Durkee, of Defiance, Iowa, by
whom he has one son, J. Lee, who is in the sophomore year at the North Dakota State
Normal and Industrial School at Ellendale. Ju<lge and Mrs. Wickersham occupy an enviable
social position. Fraternally he is identified with Oakes Lodge, No. 40, I. 0. 0. F., and with
the Rebekah Lodge, No. 26, at Oakes. His political endorsement is given to the republican
party and he is a firm believer in its principles, but never allows political opinion or
allegiance to interfere in the slighest degree with the performance of his judicial duties
and the fairness and equity of his decisions make his public career one highly beneficial
to the county which he represents.
MICHAEL A. KLEIN.
In many of North Dakota's towns are found general merchandise establishments which
would be a credit to cities of much larger size. They, however, draw their trade from a
wide surrounding territory and in their equipment meet every need of town and country
life. Of such an establisliment at Strasburg is Michael A. Klein proprietor, and since estab-
lishing the Inisiness in 1905 he has met with continuous success. He was born in South
Russia, December 15, 1808, a son of Andrew and Rosa Klein, who were also Aatives of that
country. The father followed farming in Russia throughout his entire life and there passed
away in 1885, while the mother, surviving him for more than two decades, died in 1907.
Michael A. Klein was reared and educated in Russia and there took up the profession
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 511
of school teaching, which he followed until 1892, when he bade adieu to friends and native
country and sailed for the new world. Reaching American shores, he made his way across
the continent to Eureka, South Dakota, where he engaged in clerking in a general store
for seven years. He then removed to Wishek, where he engaged in general merchandising
on his own account for six years, having a partner during three years of that time. In
1905 he went to Strasburg and there erected a fine building on Main street. At that date
there was only one other store in the town. He put in a large stock of general merchandise
and has since conducted his store, its growing success being due to the fact that he meets
every demand of the purchasing public and is thoroughly reliable as well as enterprising in
his business methods. He has contributed much to the growth and development of his local-
ity and is now the president of the German State Bank, of which he was one of the organizers,
is the vice president of the Strasburg Lumber Company and is a stockliolder in the Provident
Insurance Company of Bismarck. His intense business activity has contributed much to
the gradual growth and improvement of the district in which he lives.
On the 4th of November, 1890, ]VIr. Klein was united in marriage to Miss Rosena Welk
and they have become parents of seven children: Julia, who was born while her father and
mother were en route to America; John; Eegina; Eugene; Mary; Annie; and Leo.
The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church and Mr Klein belongs
to the German Catholic Society. In politics he is a democrat and is now serving as county
commissioner of Emmons county, which position he has filled for four years. He has also
been president of the town board and for six years was a trustee of the Catholic church.
His aid and influence can at all times be counted upon to further measures for the general
good and he does not hesitate to give of his time, his means or his effort toward advancing
the general welfare
CHARLES R. ANDERSON.
At a period when McHenry count}' was just being reclaimed for the purposes of civiliza-
tion Charles R. Anderson took up his abode within its borders and has since been identified
with its progress and improvement. He was born in Sweden, May 31, 1858, a son of Andrew
and Christina Anderson, who spent their entire lives in that country. Charles R. Anderson
was reared under the parental roof and acquired a public school education, remaining in
Sweden until 1880, when at the age of twenty-two years he came alone to the United
States. He first settled in St. Louis county, Minnesota, where he was employed with a
Scandinavian-American school teacher, who was tempo:'arily working on the railroad and
who gave Mr. Anderson and other newly arrived emigrants special instruction in the
English language, which he had thoroughly mastered. In 1S82 Mr. Anderson came with
others to McHenry county. North Dakota, there being twenty-one families in the party.
He cast in his lot with the early settlers, for at that time the work of progress and develop-
ment had scarcely been begun. He was accompanied by his brother, A. G. Anderson, and
his uncle, Charles Peterson. He filed on a preemption, which he later turned into a home-
stead. His brother filed on a homestead, while Mr. Peterson preempted but died before
he won his title to the property. His brother August then came on and filed on the land,
eventually becoming the acknowledged owner. Upon a part of these three claims the town of
Velva was later built. Oiarles K. Anderson's farm is located on the southwest quarter
of section 23, South Bend township, and adding to his original tract he is now the owner
of three hundred and sixty acres upon which he still resides and which he has brought to
a high state of cultivation.
In 1896 Mr. Anderson was united in marriage to Miss Elfie A. Di'uze, a native of Athens
county, Ohio, who came to North Dakota on a visit and remained to teach school. She
passed away on the 6th of August, 1916, leaving a daughter, Grace E., who is at home.
Politically Jlr. Anderson is a republican but has never been an office seeker. Fraternally
he is connected with Velva Lodge, No. 76, F. & A. M., and exemplifies in his life the benefi-
cent spirit of the fraternity. He is also a member and a tnistee of the Methodist church.
His residence in McHenry county now covers more than thirty-four years, during which
512 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
period he has witnessed notable changes in this section ot the state. His own labors have
contributed to the general improvement and as the years have passed he has won a place
among the substantial agriculturists of the district and is also a stockholder in the Farmers
Elevator of Veha. His residence stands within the limits of the town. His land, rich and
productive, now returns to him a substantial annual income and the excellent appearance of
his i)lace is attributable entirely to his persistent, earnest and intelligently directed ell'orts.
F. H. STURGEON, M. D.
Dr. F. H. Sturgeon, physician and surgeon of Kulm, was born at Fairview, Erie county,
Pennsylvania, his natal day being July 11, 1872. His parents, Charles J. and Anna C.
(Caughey) Sturgeon, were also natives of the same county and were there reared and mar-
ried, after which they continued to reside in Erie county until 18S5, when they came to
Dakota territory and entered a homestead in what is now Walworth county. South Dakota.
In 1888 they removed to Edgcley, Lamoure county. North Dakota, where the fatlier estab-
lished a drug store, with which he has since been identified, being one of the prominent
merchants of the town.
Dr. Sturgeon pursued his education in the State University at Vermilion, South Dakota,
and in the State University of North Dakota at Grank Forks. In 1897 he entered upon his
medical studies, matriculating in the medical department of Hamline University, now the
medical department of the Minnesota State University, from which he was graduated on the
3d of June, 1903. Following his graduation he went to Montana and for nine or ten years
practiced his profession in Logan, that state. In May, 1913, he bought out the practice of
Dr. F. G. Benn, of Kulm, where he has since been located. He has taken post graduate
work in Chicago at different times and is fully abreast with the advancement that has
been made in the medical profession. He keeps in touch with the trend of modern thought
as a member of the Southern District Medical Society of North Dakota and the American
Medical Association.
Fraternally Dl". Sturgeon is connected with Maple River Lodge, No. 97, A. F. & A. M.,
and has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in Dakota Consistory at
Fargo. Pleasantly situated in his home life, he was married on the 26th of December, 1901,
to Miss Georgia L. Ashem, of Edgeley, North Dakota, and tliey have one child. Vera Mae.
The parents are members of the Presbyterian church and occupy an enviable position in social
circles, warm regard being entertained for them by all with whom they have been brought
in contact. Dr. Sturgeon gives his political allegiance to the republican party and at the
present time is serving as city physician of Kulm, in which connection he is giving excellent
service in addition to his private practice.
ALEXANDER C. WIPER.
Not to know Alexander C. Wiper, whose friends call him Sandy Wiper, is to argue one's
self unknown in Bowbells and Burke county, with the history of which he has been largely
connected as a representative of its business development and of its political interests as
well. He is today president of the First National Bank of Bowbells and one of the exten-
sive landowners and cattle raisers of the county. He was born near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
March 2, 1863, a son of Robert and Mary Ann (Coleman) Wiper. The father was born in
Glasgow, Scotland, was educated in the schools of that city and remained in Scotland until
he reached the age of twenty-four, becoming a coal miner there. Crossing the Atlantic, he
engaged in coal mining in Pennsylvania until 1874, when he was employed by General
Warren to go to Noble county, Ohio, and develop coal mines in the vicinity of Marietta
and act as mine boss. Later at Buchtel, Ohio, he was pit or mine boss for John R. Buchtel,
one of the coal kings of Ohio. In 1885 he retired from coal mining and removed to Sargent
county. North Dakota, where he filed on the northwest quarter of section 15, town 132, range
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 513
55. With characteristic energy he began to brealc the sod and for many years actively
engaged in farming, becoming one of the most prominent agriculturists of his section of the
state. As his financial resources increased he added to his holdings from time to time until
his possessions aggregated several hundred acres. At the time of the Civil var he as well
as all his brothers and his father had manifested his loyalty to his country by enlisting
in 1862 as a member of Company I, Sixty-third Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteer Infan-
try, for ninety days. At the close of that term, however, he immediately reenlisted and
continued to serve until the cessation of hostilities. He participated in a number of hotly
contested engagements and was wounded at the battle of Gettysburg. His wife was bom,
reared and educated on the present site of Pittsburgh and passed away on the old homestead
farm in Sargent county. North Dakota, two years prior to the death of her husband, who
died at the age of seventy-three years. They were the parents of twelve children, eight
sons and four daughters, all of whom came to Xorth Dakota in 1885, were reared to man-
hood in this .state and are still living within its borders save one son, J. H. Wiper, who is
now mayor of Monongahela, Pennsjlvania. While on a visit to that state he was injured
in a railroad accident, causing the loss of both limbs, and the railroad company in settling
his damage claim offered him a position in the office at Monongahela, which he accepted,
and he has since made his home in that city, which contains a population of one hundred
and fifty thousand and of which he is now the chief executive.
Alexander C. Wiper, whose name introduces this review, was a lad of thirteen years
at the time of the removal of the family to Ohio and in the schools of that state and Penn-
sylvania acquired his education. He afterward engaged in cultivating a small farm of
forty acres which his father owned and on which the family resided while the father worked
in the mines. In 1885 they arrived in Sargent county and he continued as active assistant
to his father in the development of the homestead claim until 1S91, when he removed to
Hankinson, North Dakota, where he entered the employ of John R. Jones, implement dealei',
with whom he continued for ten years. In 1901 he took up his abode at Lidgerwood, North
Dakota, and traveled for the McCormick Harvester Company as salesman and collector for
two years. In 1903 he became a resident of Bowbells, a newly established town, in which
he opened the First National Bank, remaining active as its president since that time. In
fact he has figured prominently in banking circles in his section of the state for more than
a decade. In 1905 he established the Citizens State Bank at Ryder, of which he was
president for some time, and in 1907 he organized the First State Bank of Lignite, Burke
county, of which he is still the president. In 1914 he promoted the Farmers & Merchants
Bank at Colgan, of which he has always been president, and in the same year he established
the First State Bank at Northgate, Burke coimty, but has retired from the presidency
of that institution. He is an extensive landowner, having made judicious investments in
property from time to time until he now has fifty-two farms in Ward and Burke counties,
his holdings exceeding those of any other individual in the latter county. The work of
farming, however, is carried on by others. I^pon his land he has Rowan Durham cows of
high grade, also seventy-five head of horses on his ranch, four-fifths of which he has raised
himself. His property interests likewise include a fine residence in Bowbells.
On the 31st of July, 1896, at Lidgerwood, North Dakota, Mr. Wiper wedded Miss Louisa
Wohlwend, who was born in Buffalo county, Wisconsin, and in her girlhood days became a
resident of Richland county, North Dakota, where she completed her education. Her father,
Benjamin Wohlwend, a native of Germany, settled in Buffalo county, Wisconsin, on coming
to the new world and subsequently removed with his family to this state. Mr. and Mrs.
Wiper became parents of four children, three of whom are living: Raymond C. and Thomas
B., who were born in Richland county; and Robert, born in Bowbells.
Mr. Wiper is a "stand pat" republican. He has been very active in political circles in
Burke county and is now a member of the county executive committee. He served as deputy
United States marshal under A. F. Pierce for the southern district of North Dakota for four
years and he has been mayor of his city and also president of its school board. Fraternally
he is connected with the Masonic lodge at Bowbells and has attained high rank in the
order, being now a member of Kem Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Grand Forks. He also
has membership with the Knights of Pythias at Bowbells and the Elks lodge in Minot.
His religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church and he is a very ardent
514 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
supporter of the temperance cause, doing all in his power to secure the suppression of the
liquor traffic. His life has been guided by high and honorable principles. His business career
has been the expression of justice and honor as well as of enterprise and diligence. He is
a big man in thought, purpose and act and has been one of the prominent builders of city
and county to whom his fellow citizens instinctively pay deference, not alone by reason of
the success he has achieved but also owing to the honorable, straightforward methods which
he has ever followed in every relation of life.
GEORGE E. VALKER.
George K. Valicer, who is successfully engaged in the florist's business at Minot, is a
native of North Dakota, his birth having occurred at Wahpeton, Richland county, on the
28th of August, 1889. His parents, H. H. and Fannie A. (Swank) Valker, were natives
respectively of Illinois and Indiana. In early life the father followed farming but later
engaged in the butcher business. He removed to Xorth Dakota with his family about 1883
and settled at Wahpeton, wliere he continued until 190!), when he removed to Jlinot, where
he turned his attention to the florist's business. While living in Wahpeton he held a number
of city offices and made an excellent record as an oflicial.
George E. Valker, who is the second in order of birth in a family of four children,
attended school at Wahpeton until seventeen years of age, when he went to Minneapolis and
entered the employ of a florist, remaining there for two years. During that time he
learned the business and determined to follow it independently. He located at Minot and
established Valker's Minot Green House, which he still owns and conducts. He has about
forty-five thousand feet under glass and the green house is modernly and completely
equipped. He does a general business and markets his product throughout North Dakota,
Montana and the adjoining provinces of Canada. He can always supply cut flowers and
floral designs, and his flowers and plants have gained an enviable reputation for beauty
and hardiness. In addition to his florist's business in Minot, which is proving very profitable,
he operates a branch at Williston, North Dakota, and he is also financially interested in other
enterprises.
Mr. Valker is a republican and is now serving as a member of the park board of Minot.
He is well known fraternally, being connected with the Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the
Masonic blue lodge and chapter of Minot, the consistory at Grand Forks and the Temple of
the Mystic Shrine at Grand Forks. In his relations with others he acts \ipon the principle
of brotherhood, which is at the basis of those orders, and he is highly esteemed as a man and
as a citizen.
GRIFFIN E. KNAPP.
The opportunities offered by the northwest attracted Griffin E. Knapp, who is a native
of the Keystone state but now makes his home upon a farm on section 30, Island Park
township, Ransom county. He w-as born in Susquehanna county, Pennsylvania, not far
from the city of Binghamton, New York, on the state line, his natal day being April 7,
1855. While spending his youthful days in the home of his father, Zophar Knapp, he pur-
sued a district school education and afterward worked for two years in a sawmill near
Brookdale, Pennsylvania. In 1879 he went west to Winona, Minnesota, where he was employed
at odd jobs through the summer. He afterward returned to the east, settling near Dover,
Delaware, where he remained for about a year, devoting his attention to the cultivation of a
rented farm. In 1881 he made his way to New York Jlills, Minnesota, and was employed in a
lumber mill through the following winter. In the spring of 1SS2 he came to Ransom county,
which was just being opened up to agricultural development. He filed on the southeast quarter
of section 30, Island Park township, and proved up on the claim. During the two succeeding
winters he returned to New York Mills, where he was again employed in connection with the
manufacture of lumber, but the summer seasons were devoted to farming, and in time he not
only secured title to his property but converted his land into rich and productive fields.
GEORGE E. VALKER
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 517
On the 27tli of January, 1887, Mr. Knapp was married to Miss Eva Sanders, who was
born in Ashtabula county, Ohio, a daughter of Grove and Mary (Worthing) Sanders. The
father's birth occurred in New York, October 27, 1823, while his wife was born in Vermont,
September 14, 1831. They were married in Trumbull, Ohio, and always lived there, devoting
their attention to farming. In their family were six daughters: Helen R., the wife of E. B.
Knapp; Lillie, the wife of Ed Styles, of Trumbull, Ohio; Emma, who married Will Webb,
also of Trumbull, Ohio; Nancy, the wife of Arthur Blanchard, of California; Eva, now Mrs.
■G. E. Knapp, and Alta, who became the wife of Roy Andrews but both are now deceased.
The daughter Eva obtained a common school education in Ohio and afterward attended
the Grand River Institute in Ohio. Later she taught in the graded schools of Ohio for six;
years, imparting readily and clearly to others the knowledge she had acquired. She was
then married and came to North Dakota, where she has since lived. Two sons have been
■born of this union, Lloyd Griffin, born November 5, 1892, and Clair Sanders, bom May 8,
1898, both of whom are at home.
Before his marriage Mr. Knapp had a tree claim of one hundred and si.xty acres, com-
prising the northwest quarter of section 32, Island Park township, and after his marriage
in the spring of 1887 he bought the southwest quarter of section 30. He next purchased
a half interest in connection with his brother Edward in the east half of section 25 and
later bought the south half of the northeast quarter of section 29, all in the same town-
ship. He has since sold a part of his land but still owns four hundred acres, all under
cultivation. He also rents other land. In 1906 he leased the farm and built an attractive
home in Lisbon, on Forest street, there remaining for about seven years. He afterward went
to California, where he spent a year, but in 1913 returned to the farm and is again actively
engaged in agricultural pursuits. He has erected all the buildings upon the place, including
a large barn forty-six by sixty feet, which he put up in 1915. It has a cement floor and is
thoroughly modern in its arrangement and equipment. He is engaged in raising full blooded
Hampshire hogs, averaging about seventy-five head annually, and he also has some cattle.
He uses a tractor in operating h'S farm and he drives a Mitchell car.
In politics Mr. Knapp is a republican and has served in local offices. The cause of
education finds in him a stalwart champion and he has been school director. He belongs
to the Methodist Episcopal church at Lisbon, in the work of which he takes an active
and helpful interest, being now a member of the board of directors. He is also connected
with the United Workmen, the Yeomen and the Modern Woodmen of America and in the
last named is past clerk of the camp at Lisbon. Coming to the northwest, he has improved
the opportunities here offered and as the years have gone on has so directed his labors and
interests that success in substantial measure is now his.
MARTIN S. ANDERSON.
Martin S. Anderson, manager of the Farmers Elevator Company at Stirum, also pro-
prietor of a feed mill and at the same time one of the active agriculturists of Sargent
county, is classed with the foremost business men of his section of the state, ever ready
for any emergency and possessing an alert, enterprising spirit that enables him to take
advantage of every opportunity presented. His plans are ever clearly defined and promptly
executed and his business record is altogether creditable. Mr. Anderson is a native of
Minnesota, his birth having occurred at Battle Lake, May 18, 1875, his parents being
Nels and Frederica (Swenson) Anderson, who were natives of Sweden and came to the
United States in 1849, their marriage being celebrated in this country. F'ollowing their
marriage the father secured a homestead claim and developed an excellent farm, upon
which both he and his wife are still living. The former was born in 1833 and the latter
in 1835 and therefore they have now attained to an advanced age.
After beginning his education in the schools of Battle Lake, Martin S. Anderson con-
tinued his studies at the Fergus Falls high school and also pursued a business course in
Park Region College. He next entered the employ of his uncle at Battle Lake for whom
he was named, and spent three years there in learning the grain business. At the end of
Vol n— 28
518 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
that period he removed to Sheyenne, Kortli Dakota, and accepted the position of manager
of the North Dakota Elevator Company, acting in that capacity for a year and a half, after
which he was transferred to Cooperstown, North Dakota, where he continued for a similar
period. He was then sent by his company to Fergus Falls, where he remained for five
years, and at the end of that period went to Stirum to take charge of the interests of the
North Dakota Grain Company, which was established in 190S and operated under that
name until 1911, when the present name was assumed. This business is known as the
Farmers Elevator No. 2. Elevator No. 1 was built by Fred C. Rector, who conducted the
business for two years. In 1911 the Farmers Elevator Company was organized and pur-
chased the Rector Elevator, which was conducted by the company for three years. The
business grew to such an extent that the company had to increase its capacity and for a
year rented the elevator belonging to the North Dakota Elevator Company, purchasing
the property at the end of that time. In this connection Mr. Anderson operates two
elevators, Nos. 1 and 3, at Stirum, and the business which is transacted under his direction
is extensive and important. At the beginning he was made manager of the Farmers
Elevator Companj- and so continues. There is no phase of the grain trade with which he
is not familiar and his wise direction of the interests under his care has resulted in the
attainment of gratifying success. In the five years in which he has been manager of the
business he has turned back to the farmers over twenty-five thousand dollars, netting
about eighteen thousand dollars. In addition to grain the company deals in coal, wood,
flour and twine and Mr. Anderson gives most careful attention to every phase of the
business, thoroughly understanding the trade ^nd modern commercial conditions. In
addition to his management of the elevators at Stirum he carries on farming in White
Stone Hill township, where he rents land, and he is also farming one hundred and sixty acres
in McLean county. He likewise owns the Stirum feed mill, which he is now operating,
and all of his business afi'airs are wisely directed.
On the 38th of December, 1904, Mr. Anderson was married at Cooperstown to Miss
Selma Mollerstrom, who was born in Henning, Minnesota, July 34, 1885, a daughter of
Lars and Carrie Mollerstrom, both of whom were natives of Sweden and on coming to the
United States settled in Minnesota, near Henning, where they still reside. Mr. and Mrs.
Anderson have become the parents of a daughter, Ardy Elenoria, who is now in school.
In his political views Mr. Anderson is a republican but is not an office seeker although
intensely interested in everything pertaining to the political development of the com-
munity and to its substantial upbuilding. He belongs to the Swedish Lutheran church
of Battle Lake, Minnesota, and lie has membership in the Masonic lodge at Cogswell. The
rules which govern his conduct are thus indicated. His has been an upright, honorable
life characterized by high purpose and fraught with good deeds. In his business aflairs
he has always followed constructive methods, never basing his success upon another's
failure, and his energy and persistency of purpose constitute the salient factors in his
advancement.
ED A. SMITH.
Ed A. Smith, of Ellendale, serving for the third term as clerk of the courts of his
district, was born at Chatfield, Minnesota, October r>. 1857, a son of Allen and Ruth A. Smith.
His father was a member of Company R, Fifth Miimcsota Volunteers, and saw service at
Fort Ridgeley, fighting against the Indians. At the close of the Civil war the family moved
onto a farm where the subject of this sketch attended a crude country school for a few
months each year. At the age qf fifteen he was apprenticed to Captain McKenny, of the
Chatfield Democrat, where he served an apprenticeship of five years, learning the trade
of printer. In 1879 he emigrated with three brothers to Flandreati, Dakota territory, and
worked as a journeyman printer until 1882, when he came to Ellendale. Here he worked
a short time as a printer on the Dickey County I^eader, and the fall of 1883 entered the
real estate business, locating settlers on government lands and making filings and final
proofs in the government land office. He was a clerk in the legislature in 1885, the first
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 519
session held in the new capitol at Bismarck, and also in 18S7. It was during this latter
session he was instrumental in establishing the line between North and South Dakota
when the territory was admitted as two states. A bill was pending in congress to divide
the territory into two states, the line being described as the "forty-sixth parallel of north
latitude." Surveyors for the government who had been at Ellendale had stated that the
town was located directly on the forty-sixth parallel. To divide the territory on this line
would mean to put part of the town into one state and part in the other. Ellendale people
had petitioned Washington to have the line changed to the seventh standard parallel, a
surveyed line and county boundary, four miles south of the town, but had been advised they
were too late to have the bill amended. While at Bismarck as a clerk in the legislature
in 1887, Mr. Smith succeeded in having the legislature pass a memorial to congress to have
the proposed division line changed to the seventh standard parallel, and this line was finally
adopted when the states were admitted to the Union.
At the close of the legislative session of 18ST, Mr. Smith moved to St. Paul, where he
was employed on the Pioneer Press for nearly five j'ears, returning to Ellendale in the fall
of 1891, whore he purchased a half interest in the Dickey County Leader with the late
F. S. Goddard. This partnership continued xintil 1898, when he bought the Oakes Republican
and moved to Oakes. He published this paper until 1902, when he bought the Free Press
at Devils Lake and continued its publication until 1905, when he sold the paper. For two
years he was employed at Grand Forks and other places as journeyman printer and returned
to Oakes in 1908, where he was employed as bookkeeper until 1913, when he wa.s elected
clerk of the district court, and reelected in 1914 and 1916.
Mr. Smith was married at Ellendale, .July 1, 1883, to Katie M. Clark and has a family
of eight children, one dying in infancy.
In politics he has always been a republican, and while he has been inclined to the
progressive rather than the conservative faction of the party, his newspaper has always
supported the ticket as nominated, firmly advocating that whatever reforming the party
needed must come from within and not from the outside. However, he does everything
in his power to advance the public welfare and suppoi't those forces which he believes are
best calculated to advance the general good. That his official record is most creditable is
indicated by the fact that he has three times been elected to the office which he is now
filling.
WILLIAM H. HERiL-VN.
William H. Herman, who is farming successfully in Harwood township, where he owns
a section of land, is a native of Wisconsin, born on the 14th of Xovember, 1862. His parents,
•Jacob and Marinda (Rogers) Herman, were born respectively in Germany and in Vermont.
In young manhood the father came to the United States and in 1856 located upon a farm
in Wisconsin. His wife died upon that place but he subsequently removed tn Ohio, where
he is still living.
William H. Herman received but a limited education, attending the district schools
until he was in his fourteenth year, at which time he began to make his own way. In
1881, when about nineteen years of age, he came to North Dakota, where be worked as a
farm hand and at any other honest labor. As he was frugal and saved his money carefully
he was able in 18S7 to purchase his present home farm and as the years have passed his
resources have increased. Gradually he tur-ned his attention to stock raising and he has
gained a gratifying success in that connection. For a number of years he has also operated
a threshing machine and his varied undertakings have prospered, for he plans his work and
manages his affairs well. He now owns six hundred and forty acres in his home place, which
is one of the most valuable farms of his township, and he likewise holds title to eighty acres
of land in Minnesota. He is a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company of Argusville
and for a number of years was a member of the board of directors. His accomplishment
should serve as a stimulus to young men of energy and ambition but without capital since
he had no money when he came to this state and has gained his present success entirely
through his own efforts.
520 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
In 1890 occurred the marriage of Mr. Herman and Miss Maggie Still. She was born in
Canada, of Scotch ancestry, her parents, David and Catherine Still, having emigrated from
Scotland to^ the Dominion, whence in 1878 they came to North Dakota. The father is
deceased but the mother is living in the state of Washington. ;Mr. and ilis. Herman became
the parents of two children, but one is deceased. Ira Albert is still at liome. The wife and
mother died in 1900 and in 1903 Mr. Herman was married to Miss JIary Stewart, diuigliter
of James and Elizabeth Stewart, who were born respectively in Scotland and New Brunswick,
Canada. In 1868 they went to Renville county, Minnesota, where their daughter Mary was
born the following year. For seventeen years before her marriage she successfully engaged
in teaching.
The republican party has a stalwart adherent in Jlr. Herman and for fourteen years
he served eflkiently as chairman of the township board of trustees. He has also been a
member of the school board for a number of years and all matters of public concern receive
his careful consideration. Fraternally he belongs to the American Yeomen and the Workmen.
He is recognized as one of the leading citizens of Harwood township and is not only respected
because of his unquestioned ability but also esteemed because of his integrity and upright-
ness of life.
EDWARD HOLT.
Edward Holt, who is engaged in agricultural pursuits and is manager of the Farmers
Elevator at Voltaire, McHenry county, was born in Norwaj', January 12, 1877, a son of
August and Anna (Erickson) Holt, who came to the United States in the spring of 1883.
They settled in Grant county, Minnesota., where the father purchased a farm upon wliich
he still resides, although he has retired from the active management of the property.
Edward Holt was but six years of age when his parents made their way to tlie new
world. He acquired a common school education in Grant county and in 1900 came to North
Dakota, where he took up a homestead, securing the northwest quarter of section 35,
Lebanon township. Thereon he resided for thirteen years and in 1905 he purcliased anotlicr
quarter section, but as it was located some miles from his homestead, he later sold that
property and in 1913 invested in a quarter adjoining liis home place. In ]909 lie bought
eighty acres lying a mile north of Voltaire, so that his present holdings now com|)rise four
hundred acres. In November, 1914, he was placed in charge of the Farmers Elevator at
Voltaire and has since managed that business. His varied interests are carefully and wisely
conducted and success in substantial measure has crowned his labors.
On the 8th of Januarj-, 1907, Mr. Holt was united in marriage to Miss Emma Cliilson,
of Sisscton, South Dakota, by whom he had six children, five of whom survive, namely;
Arlie, Abner, Carroll, Evelyn and a son not yet named. Politically Mr. Holt is independent.
He served for several years as township clerk, for a number of years was cliainnan of the
town board and was a member of the school board in Lebanon township four years. He and
his wife are members of the Norwegian Lutheran church and they are deeply interested in
everything that pertains to the welfare and progress of the community in which they live.
Mr. Holt early became imbued with the true 8[)irit of American enterprise and progress
and gradually he has worked his way upward in business connections, being now one of the
substantial and highly respected citizens of Jlcireiiry comity.
NELS P. LANGEMO.
Nels P. Langemo, who follows farming five miles west of Fingal, in Parnes county, was
born in Goodhue county, Minnesota, July 10, ]S57, a son of Peter and Mary (Ralston)
Langemo, both natives of Norway, the former born at Telemarken in 1832. The paternal
grandfather, Nels Langemo, was also a native of Telemarken and came to America in 1849,
settling in Dane county, Wisconsin, where he resided for si.\ years, becoming one of the
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 521
early pioneers of that locality. In 1855 he removed to Goodhue county, Minnesota, wliere
he spent the residue of his days, reaching the age of eighty-eiglit years. He met all of the
hardships and privations of pioneer life but ultimately won success in his business affairs.
Peter Langemo took up land adjoining his father's property and still occupies the home
farm, enjoying good health at the advanced age of eighty-four years. He has three hundred
and twenty acres of land and his property yields him a giatifying annual income. It is now
being operated by his son, J. A. Langemo.
Nels P. Langemo spent his youthful days upon his father's farm, attending the district
schools, while later he became a student in St. Olaf College at Northfield, Minnesota, and
afterward entered the Lutheran College at Decorah, Iowa. He then returned home. In
1878 his father made a trip to North Dakota and purchased a quarter section of land, which
constitutes the present home farm of Nels P. Langemo, situated five miles west of Fingal.
The father then returned home and in 1884 Martin Langemo came to Barnes county and
began the development of his father's land. He returned home the same fall but in the
succeeding spring Nels P. Langemo came and has since continued upon the old homestead
save for a few winter seasons. He today owns two sections of land, a portion of which
he rents. He raises shorthorn and Red Polled cattle, usually keeping about forty liead for
sale and a dozen milch cows. Around his residence he has a six acre grove and his farm
is splendidly equipped with modern and substantial buildings, which include large barns and
a big silo. In addition to his other interests Mr. Langemo is now vice president of the
First National Bank of Fingal.
On the 37th of July, 1892, Mr. Langemo was married to Mrs. Minnie (Dunham) Maasjo,
who was born at Eidsvold, Norway, where the celebration took place at the crowning of the
prince, king of Norway. She is a daughter of Andrew and Bertha (Lee) Dunham, the
former of whom was a native of Ullensaker, Norway, and died when Mrs. Langemo was
only two years of age. About a year and a half later she was brought by her mother to
America, location being made in Fillmore county, Minnesota. Subsequently they removed
to Ottertail county, that state, and there the mother died on the 29th of April, 1893, at an
advanced age, as her birth occurred January 27, 1819, at Eidsvold, Norway. She left three
children, namely: Mrs. Langemo; Mrs. Ole Marshall, a resident of Norman township,
Barnes county. North Dakota; and John, of Ottertail county, Minnesota. Mr. and Mrs.
Langemo have the following children: Peter ,who was educated in the Lutheran College at
Fergus Falls and is now a student in the North Dakota Agricultural College; Melvin, attend-
ing the Lutheran College at Fergus Falls; Clarence and Rudolph, also in school; and Oscar,
who completes tlie family.
In his political views Mr. Langemo is a republican. He lias served as chairman of the
township board since its organization in 1889 and has also been treasurer of the school
board. He has many sterling qualities and his force as a business man is manifest in his
honorable success.
DAVID TAYLOR.
David Taylor, proprietor of the Commercial Hotel at Dickey, is numbered among the
pioneer settlers of Lamoure county and with the passing years has contributed much to
the development and upbuilding of the district. He was born in Lancashire, England, on
the 14th of December, 1852, a son of Joel and Elizabeth (Rodgers) Taylor, both of whom
have now passed awaj'. The father was a silk weaver and throughout his entire life
followed that business.
The educational opportunities which David Taylor enjoyed were very limited. In early
manhood he learned the trade of cotton spinning, which he followed in England until 1875,
when he crossed the Atlantic to Canada. He spent two years in Ontario and also two years
in Winnipeg, where he was employed on the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railroad.
In 1879 he crossed the border into the United States and was employed on the construction
of the Northern Pacific Railroad in North Dakota from Mandan west. In the fall of that
year he removed to Jamestown, North Dakota, where he found employment in the car
522 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
repair shops of the Korthern Pacific Railroad. In August, 18S0, he removed to what is now
Dickey, Lamoure county, and in that district has since resided. He iirst liomesteaded one
hundred and sixty acres of land and subsequently took up a tree claim but never proved
up on it. He continued to occupy and cultivate the homestead property until 1906, when
he removed to Dickey and purchased the Commercial Hotel, which he has now conducted
for a decade. He has made it a popular hostelry, liberally patronized, winning his success
by reason of the excellent table offered, the comforts afforded his guests and his honorable
business methods. He still owns the homestead, to which he has added eighty acres, making
it an excellent farm of two Imndred and forty acres equipped with many modern con-
veniences and accessories.
In 1SS3, in Jamestown, North Dakota, Mr. Taylor was united in marriage to Miss Emily
Williams, who was born in Cornwall, England, and emigrated to the United States with her
mother in 1S69, the family home being established in Michigan. To Mr. and Mrs. Taylor
have been born ten children, eight of whom survive, as follows: William S., who is engaged
in farming near Dickey, Lamoure county; Alice M., the wife of George Liebenstein, of Mill-
bank, South Dakota; Sarah E., the wife of Edward Martin, who cultivates the homestead
of his father-in-law; John F., a resident of Millbank, South Dakota; Mabel A., who gave
her hand in marriage to Joseph Weber, of Berlin, North Dakota; and Susan M., Clarence J.
and Cecil M., all at home. Of the family William S. was the first white child born in
Saratoga township, and Alice M. was the fii-st white girl born in that township.
In his political views Mr. Taylor is a republican and in 1904 was elected a member of
the board of county commissioners, in which capacity he was continued by reelection for
eight years, his fellow townsmen recognizing the worth and value of his ofBcial service. He
has also been justice of the peace of Dickey for several years and his decisions have been
strictly fair and impartial, being based upon the law, the facts and the equity in the case.
Mr. Taylor exemplifies in his life the beneficent spirit of the Masonic fraternity and is a
valued member of Dickey Lodge, No. 63, F. & A. M. He also belongs to the Modern ^V■oo(l-
men of America and to the Yeomen and both he and his wife are faithful members of the
Methodist Episcopal church. He was one of the early settlers of the southeastern part of
the state and throughout the entire period his life has been so directed as to make him
one of the most highly esteemed citizens of Lamoure county.
EDWARD STOKES FITZMAURICE, M. D.
Dr. Edward Stokes Fitzmauricc, a physician and surgeon practicing at Mohall, was
born at Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada, September 10, 1876, his parents being Edward and
Frances (Stokes) Fitzmauricc, who were natives of southern Ireland. The father came to
the United States with his parents when a lad of thirteen years and Mrs. Fitzmauricc accom-
panied her parents to Canada when seventeen years of age. The father became a Con-
federate soldier at the time of the Civil war and served throughout the entire period of
hostilities. When his parents crossed the Atlantic the family home was established in
Illinois, but during the Civil war the grandfather of our subject removed to Canada and
after the war ended Edward Fitzmauricc went to that country, where he met and married
Frances Stokes. There he took up the occupation of farming and later was engaged in the
timber business. In 1879 he came to North Dakota, settling at Crystal, whore he established
his homestead, preemption and timber claim rights, and later he bought other land, owning
nine quarter sections at the time of his death, which occurred in April, 1914. He had become
one of the prominent and representative farmers of his locality and his efforts were an
element in the agricultural development and progress of that part of the state. His widow
is still living and resides on the old home farm.
Dr. Fitzmaurice became a pupil in the North Dakota State University, where he won
the Bachelor of Science degree upon graduation with the class of 1898, and with broad
literary and scientific knowledge to serve as the foundation upon which, to rear the super-
structure of professional learning ho became a student in Hush Medical College of Chicago
and there won his M. D. degree as a mombor of the class of 1902. During his college days
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 523
he won national prominence in athletic circles and he is the possessor of ten gold medals
received for foot races. He also played for two years on the football team in the position
of quarterback.
Immediately following his graduation Dr. Fitzmaurice removed to Mohall and in the
intervening years has built up an extensive practice. It was in 1901 that he fii'st came
to what is now RenvOle county during a vacation period and filed on a homestead live miles
north of Mohall. Four of his brothers and a sister also filed on homesteads in the same year.
One brother, Thomas, is still living in the county and is now engaged in the implement
business in Mohall. He owns seven quarter sections of land, while Dr. Fitzmaurice is the
owner of four quarter sections and both farm their holdings, the Doctor employing men to
assist him in the work of cultivating and improving his farm.
On the 26th of October, 1904, occurred the marriage of Dr. Fitzmaurice and Miss Alice
Bryant, of Chicago, a descendant of William Cullen Bryant, New England's noted poet, and
in the maternal line a descendant of the Marquis de La Fayette. To Dr. and Mrs. Fitzmaurice
have been born two children, Frances L. and Edward A.
The parents are members of the Catholic church and Dr. Fitzmaurice belongs to the
Knights of Columbus and to Minot Lodge, No. 1086, B. P. 0. E. In politics he is a republican.
He is now city health officer of Mohall and he has served as health officer of Renville county
and as district game warden. Along strictly professional lines he has connection with the
Northwestern Medical Society, the North Dakota State Medical Society and the American
Medical Association and he is deeply interested in all the tenets and theories growing out of
modern scientific investigation.
CHARLES C.MISFELDT.
Charles C. Misfeldt, of Ellendale, holding the office of county auditor of Dickey county,
was born in St. Louis, Missouri, March 15, 1861, a son of Carl F. and Wilhelmina (Haas)
Misfeldt, both of whom were natives of Germany, where they were reared and married.
It was in the '40s that they bade adieu to the fatherland and sailed for the United States,
establishing their home in Mobile, Alabama, while subsequently they removed northward
to St. Louis and afterward became residents of Chicago, where they continued until called
to the home beyond. The father was a stonemason by trade but after becoming a resident
of Chicago was engaged in commercial lines as a boot and shoo merchant for some time and-
later in the wholesale tobacco business.
Cliarles C. Misfeldt was educated in the public schools of Chicago and in the German
parochial schools of that city and after completing his studies was emploj'ed in various
ways in Chicago until 1883, when a recognitioir of the opportunities of the northwest
brought him to this state. He established his home in Ellendale, where he opened a barber
shop which he conducted for thirty-one years, gaining a wide and favorable acquaintance
during that period. He also invested in farm land and is now the owner of a tract of
one hundred and sixty acres of land four miles from Ellendale.
For a considerable period ilr. Jlisfoldt has been actively interested in politics and in
1903 was elected county auditor of Dickey count}', receiving a majority of eighty-seven
votes in a county that normally gives a strong republican majority, while he was the
candidate of the democratic party. He made so excellent a record in office that he was
reelected in 1912 and again for a third term in 1914. his duties being discharged most
systematically and accurately.
In November, 1887, ilr. Misfeldt was united in marriage to Miss Cora E. Mock, of
Elgin, Illinois, and to them have been born five children: Carl R., who is inspector of motors
for the Paige Automobile Company of Detroit; George William C, a stenographer for the
Imperial Rice Milling Company of Vancouver, British Columbia ; Douglas E., who is with
the Paine Automobile Agency in Aberdeen. South Dakota; Clara Elizabeth B., attending
the State Normal and Industrial School in Ellendale; and Charles Clayton, who is now a
high school pupil. The mother and daughter are members of the Baptist church.
Mr. Misfeldt is well known in fraternal circles, having become a member of Ellendale
524 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Lodge of Perfection, A. F. & A. M., the Ancitiit Order of United Workmen, the Modern
Woodmen of America, the Modern Brotlicrhood of America and the Court of Honor. For a
third of a century he has been numbered among ICllendale's residents, arriving liere at an
early period in the development and uijbuilding of the town, throughout the intervening
period the circle of his friends has increased as the circle of his acquaintance has broadened
and his fellow townsmen regard him as a valued and representative citizen of his community.
ROBERT COTTOX.
For several years Robert Cotton has been identified with the business and political:
interests of Wilton and is now serving as mayor of the city. He is a native of Kentucky,
born near Mount Eden on the 5th of April, 1858, and there he was reared and educated,
continuing to reside in that state until 1887. In that j'ear he came to North Dakota and
first located near Williamsport in Emmons county, where he took up a homestead and tree
claim, proving up on both and remaining there eight years. He then sold out and removed
to Bismarck, where as a commission merchant he engaged in buying and selling stock for
four years.
In the fall of 1899 Mr. Cotton became a resident of Wilton and embarked in the livery
business, conducting a livery barn and also feed and sale stables for twelve years. Oa
disposing of that business he went to Wing, where he also operated a livery stable and
dealt in farm machinery and fuel for a year and a half. At the end of that time he sold
out and returned to Wilton, where in 1914 he opened a blacksmith shop, which he still con-
ducts. He is also the owner of six or seven pieces of property which he rents and has a.
half section of land near Wilton, devoted to farming.
Mr. Cotton was married in Kentucky in 1904 to Miss Mamie Briel, a native of Louis-
ville, that state, and they have a daughter. Hazel. As a republican he has taken an active
and iwominent part in political affairs. He was appointed deputy sheriff of McLean county
and served in that capacity for twelve years. During that time he was elected to the
village council and continued to fill the position of alderman until chosen maj-or of Wiltoa
in 1912. So ably did he serve in that capacity that he was reelected at the end of his two-
years' term and was again elected in 1916, being the present incumbent. He has given
the city a public-spirited and progressive administration, supporting every worthy enter-
prise for the good of the community, and his fellow citizens have the utmost confidence itt
him and his ability, fraternally he is a member of the ^Modern Woodmen of America and
the Woodmen of the World.
JUDGE CLARENCE W. DA^'IS.
Judge Charles W. Davis, who has served as probate judge of Lamoure county, is-
now engaged in the private practice of law in the city of La Moure and for eleven years
has been senior partner in the firm of Davis & Warren. He is not only recognized as one-
of the foremost attorneys of this part of the state but is also accounted one of the pioneer
settlers. Of New England birth, his native place was Lamoille county, Vermont, and his
natal day April 7, 1854. His parents, John M. and Charlotte C. (Field) Davis, were also
natives of the Green ^Mountain state, where they were reared and married, and in the fall
of 18C5 they removed to Carroll county, Illinois, settling on a farm which the father
continued to cultivate until his death, which occurred in May, 1902, when he was seventy-five
years of age. The mother afterward removed to La Moure and during the last three years
of her life made her home with her son, Judge Davis, passing away in May, 1908, at the
age of eighty-two years.
Clarence W. Davis was reared under the parental roof and attended the district schools-
of Carroll county, Illinois, and the high school at Thompson, that state. He afterward
became a student in the law dei)artment of the Northwestern University at CTliicago and
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 525
was graduated with the class of 1879. He passed the required examinations for admission
to the bar and the same spring removed westward to Jloorhead, Minnesota, where he was
admitted to practice in the district court of Polk county. The following fall he took the
law examination at F'argo and was admitted to practice in the courts of North Dakota. He
spent two years as an attorney at Moorhead and at Fargo and in 1881 went to Lamoure
county, settling at Grand Rapids, which was then the county seat. In the fall of 1883 he
removed to the city of La Moure, where he has since been prominently identified with the
bar. Wlien the county was organized in 1881 he was appointed by the commissioners to
the oflice of judge of the probate court and in the following fall, at the regular election,
was returned to that position by popular suffrage and served for two years. In subsequent
years he has given his entire attention to his private practice and in 1905 admitted E. M.
Warren to a partnership under the firm style of Davis & Warren, which relation still exists,
the firm occupying an enviable position at the bar of southeastern North Dakota.
In October, 1888, Judge Davis was united in marriage to Mrs. Lydia M. Cronan, formerly
a Miss Wolfer, who was born in Michigan and became a resident of La Moure, North Dakota,
where she became the wife of Judge Davis. By her first marriage she had one daughter,
Olive M. Cronan, who is now the wife of B. W. Loppnow, of La Moure, North Dakota.
While Judge Davis indorses republican principles, he is nevertheless liberal in his views
and often casts an independent ballot. He belongs to La Moure Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., and his
wife is a member of the Methodi.«t Episcopal church. They are highlj' esteemed in the
community where they lived and Judge Davis is regarded as a leading barrister, his knowledge
of the principles of jurisprudence and the thoroughness with which he prepares his cases
combining to make him a strong and able advocate and wise counselor.
JUDGE GEORGE A. BRYANT.
Judge George A. Bryant, presiding over the county court of Logan county, was born
in Bartholomew county, Indiana, April 13, 1850, a son of Henry 0. and Mary E. (Boling)
Bryant, who were natives of Kentucky but were married in Indiana, to which state they
had removed with their respective parents in childhood. The father and his brother,
Thomas J., for years conducted Bryant's Business College in Indianapolis, which was the
foundation of the famous Bryant & Stratton Business College, having branches in various
cities. Mr. Stratton afterward purchased the business. Henry and Thomas Bryant were
among the most widely known educators of the United States and they were pioneers in
the development of education along the lines of business training. In 1860 Henry 0. Bryant
severed his connection with the Indianapolis college and removed to Bethany, Missouri,
where he was engaged in the drug business for two years. He was then elected county clerk
of Harrison county, in which office he continued for four years. Later he retired from
business and located on a farm where he resided until the time of his demise.
Judge Bryant was educated in the public schools of Indianapolis and in the high school
at Bethany, Missouri, and in 1864, while still a boy, entered upon an apprenticeship at the
printer's trade in the capacity of printer's devil. With thoroughness he mastered every
phase of the work and four years later, or in 1868, he founded the Grant City Star, a
weekly publication issued at Grant City, Worth county, which is still being published under
the same name. Judge Bryant, however, sold the paper after a year and a half and went
to work as a journeyman printer, in which connection he was employed throughout the
succeeding five years in Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. In 1874 he pur-
chased the Union County Independent, published at Creston, Iowa, but when a year had
passed he disposed of the plant and again worked as a journeyman in Nebraska and Missouri
until 1879, when he began the publication of the Craig Gazette at Craig, Missouri. In 1881
he removed his plant to Waterloo, Nebraska, where he published the Waterloo Gazette until
1886, when he took his equipment to Napoleon, North Dakota, and began the publication of
the Napoleon Homestead, which paper is now being published by his son, Otis F. Judge
Bryant severed his connection with that paper in December, 1894. On coming to North
526 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Dakota in 1886 lie had liomesteadeil a quarter section of land adjoining the corporation
limits of Napoleon and upon that tract he now makes his home.
In his political views Judge Bryant is a stalwart lepublican and has been a prominent
figure in the public life of his community, having been the organizer of the republican party
in Logan county. He served as county register of deeds for nine years and for the past
fourteen years has continuously occupied the position of county judge. His work has been
of the utmost value in upholding the political and legal status of the community and in
advancing intellectual and moral progress. There were but twenty-six voters in Logan
county upon his arrival here and from the time when the district was a most sparsely settled
region he has taken a most active and helpful part in advancing its interests along all the
lines leading to permanent good.
In 1872 Judge Brj-ant was united in marriage to Jliss Elizabeth Peacock, of Harrison
county, Missouri, by whom he has three children, namely: Otis F., who is editor of the
Napoleon Homestead and is also engaged in business as an automobile dealer; Mary E.,
the wife of W. H. Jacobson, a contractor and builder of Waterloo, Nebraska; and Koy H.,
at home. Mrs. Bryant is a member of the Presbyterian church, while Judge Bryant is con-
nected with the Christian church. He also has membership with the Modern Woodmen of
America. The record of no public man of Logan county has extended over a longer period
and none has been more faultless in honor, fearless in conduct or stainless in reputation.
CONRAD ERCK.
Conrad Erck is a dealer in farm implements and automobiles at Hague and also buys
and sells live stock. His business aflairs are carefully managed and he never encounters
difficulties or obstacles that determination, energy and honorable effort will not overcome.
He belongs to that class of citizens in Emmons county that have come from South Russia
and have been the builders and promoters of this section of the state. He was born in
Russia, October 4, 18C9, and his parents, Ludwig and Catherine Erck, were also natives of
the same locality. The father followed farming in Russia until 18SG, when he came to the
new world and secured a preemption and tree claim and also a homestead in Emmons
county, North Dakota. He at once began the arduous task of developing wild land and
meeting the government requirements as to occupancy and improvement upon his place.
Thereafter he was closely associated with the agricultural interests of the district until
his death, which occurred on the 2d of August, 1909. His widow yet survives.
Conrad Erck began his education in the schools of Russia and was sixteen years of
age when he severed the ties that bound liim to that land and came with his parents to the
new world. He continued to assist his father in fhe cultivation and improvement of the
home farm until he reached the age of twenty-six, when he removed to Pierce county, North
Dakota, and there acquired a homestead claim which he developed and improved, giving his
undivided attention to its cultivation for sixteen years. He still owns two hundred and
forty acres of land there but has disposed of part of the farm. On the 14th of August,
1915, he arrived in Hiigue, where he o[)ened an implement store, carrying a large stock of
all kinds of farm implements and machinery. The large patronage which is now accorded
him makes his business a profitable one. He is also vice presidents of the F'irst State Bank,
which he aided in organizing, and he is a stockholder in the Provident Life Insurance Com-
pany of Bismarck.
On the 5tli of November, 1894, Mr. Erck was married to Miss Christina Bichk>r and
they became parents of nine children, namely: Martin, Ludwig, Amelia, John. Katie, Helen,
Carl, Christina and Conrad. The Avife and mother passed away February 15, 1913, and
Mr. Erck was again married December 28, 1914, when Catherine Hulm became his wife.
Mr. Erck has membership in the Catholic church and in the Knights of Columbus and
also with the German Roman Catholic Society. He exercises his right of franchise in sup-
port of the men and measures of the republican party and has held the office of school
treasurer of Pierce county for twelve years. He has worked diligently and persistently
ill the attainment of success, early recognizing the fact that earnest labor is the basis of
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 527
all honorable advancement, and today he is a worthy representative of that class of men
of Russian birth who have recognized the opportunities all'orded in the new world and have
come to take their part not only in utilizing the natural resources but in upbuilding the
districts in which they live along the lines of substantial improvement and good government.
M. C. ANDERSON.
il. C. Anderson, manager of the Osborne-JlcMillan Elevator at Voltaire, was born in
Hutchinson, Minnesota, on the 17th of April, 1886, a son of Andrew and Anna (Christenson)
Anderson, who are natives of Denmark but who in childhood came with their respective
parents to the United States, the two families locating in Minnesota. Both were reared
in McCloud county, Minnesota, and there they were married and still make their home, being
now residents of Hutchinson. After long connection with agricultural pursuits Mr. Anderson
is enjoying well earned rest in honorable retirement from business.
M. C. Anderson attended the public schools, the Hutchinson high school and the
Metropolitan Commercial College at Minneapolis and was graduated from the last named
institution in the spring of 1906. Immediately afterward he came to North Dakota, settling
at Flaxton, Burke county, which was then a part of Ward county. There he seciired a
position in a general store, working as clerk and bookkeeper. In the fall of 1907 he filed
on a homestead in what was then Williams county but is now Divide county. He lived upon
and improved that place for eight months, when, having complied with all the laws relative
thereto, he was given title to the property. He then returned to his Flaxton position, which
he held until 1910, when he removed to the farm and for three years was engaged in its
cultivation. In the spring of 1914 he went to Voltaire as manager for the Osborne-McMillan
Elevator Company, controlling its business at this point to the present time. The interests
under his management here constitute an important feature in the community, as they
furnish a market for the grain producers. Personally Mr. Anderson owns three hundred and
twenty acres of farm land in Divide county and secures from the property a gratifying
annual income.
In the spring of 1910 Mr. Anderson was married to Miss Louise Amundson, of North-
wood, Iowa, and they have become the parents of three children, Merton, Arthur and Lucille.
Mr. Anderson votes independently, casting his ballot not according to party ties but
according to the dictates of his political wisdom and judgment.
RAYMOND M. VOLK.
Raymond M. Volk vice president of the Hague State Bank at Hague, Emmons county,
was born in South Russia in April, 1863, and is a representative of that substantial and
enterprising class of citizens from the land of the czar who have peopled Emmons county
and promoted its development. His parents were Raymond and Johanna Volk, also natives
of Russia, where the father followed farming and gardening throughout his entire life. He
died in 1902, while the death of his wife occurred in 1891.
Spending his youthful days under the parental roof, Raymond M. Volk attended the
public schools of South Russia and afterward worked as a farm hand. He also served
for five years in the army and in 1892 he came to the new world, settling first at Eureka,
South Dakota, where he was employed by the St. Croix Lumber Company for eight years.
On the expiration of that period he removed to Wishek, where he engaged in general mer-
chandising in partnership with M. A. Klein, now of Strasburg, their business being conducted
under the firm style of Volk & Klein That partnership was continued for four years, after
which Mr. Volk sold out to Mr. Klein and removed to Hague, where he established a general
merchandise store, handling dry goods, hardware, harness, furniture and other lines. He
continued to carry on the business until December, 1915. when he sold out, but he still owns
the building which he occupied and in which he conducted his mercantile interests for twelve
528 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
years. In April, 1916, he turned his attention to the lumber business, erecting lumber sheds
and office and putting in a new stock of lumber. In this connection he is doing a good
business, having a trade that is large and growing. He was also one of the orgiuiizei^s of
the Hague State Bank, of which he was the cashier for five years, and he is now the vice
president. He is also a stockholder in the German Bank at Eureka, South Dakota, in the
Dakota Wisconsin Land Company and in the Bankers & Merchants Fire Insurance Company
of Minneapolis. His business interests are thus extensive and important. His plans are
always well formulated and carefully executed and his ambition will allow him to brook
no obstacle or dilliculty that can be overcome by persistent, earnest cflTort. Step by step
he has worked his way upward in business and he is now regarded as one of the represen-
tative financiers and merchants of Emmons county.
In October, 1891, Mr. Volk was married to Miss Engele Fischer and they became the
parents of ten children, as follows: Jacob, who is assistant cashier of the Hague State Bank;
Joseph; Pious; Anton; Katie; Jlartha; Amelia; Barbara; Johanna; and Annie. The family
hold membership in the Catholic church and Mr. Volk belongs to the German Catholic Society.
His political endorsement is gi\en to the democratic party and he has been a member of the
town board since Hague was organized. He has also served as county commissioner for the
past twelve years and has done good work in that condition, putting forth every possible
effort to uphold the standards and promote the interests of the county and build substan-
tially for the future as well as for the present.
ANDREW RAWIXKA.
Andrew Rawuka, manager and one of the proprietors of the Simbalenko & Rawuka Ele-
vator Company at Kief, was born in Russia, May 15, 1888, and in the year 1893 was brought
to America by his parents, John and Lizzie (Danalenko) Rawuka, who settled in riiiladel-
phia, Pennsylvania. After three months they removed to the suburb of Clifton Heights.
The father was a mill carpenter and worked at his trade until 1896, when he went to
Virginia, where he engaged in peanut farming for eight months. Ho then returned to
Clifton Heights and in 1899 came to North Dakota, taking up a homestead two and a half
miles northeast of Kief, where he passed away on the 3d of March, 1903. His widow sur-
vives and is now living with her son in Kief.
Andrew Rawuka is indebted to the public school system of America for the educational
opitortunities which he received and he started to earn his own livelihood in 1899 by working
at herding cattle for three dollars per week. In 1902 he entered the employ of the firm
of Vail & Tifft, implement dealers of Balfour. He acted as interpreter for that firm and
also as errand boy and for his services received seven dollars per week. Subsei|uently he
was employed by another implement firm in Balfour, hia task being to set up machinery
which they had sold. In 1903 he worked with a threshing outfit at a dollar per dav and in
1904 he was fireman with a threshing engine, which work brought him a wage of two dollars
and a half per day. Seven days later he was made engineer at a salary of five dollars per
day and in 1905 he ran the same engine at six dollars per day. Later in the same year he
was employed in connection with another threshing outfit at eight dollars per day and in
1906 he was paid eight dollars per day for his services as engineer. Between threshing
seasons he was employed at farm labor and in 1907 he was given the management of a
threshing rig at a salary of twelve dollars per day and had an assistant furnislud him. The
steps in his orderly progression are easily discernible. He gradmiUy worked his way
upward, proving his ability and fidelity, and in 1908 he became Idontified with the grain
trade as buyer for the ilinmkota Elevator Company at Ruso. North Dakota. In 1909 he
became buyer at Kief for the Homestead Elevator Company, with which he was identified
until 1912, when he was made assistant cashier of the First State Bank at Kief, in which
position he served for a little more than a year. In 1914 he was employed by Edward
Simbalenko in the implement business and in February, 1915, in connection with his employer,
he bought the Atlantic elevator at Kief and assumed the management of the business.
He is now engaged along that line and his previous experience well qualified him for the
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 529
duties which now devolve upon him. Not only has he made steady progress in business
circles but has also acquired property and now owns a town residence and other real estate
in Kief. He is justly accounted one of the representative business men of his community,
his life record showing what can be accomplished wlien there is the will to dare and to do.
He has never regarded any task as too hard to be accomplished but has endeavored to make
his powers adequate to the task and he has found that activity does not tire — that it
hardens and gives resisting force, and today he is a resourceful, forceful, energetic business
man — one of the builders of the northwest. He also acceptably filled the office of township
clerk for four years.
FRED N. GILLIS.
Fred N. Gillis, cashier of the First State Sank of Wishek and one of tlie representa-
tive citizens of that place, claims Ohio as his native state, liis birth occurring in Kinsman
on the 13th of February, 18S2. His parents were John A. and Hattie (Norton) Gillis, the
former of whom was born in the same house where our subject's birth occurred, while the
mother was born in Meadville, Pennsylvania. They were married in Meadville and for
five years thereafter resided in Ohio, at the end of which time they removed to Topeka,
Kansas. There the father established a carriage factory, which he conducted for twenty
years, becoming prominently identified with the manufacturing interests of that city.
About 1901 he retired from business and removed to California, locating in Ecdlands, where
his wife died the following year and where he still resides.
Fred N. Gillis accompanied liis parents on their removal to Topeka, Kansas, where
he attended both the public and high schools, and completed his education in the Kansas
State College at Manhattan, graduating from that institution with the degree of B. S. in
the class of 1903. For a year following his graduation he was employed on a government
survey in the Bad Lands of North Dakota and in the summer of 1904 came to Wishek, where
he was offered a position in the First State Bank as assistant cashier. After serving in
that capacity for one year he was elected cashier of the institution and has since filled that
important office in a most creditable and satisfactory manner.
In 1908 Mr. Gillis was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Bitner, of Rochester, Minne-
sota, and to them has been born one daughter, Roberta Virginia. Mrs. Gillis is a member
of the Methodist Episcopal church and takes an active interest in its work. Fraternally
Mr. Gillis is identified with Maple River Lodge, No. 41, A. F. & A. M.; Wishek Lodge,
No. 99, I. 0. 0. F.; and Bismarck Lodge, No. 1199, B. P. 0. E. The republican party finds
in him a stanch supporter of its principles and he has been a member of the county republi-
can central committee. For the past three years he has served as chairman of the town
board and is also filling the office of school treasurer. He has always been found true to
every trust reposed in him, whether public or private, and he well merits the confidence
and respect of his fellow citizens. He is the owner of nine hundred acres of fine farming
land in IVIcIntosh and Logan counties. He is a business man of much more than ordinary
ability, is progressive and farsighted and stands high in banking circles of southern North
Dakota.
HON. M. E. RANDALL.
Hon. M. E. Randall, president of The Randall Company, general merchants, controlling
the leading house of that character in Ellendale, and also vice president of the Ellendale
National Bank, displays in his business affairs a keen discrimination and judgment that is
seldom, if ever, at fault. His plans have ever been carefully devised and promptly executed
and his identification with the interests of the city covers a period of thirty-four years.
He was born in Niagara county, New York, November 4, 1847, a son of Elias and Cynthia
(Dean) Randall. The father, who was a farmer by occupation, made several removals, going
530 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
from the Empire state to Illinois, thenoe to Wisconsin and afterward to Minnesota, his
death occurring in Ortonville, in the last named state, in 1883. His widow afterward became
a member of the household of her son, L. I. Randall, and there passed away June 14, 1912.
M. E. Randall supplemented his jjublic school training by a course in the State Univer-
sity of Minnesota and then took up the profession of teaching, which he followed for sev-
eral years most successfully, early displaying the ability to impart readily and clearly to
others the knowledge that he had acquired. He subsequently turned to commercial pursuits
and for a period of six years was employed as a clerk in a store in Appleton, Minnesota.
He afterward engaged in the drug and grocery business in connection with P. M. Scott in
Appleton and a year later, or in 1882, came to North Dakota, joining his brother, L. I.
Randall, who had preceded him to Ellendale, having located there in the spring of 1S82,
while M. E. Randall arrived in the fall of the year. The brothers erected a frame building
twenty-five by one hundred and ten feet and engaged in general merchandising under the
style of Randall Brothers. From the beginning their trade giew and the business
prospered as the country became more thickly settled. In time they were enjoying a
verj- extensive patronage and their partnership was continued with mutual pleasure and
profit until 1910, wlien M. E. Randall purchased his brother's interest in the business, the
latter tlien removing to Idaho, where he is now engaged in banking. In 1911 M. E. Randall
incorporated his commercial interests, admitting his son and three daughters as stockholders
under the style of The Randall Company. Theirs is the leading mercantile house in Ellen -
dale. Their store is large, well stocked and tastefully arranged, and throughout his entire
business career here Mr. Randall has ever recognized the fact that satisfied patrons are the
best advertisement. He has likewise become an active representative of financial circles
in his town as vice president of the Ellendale National Bank.
In 1877 occurred the marriage of Mr. Randall and Miss ilinnie E. Lord, of Mazeppa,
Minnesota, and they haAe become the parents of eight children, of whom seven are yet
living, namely: Myrtle M., the wife of Frank Glides, a merchant of Osage, Iowa; Edna, the
wife of Harry Whitney, a banker of Dodge Center, Minnesota; Ina E., who is a member
of The Randall Company and is the wife of Fred Graham, an attorney of Ellendale; Ava and
M. Pearl, members of The Randall Company; Floyd E., vice president of The Randall
Companj'; and Hazel, who is also one of the stockholders in the business. The wife and
mother passed away .luly 2, 1913, her death being deeply regretted by many friends, who
had learned to esteem her for her m.iny excellent traits of heart and mind.
In democratic circles Mr. Randall is recognized as a local leader and in fact his inlhience
and activities have aided in shaping the political history of the state, for he was a mem-
ber of the state senate during its second session and gave thoughtful consideration to all
the vital and significant problems which came up for settlement at that time. He has also
been city treasurer of Ellendale and as its mayor gave to the city a businesslike and progres-
sive administration during which several reforms were brought about and various municipal
improvements introduced. He was likewise a member of the school board for several years
and the cause of education finds in him a stalwart friend. He belongs to Ellendale Lodge,
No. 13, F. & A. M., and in his life exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the craft. Mr.
Randall is today one of the oldest business men of Ellendale in years of continuous con-
nection with its trade interests and is one of the most widely known citizens of Dickey
county. His entire commercial record will bear the closest investigation and scrutiny, meas-
uring up to high business standards.
L. W. WIGLEY.
L. W. Wigley, a well known lumber merchant of Fessenden, was born on the 2.")tli of
February, 1878, in Clarksville, Iowa, and is the third in order of birth in a family of four
children, the others being Elizabeth, Catherine and Francis. Their parents were .Tohn and
Anna (Allen) Wigley, who came to America in early life from Wales and Ireland respectively
and were married in this countrv. For a time they made their home in Iowa but afterward
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 531
removed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where the father died when our subject was young.
The mother is still living in that city.
L. W. Wigley attended the public schools of Iowa and on starting out in life for him-
self he was employed at railroading. Later he was in the employ of a creamery company
for about six years, but since 1907 has been identified with the lumber business. It was in
that year that he came to North Dakota and accepted a position with the Rogers Lumber
Company at Donnybrook, where he remained two years. He then went to Fessenden in
the interests of the same companj^ but in 1913 purchased an interest in their yard at that
place and has since engaged in the lumber business on his own account under the name
of the Fessenden Lumber Company, of which he is secretary, treasurer and general man-
ager. In 1913 the)' established a branch yard at Hamburg, Wells county, and are today
enjoying an excellent trade at both places.
On the 28th of November, 1913, Mr. Wigley married Miss May Belle Hutchinson, of
Faribault, Minnesota, who presides with gracious dignity over their home in Fessenden.
Mr. Wigley is an ardent supporter of the republican party and has served as city auditor
for three years. He is a prominent member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge of Fessenden,
of which he is chancellor commander, and also belongs to the Masonic lodge at Harvey and
the Ancient Order of United Workmen at Fessenden. He is one of the prominent citizens
and leading business men of his communitv.
HON. C. H. PORTER.
Hon. C. H. Porter is a member of the firm of Porter & Crum, proprietors of the leading
department store of La Moure, and is also president of the La Moure State Bank, but it is
not alone prominent business connections that have made him widely known. He has been
active as a political leader in the state and is now serving as senator from his district.
His birth occurred in Marengo. McHenry county, Illinois, March 35, 1858, his parents being
Thomas W. and Julia (Roper) Porter, who were natives of England and in their youthful
days came to the LTnited States with their respective parents. Subsequently they were
pioneers of McHenry county, Illinois, where they were married and began their domestic
life upon a farm, continuing their residence in that locality until called to the home beyond.
Having mastered the branches of learning taught in the district schools near his
father's farm. C. H. Porter attended the high school at Rockford, Illinois, and in 1879
left the farm to enter business circles in Chicago, where he was employed in the wholesale
fruit house of Porter Brothers, the members of the firm being his uncles. They advised him
to go to California and work in the orchards of that state in order to learn the fruit busi-
ness from the standpoint of production, promising him that they would afterward establish
him in business in Minneapolis, but he made other plans and in the spring of 1881 came to
Lamoure county, North Dakota, where he secured a homestead claim in what is now Banner
township, after which he devoted fourteen years to general agricultural pursuits. In 1895
he removed to the city of La Moure, where he was soon appointed to public office. He
had previously been called upon to fill positions of public trust. In 1881 he had been
appointed a member of the board of county commissioners and in 1884 was elected county
treasurer, in which capacity he served for one term. In the fall of 1895 he was appointed to
fill a vacancy in the office of county treasurer and at the regular election in the following
November was again chosen for that office, while in 1897 he was reelected, making three
full terms and one unexpired term in the position of county treasurer. In the fall of 1899
he sold his farm and engaged in the land and cattle business, in which he operated exten-
sively for three years, and about 1904 he joined C. C. Crum in establishing the present firm
of Porter & Crum. They opened a general merchandise store and their trade has developed
into an extensive business, so that they now carry a large stock with which to meet the
demands of their many patrons. In 1907 Mi-. Porter was one of the factors in the organiza-
tion of the La Moure State Bank and was chosen president of the institution, in which
capacity he has since served, his directing force being a salient feature in the continuous
and growing success of the institution.
532 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
In 1883 Mr. Porter was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary Tanner, of McHenry county,
Illinois, by whom he had three children, two daughters and a son. The latter is deceased,
while the daughters are: Irma, the wife of Arthur Stone, who is clerk of courts in Lamoure
county; and Grace, at home. In 1910 the wife and mother passed away, her death being
the occasion of widespread regret.
Fraternally Mr. Porter is connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the
Modern Woodmen of America and the American Veomen. Politically an earnest republican,
at tlie Xovember election of 1914 he was his party's candidate for state senator and, win-
ning victory at the polls, is now a member of the upper house of the general assembly.
The same spirit of devotion to the public good which he manifested in local offices is
characterizing his course in the senate and he is looked upon as one whom neither fear nor
favor can swerve from a course which he believes to be right. His position is always
carefully considered and no measure receives his endorsement that he does not believe will
further the best interests of the commonwealth.
HON. JOEL S. WEISER.
Hon. .Joel S. Weiser, who was a member of the first State Legislature of North Dakota
and who after long connection with agricultural and commercial interests is now living
retired in Valley City, was born nine miles east of Reading, Pennsylvania, on the 31st of
August, 1834. He has therefore passed the eighty-second milestone on life's journey and
he well merits the rest that has now come to him, for his has been an active, useful and
honorable business career. He is a son of Samuel D. Weiser, also a native of the Keystone
state, who traced his ancestry back to John Conrad Weiser, who with his wife and fifteen
children arrived in New York on the 9th of November, 1714, being of a party of twenty-six
hundred whom the British government sent to help settle Pennsylvania. They located at
Womelsdorf and there the father died two years later. As was the custom at the time,
the governor bound out the children during their minority. His son, Conrad Weiser, became
a friend of the governor, who induced him to learn the Indian language. Accordingly he
lived among the Indians for a time until he had mastered their tongue, when lie became a
dispatch rider and interpreter for the governor, making trips from Pennsylvania to Niagara
Falls, carrying messages to the Indians at that place. Conrad Weiser also participated
in the Revolutionary war and in recognition of his worth in these various connections the
citizens of Lehigh county erected a monument to his memory at Womelsdorf. Samuel D.
Weiser, the father of J. S. Weiser of Valley City, wedded Miss Mary Schrader, a repre-
sentative of an old German family of Pennsylvania, and two of her brothers took part in
the War of 1813. Samuel D. Weiser engaged in milling and remained in Pennsylvania until
his son Joel returned to that state and took the father and mother to Minnesota, but on
the trip between Shakopee and Winona the father died on the steamboat and his remains
were interred in St. Paul. This occurred in 1852, when he was sixty-eight years of age.
The mother lived to be eighty- four years of age and passed away in Valley City.
Of a family of three sons and one daughter Joel S. Weiser was the youngest. lie spent
his boj'hood days in Pennsylvania and in 1850 his eldest brother, William Weiser, removed
westward to Illinois and in 1851 his brother Josiah, who had just graduated from a medical
college, went to Minne.sota. The previous fall Joel S. Weiser made his way to Minnesota
and their brother William left Illinois and joined them at St. Paul. All three brothers
located at Shakopee, where they became actively connected with the business life of the
comnuinit)', Joel S. as a nuison and i)lasterer, William as farmer, while the other brother
practiced medicine and surgery. When the Civil war broke out William enlisted with the
Ninth -Minnesota Infantry and served throughout the period of hostilities. The ]5octor was
the next to enlist, becoming a surgeon under Colonel McPhail of the Minnesota Mounted
Rangers in the Sibley expedition, and he was killed at Big Mound, near Dawson. A
monument to his memory has been erected by the Minnesota Historical Society at his place
of burial fourteen miles north of Dawson.
Joel S. Weiser enlisted as a member of Company I, Ninth Minnesota Volunteer
HON. JOEL S. WEISER
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 535
Infantry, under Ca])tain Straight and Colonel llarsh, and was mustered in at Fort Snelling.
He then went south and took part in the campaign of Tennessee, aiding in driving General
Hood out of Memphis. He was in the battle of Memphis two days and afterward marched
with his command through Tennessee. The army was divided at Pulaski, the section to
which Mr. Weiser belonged being sent south and on to Vicksburg, but after remaining for
three days it went back on the same boats that had brought it down. The troops were then
sent to New Orleans and after four days there were sent to Mobile Bay and to Dolphins
Island between Fort Gaines and Fort Morgan. Later they started on the move and captured
what was known as Spanish Fort. From that point they jjroceeded to ilontgomery, where
they found their cavalry had arrived. They made the march of one hundred and seventeen
miles in live days. Word was there received that Lee had surrendered and a cheer went up
while the regiment sang: "We're going home to die no more." The next that they heard
was the news of Lincoln's assassination, after which they marched to Montgomery, where
they were distributed, their duty being to look up contrabands and bring them into camp.
In August, 1865, the regiment came north and Mr. Weiser received a ten days' furlough,
but when the time was up his health was in such condition that he could not return,
although he did not receive his discharge papers until October, 1865, at which time he was
honorably discharged and paid off at the Winslow Hotel in St. Paul. His brother William
was discharged at the same time with the rank of lieutenant.
When the war was over Joel S. Weiser worked at his trade at Shakopee for a time and
afterward removed to St. Paul, where he continued in the same line of business. He next
went to Woodberry, Washington county, Minnesota, and in the fall of 1877 arrived in
Barnes county, North Dakota, where he purchased four hundred acres of railroad land. He
also took up a tree claim and homestead and in 1878 he established a store which he con-
ducted for twenty years. In the meantime he also continued his farming operations and his
careful management of his business afl'airs brought to him a substantial success, making
him one of the men of affluence in his community.
Mr. Weiser not only proved a prominent figure in business circles but was also active in
political circles, being elected to the council in territorial days, and after the division into
North and South Dakota he was chosen to represent his district in the first state legislature.
Several times he served as alderman of Valley City and was its first mayor, while for a
number of years he served on the school board.
In May, 1854, Mr. Weiser was married to Miss Louisa Cleaver, who was born in
Pennsylvania, about eight miles from Reading, a daughter of .Jonathan Cleaver, who was of
English stock. The children of this marriage were: Mary and James, who died in infancy;
Rosie Ella, the wife of C. E. Shelling, theirs being the first marriage celebrated in Barnes
county, their home being now in Valley City, in the vicinity of which Mr. Shelling is
successfully farming; Sarah Emma, who became the wife of John McPherson and after his
death married George Phillips but is again a widow and is living near Detroit; Hattie, the
wife of Charles Heidle, of Valley City; Lilly N., the deceased wife of J. W. Neilson; William,
deceased; John, located at Kenmarc; and Albert, who has passed away.
Mr. Weiser belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic and thus maintains pleasant
relations with his comrades who fought for the preservation of the Union. He is most highly
respected by all, being regarded as a model citizen — one who in his public life has subor-
dinated personal advancement to public good and partisanship to the general welfare. He
rendered valuable service to his citj"- as its first chief executive, to the state as a member of
the first general assembly, but whether in office or out of it, whether on the battlefield or in
private life, he is alike loyal to the starry banner and the country o'er which it waves.
HON. EUGENE F. DUN TON.
Hon. Eugene F. Dunton, a grocer of Ellendale and one of the leading business men of
the town, has since starting out in life on his own account been continuously a representative
of commercial activity. Moreover, he is one of the pioneer business men of Ellendale,
where he settled in 1883. He had at that time just attained his majority, his birth iiaving
Vol, 11—29
536 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
occurred in \'(rmont, February 22, 1861, his parents being Stephen and ?31k'n (Johnson)
Dunton, botli of whom were natives of the Green Mountain state and representatives of old
New Enghmd families. The father was a farmer throughout the entire period of his active
life, death ending his labors in 1867. His wife afterward married Samuel W. Lord, who
later removed with his family to the province of Quebec, Canada, and there Eugene 1"'.
Punton was reared to manhood and obtained his education in the public schools. \Vlien
his textbooks were put aside he secured a clerkship in a dry goods store in Sherbrooke,
Canada, wliere he laid the foundation for his later business success, early coming to recognize
the eternal principle that industry wins, since which time industry has been the beacon light of
his life. Thinking to have better business opportunities in a district which was just being
opened up to settlement, he made his way to North Dakota in 1882 and cast in his lot with
the pioneer business men of EUendale. He was accompanied by his brother, Edward H.
Dunton, and on their arrival they each preempted a quarter section of land a half mile
from the town, while a year later Eugene F. Dunton homesteaded another quarter section.
During the three years which he S])eut upon the farm he and his brother also engaged in the
implement business in EUendale, and in 1885 he established his present store, carrying a large
and carefully selected line of staple and fancy groceries. The neat arrangement of the store,
the excellent line of goods which he handles, his earnest desire to please his customers and
his thoroughly reliable methods constitute the salient elements in his growing success.
He still owns a farm of one hundred and sixty acres four miles from EUendale and is
accounted one of the foremost men of his town.
On the 1st of January, 1889, occurred the marriage of Jlr. Dunton and Jliss Carrie
V. Courtney, of Dickey county, North Dakota, and they have become the parents of two
children: Imogene, at home; and Maurel Milton, who is employed in connection with his
father's business. Both are graduates of the North Dakota State Normal and Industrial
School at EUendale and the daughter is also u graduate of the Fine Arts School of Chicago.
Mr. Dunton lias membership connections with F^Ucndale T>odge. No. 17, I. O. 0. F., and
EUendale Camp, No. 1420. M. W. A. Since his arrival in North Dakota he has been actively
identified with those interests which have made Ellendalo an enterprising and progressive
city and one that has enjoyed constant gi'owth along substantial lines. In politics he is a
republican and his value in citizenship is indicated in the fact that in 1896 he was chosen
to represent his district in the state legislature. He also served as a member of the board
of county commissioners of Dickey county for four years and has been active along lines
leading to local [uogress as well as to the benefit of the commonwealth. F''or twenty years
he served as a member of the board of education at EUendale and he is most widely and
favorably known there, his circle of friends being coextensive with the circle of his acquaint-
ance. Laudable ambition led him to seek a home in tlic northwest and the wisdom of his
course has been justified with the passing years.
LEONAKD r. :\IfKXZ.
Leonard P. Muenz, of Hague, proprietor of a drug store and otherwise a representative
business man of the town, was born in Gallipolis, Ohio, February 7, 1874, his parents being
Theodore J. and Hannah (Brothers) Muenz, the former a native of Dover. Delaware, and
the latter of West Virginia. The father was a blacksmith by trade and in April. ISSG, came
to Dakota territory. He took up a homestead in what is now .South Dakota and developed
and improved that property, continuing its cultivation until 1903, when he retired and
removed to Roscoe. There he conducted a hotel for ten years but at the present time is
enjoying well earned rest. He has reached the age of seventy-seven years, while his wife
is now seventy-six years of age.
Leonard P. Muenz attended school in both Ohio and South Dakota, being a lad of twelve
years when his parents went to the latter state. On attaining his majority he also took
up a homestead claim in Edmunds ccmnty. South Dakota, and began the arduous task of
transforming wild prairie land into productive fields. He lived thereon and operated his
farm until 1903, he and his father owning five quarter sections of land there. In that
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 537
year he removed to Hosmer, South Dakota, where he remained for a year and then went to
Koscoe, where he conducted a saloon for four years. He next removed to Hague but after
a year he returned to Roscoe, where he conducted a general mercliandise business for two
years. On the expiration of that period he sold out and again went to Hague, where
he has since been engaged in the drug business, in which he is very successful. He has
accumulated considerable property and carefully manages his business affairs, so that he
derives therefrom a substantial income.
On the ITth of April, 1906, Mr. Muenz was married to Miss Helen Stark, a daughter
of Andrew and Helen Stark, who are natives of Sweden, where they are still living. Mr.
and Mrs. Muenz belong to the Catholic church and his political endorsement is given to the
republican party, but he has never taken active part in politics, feeling that his business
affairs have always made full claim upon his time and energies.
HON. L. C. ALBRECHT.
Hon. L, C. Albrecht, state senator and a leading business man of Ananioose, was born
in Germany, October 13, 1867, a son of Fred and Dorothea (Dietrich) Albrecht, who came
to the United States in 1892. The following year they settled in Bigstone City, South
Dakota, and the father there engaged in farming. In 1898 he removed to McHenry county,
North Dakota, and filed on a homestead adjoining the site of Anamoose, there developing
an excellent farm, on which he still resides. He is now in his eightieth year and is still
hale and hearty.
L. C. Albrecht was educated in the public and military schools of the fatherland and
for three years and nine months served in the Gennan navy. In the spring of 1891 he
came to the United States, making his way to Chicago, where he was employed in a black-
smith shop, having previously served an apprenticeship to the trade in the fatherland. In July,
1893, he removed westward to Bigstone City, South Dakota, where he opened a blacksmith
shop and conducted business for two years. He also spent a year in Milbank, South Dakota,
and in August, 1896, went west to Oregon, opening a shop in the town of Bake Oven, that
state. There he spent three years and in August, 1899, joined his brothers, Albert and Fred,
at Anamoose. - They had previously established a general merchandise business at that
point in 1898 and L. C. Albrecht became a member of the firm of Albrecht Brothers. They
built up one of the largest and most important mercantile establishments of McHenry
county, being the pioneer business house at Anamoose. They carry a full line of dry
goods, notions, groceries and hardware and their store is now large and well appointed,
while the business methods of the house ensure a continuance of the trade. Their policy
has ever measured up to the highest commercial ethics and it is known that the word of
the firm can be depended upon at all times. In addition to his mercantile interests Mr.
Albrecht is a partner in the ownership of several thousand acres of farm lands in various
states and he owns independently nine luindred and sixty acres in McHenry county. His
investments in property have been most judiciously made and are steadilj- increasing in
vawe.
In 1895 Mr. Albrecht was maiTied to Miss Anna Schmidt, of Bigstone CSty, South
Dakota, but a native of Minnesota, and to them have been born two sons and two daughters,
Agnes, Louis, Edward and Fern.
Mr. Albrecht votes with the republican party, whicli he has supported since becoming
a naturalized American citizen. He has been an active spirit in the upbuilding of the
school system of Anamoose and is a friend to the cause of higher education. For eight
years he served as a member of the school board, during which period the schools were
brought to their present standard of high elhcicncy, ranking among the best in the state.
Mr. Albrecht also served on the board of county commissioners from 1910 until his election
to represent his district in the state legislature in 1913, when he resigned the former posi-
tion to take up the more arduous dut'ies of framing the laws of the state. He is proving
himself an able member of the upper house and has been connected with constructive legisla-
tion and with those wholesome and purifying reforms which have been growing up in the
538 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
political life of the countrj'. Some of the more iiiipoitaiit committees on which lie served
were, during the first session, those on eiliuation and on highways, bridges and ferries, and
during the last session, those on appropriations, education, liighways and corporations, of
which last he was chairman. He was also a member of tlie Latliroj) committee siiipointed
to investigate the state educational and penal institutions and the conduct of the state
otiices. He and liis family are members of the Lutheran church and his entire life has been
guided by high principles. Investigation into his career serves but to heigliten liis fame
and tiu-oughout JIcHenry county, where he is best known, he is spoken of in terms of
uuqualiiied regard and respect.
PETKR HULJI.
Peter Hulra, manager at Hague for the Reliance Elevator Company, was born in Rus-
sia, December 14, 1S80, a son of Joseph and Frances Hulm, who were natives of that country,
where the father passed away and the mother is still living. Peter Hulm acquired his educa-
tion in German schools of Russia and continued in that country until 1905, when, having
reached the age of nineteen years, he determined to come to the new world, where aheady
many of his countrymen were living. There was at the time a large Russian settlement in
Kmmons county and to that district Mr. Hulm made his way, locating in Hague. Soon after-
ward he secured work on a farm near the town and was thus employed for two years. He
afterward worked on a dray line in Hague until 1912, when he entered the employ of the
Crown Elevator Company and two years later was made manager of the Reliance Elevator
Company at Hague, which position of responsibility he is now filling.
In 1909 Mr. Hulm was married to Miss Catherine Jeager and to them has been born one
child, Franciska. The parents are members of the Catholic church and Mi". Hulm belongs
to the German Roman Catholic Society. He votes with tlie republican party, which he has
supported since becoming a naturalized American citizen. He has never had occasion to
regret his determination to seek a fortune in the new world, for here he has found good
business opportunities and has gradually worked his way upward, having already reached a
place that wins him classification with the enterprising business men of Emmons county.
FREDERICK ALBRECHT.
The name of Albrecht in McHenry county has become a synonym for commercial
enterprise and integrity. The firm of Albrecht Brothers owns and conducts one of the
leading business houses of this section of the state, located at Anamoose, and the policy
pursued is indicative of the spirit of western enterprise and progress which lias brought
about the rapid development and ujibuilding of the district, ^fr. Albrecht was born in Ger-
many, a son of Frederick and Dorothea (Dietrich) Albrecht, who are mentioned elsewhere
in this work in connection with tlic sketch of the Hon. E. C. Albrecht, who is a member of
the state legislature.
Frederick Albrecht acquired his education in the ]iublic schools of his native country
and on the 8th of March. 1892, landed in Xew York city. From the eastern metropolis he
made his way direct to Chicago, where he was employed in shoe factories, liaving previously
served an apprenticeship at the bench in Germany. He worked at his trade in Chicago
until 1898. when he came west and cast in his lot with the pionter settlers of Xortli
Dakota. He an<l his brother Albert were the first to locate at .Anamoose and erected the
first business building in the town, wherein they established the first store. It was at the
beginning a small concern but has been developed into one of the most important commer-
cial enterprises in McHenry county. In 1899 they were joined by their brother, L. C.
Albrecht, and the three brothers now continue the tusiness together, their establishment
being widely known and commanding a large trade over a broad stretch of country. Their
store is neat and tasteful in its arrangement and is attractive in the line of goods carried.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 539
Moreover, the proprietors are always courteous and obliging in the treatment of their
patrons and demand the same courtesy from employes to those who give them their trade.
Their interests are conducted in accordance with the modern idea of progressive commer-
cialism and with the rapid development of this section of the state their patronage is
continually growing. The Albrecht Brothers also liave farm land holdings to the extent of
thirty-five lumdred acres in five states and Frederick Albrecht own individually three hun-
dred and twenty acres adjoining tlie town of Anamoose.
In 1901 occurred the marriage of Mr'. Albrecht and iliss Amanda Seehafer, of McHenry
county and a native of Wisconsin. Her father came to America in childhood from Germany,
while her mother was born in Wisconsin. Mr. and ilrs. Albrecht have a family of four chil-
dren, Waldemar, Erick, Dorothea and Harohl.
Mr. Albrecht exercises his riglit of franchise in support of the men and measures of
the republican party and has served almost continuously on tlie town board since the organi-
zation of Anamoose, while for four years he was chairman of the board. He occupied the
position of school treasurer for fifteen years and he has been a delegate to the county and
state conventions of the republican party, being made ciiairman of the JIcHenry county
delegation to the last state republican convention, which was held in Minot. He and his
family are members of the German Lutheran church, in which he is serving on the official
board and as treasurer. His business afiairs, although of steadily growing volume and
importance, have never been allowed to so monopolize his time as to preclude his interest
in those activities which have to do with man's relations to his fellowmen and to the gov-
ernment at large. On the conti'ary he is a loyal and progressive American citizen and one
who is ever willing to extend a helping hand where aid is needed.
HENRY ^fEVERMAN.
Henry Xeverman, who has won a creditable position in financial circles in the south-
eastern part of the state, is well known as the president of the Farmers National Bank of
La Moure. Practically his entire life has been spent in this country, although he is of
German birth, his natal day being June 14, 18.58. His parents, Fred and Sophia (Lang)
Neverman. came to the United States with their family in 1864 and in New York city,
within a week after landing, the fatlier died. The mother afterward took her children to,
Wisconsin, settling in Columbia county, and later slie became the wife of Christopher Lang,
a farmer of that county, there continuing her residence to the time of her death.
Henry Neverman was reared in Wisconsin and obtained a district school education.
He began working as a farm hand in early manhood and had previously had practical experi-
ence in farm work through the assistance -which he rendered on the liome place. In the
spring of 1S80 he came to North Dakota, settling in Grand Rapids township, and on the 2d
of April he filed on a homestead and on a tree claim and two years later took up a preemp-
tion claim. Subsequently he purchased other land from time to time. He Avas tlie first set-
tler in the county and therefore took the initial step in bringing about present-day i)rogress
and prosperity. His investments have been most judiciously made, his sound judgment
enabling him to wisely choose the properties which he purchased, and today his holdings
embrace fifteen hundred and five acres of valuable North Dakota land. His present financial
condition is in marked contrast to his possessions at the time of his arrival, for he then
possessed twenty dollars in money and a rifle. About 1906 he left tlie farm and removed
to La Moure, while two of his sons remain upon the home place, active in its cultivation.
Before leaving the farm, in 1905, Mr. Neverman was one of the prime movers in the organi-
zation of the Farmers State Bank, winch was nationalized in 1910 as the Farmers National
Bank. Upon the organization of the institution he was chosen its vice president and upon
the death of the president in 1913 he assumed the duties of the office, to which he -waa
elected at the regular annual election of the bank on the 1st of January, 1914. He has since
remained the chief executive officer of the bank and throughout the period of its existence his
activity, keen insight and progressive spirit have been dominant elements in winning suc-
cess for the institution.
540 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
On the Gtli of April, 1885, Mr. Nevermaii was united in marriage to Miss Augusta
Siedsclilag, of Columbus, Wisconsin, who was boru in tJermany and emigrated to the United
States in the early '80s. To tliem have been born six children, live of whom still survive,
as follows: Carl, who is living on one of his father's farms; Ida, the assistant cashier of
the Farmers National Bank of La Moure; Henry A., operating one of his father's farms;
Ksther, a student in Macalester College of 8t. Paul; and Ueorge. wlio attends the La Mouro
graded schools. Fraternally Mr. Neverman is identified with the Masonic order, belonging
to Jlackay Lodge, Xo. 18, A. F. & A. M.; Dakota Consistory, No. 1, A. & A. S. R., of Fargo;
and El Zagal Temple, A. A. O. X. M. S. The daughters, Ida and Esther Xeverman, belong
to Bartholomew Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star.
In politics ilr. Xeverman is a democrat and served as chairman of the town board of
Grand Rapids for several years and was also assessor of Grand Rapids township for two
or three terms. He likewise served as school treasurer and director there for several years
and he has been a member of the board of aldermen of La Moure for seven years, taking
a most active and helpful interest in promoting those projects which work for civic righteous-
ness and improvement. He and his family worship in ihe Presbyterian church and they
are well known socially, theirs being a most hospitable home at which their many friends
delight to gather. A most creditable record is that of Mr. Xeverman, whose progressive
spirit is manifest in his splendid success, based upon unremitting industry and unflagging
diligence. He has largely placed his money in the safest of all investments— real estate —
and has ever followed constructive methods in business, never winning his success at the
price of another's failure.
GEORGE I. RODSATER.
George I. Rod.sater, a leading attorney of Renville county practicing at Mohall, is a
native of Freeborn county, Jlinnesota. His birth occurred December 20, 188.!, his parents
being Iver A. and Ingeborg (Anderson) Rodsater, both of whom were natives of Xorway.
The mother was an infant of but a year when brought by her parents to the United States
but the father was a young man when he crossed the Atlantic. They were married in
Freeborn county, Minnesota, where Mrs. Rodsater's parents had honicsteadcd in pioneer
times. After crossing the Atlantic Iver A. Rodsater took up the occupation of farming and
he and his father-in-law became the owners of a section of land, which they held in part-
neiship and which they operated jointly, contributing in large measure to the agricultural
development of the region in which they lived. Both Mr. and Mrs. Iver A. Rodsater have
now departed this life.
George I. Rodsater was educati-d in l.\itlirr Acadi'niy at Albert Lea. .Minnesota, and
in Luther College at Decorah, Iowa, being giaduatcd from the latter institution with the
degree of Bachelor of Arts as a member of the class of 1000. He then took up the study
of law, to which he devoted a year in the University of Minnesota, but completed his course
in the Xorth Dakota State University at Grand Forks, being graduated with the class of
1U09. He was admitted to jiractice at the bar of the state and on the 5th of June, 1909,
following his admission, he entered the law office of George McGee, of Minot, with whom
he remained for a j'ear, putting his theoretical knowledge to practical test. In 1910 he
arrived in Mohall, where he opened .1 law oflice, and on the 1st of .January. 1911, he formed
a partnership with .John Swenson under the firm style of Swenson & Rodsater. this connec-
tion being continued from .January 1, 1911. until October, 1915. Since the latter date Mr.
Rodsater has jjracticcd independently and his ability to successfully handle important law
cases is shown by the liberal patronage accorded him.
On the Tth of December, 1915, Mr. Rodsater was united in marriage to Miss Bertine
Anderson, of Mohall. He is connected with various fraternal and social organizations,
belonging to Mohall Lodge, X'o. T.i, A. F. & A. M.. Jared Consistory, No. 2, A. & A. S. R.,
of Grand Forks, and Kem Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., while he and his wife are members
of the Lutheran church. His political support is given to the republican j)arty and for four
years he filled the office of assistant state's attorney, but he has never sought oliicial prefer-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 541
luent outside the strict patli of his profession, knowing tliat the law is a jealous mistress
and those upon whom she confers her favors are the ones wlio give to her unfaltering
allegiance.
BERIAH MAGOFFIN.
Tlie life record of Beriah Magollin is inseparably interwoven with the history of
Monango, for he erected the first building in the town and was not only connected with the
phases of its early pioneer development but with its later progress as well. He still makes
his home there and is now living retired in the enjoyment of a rest which he has truly
earned and richly deserves. He was born in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, April 36, 1843, a son
of Ebenezer and a nephew of Beriah Magoffin, who was governor of Kentucky at the out-
break of the Civil war, and when called upon by President Lincoln for seventy-five thousand
troops an.swered that "Kentucky had no troops for such an unholy cause." He was subse-
quently removed from office by Lincoln. Kbenezer Magoffin wedded Mary Ann Hutchinson
and both were natives of Harrodsburg, Kentucky, the former of Irish descent, while the
latter was of Scotch extraction. In 1854 they removed to Sedalia, Missouri, where Mr.
Magoffin acquired twenty-two hundred acres of land, constituting a mammoth plantation,
on which he had a large number of slaves. When the trouble between the north and south
precipitated the country in civil war he raised a regiment on his farm for the Confederate
army and he was taken prisoner at Georgetown, Missouri, after killing two of Milligan's
soldiers, who had deliberately fired upon him without provocation. His influence was so
great that his captors did not dare to take his life, but confined liim in prison at Lexington,
Missouri, where he was later released when the city was captured by Confederate troops.
Subsequently he was rearrested, tried by a drumhead court-martial and sentenced to be shot,
but after Colonel Brown, of Milligan's Brigade, had testified in his behalf and interceded
for him he was sent to the military prison at Alton, Illinois. Later his son, Beriah Magoffin,
was incarcerated and placed in the same cell with his father. Being given free rein of the
grounds, he planned a means of escape through the cellar of the building, whereupon Mr.
Magollin and his brother tunneled their way out. The means of their escape has never
been known to this day. The two guards, who were suspected of connivance, were shot.
Ebenezer Magoffin was afterward killed by an assassin at Rocky Comfort, Arkansas, the
man stabbing him in the back. His brother followed the assassin for thirty days, captured
him and singlehanded hung him from his horse.
Beriah Magoffin and his brother Elijah also served in the Confederate army, the latter
holding the rank of colonel. While with the Confederate army Beriah Magoflin was captured
in Missouri while lying ill of typhoid fever and was confined for a time in the prison at
Alton, Illinois. Later he was transferred to F'ort Delaware, at the mouth of Chesapeake
bay, and subsequently he was again captured and once more confined at Alton. After
the war he and his brother returned to Missouri and the home plantation being ravaged,
they sold the place. Following his marriage Beriah Magoffin continued farming for ten
years and later was em])loyed by a Xew York house on the Star mail route. For two or
three years he traveled for tiie house and later engaged in business on his own account. In
1884 he came to North Dakota, settling in Westport, from which point he ran a mail route.
In 1886 he came to Monango in advance of the Milwaukee Railroad and built a shack for
himself with a room for his horses. That was the first building in the town. With the
develo])ment and progress of which he has since been closely associated. Under President
Cleveland he was appointed postmaster of Monango and he also began merchandising on a
small scale but developed his interests into one of the leading business concerns of the
kind in Dickey county, personally managing and superintending tlie business until 190(1,
when he turned it over to his son, Ebenezer Magoffin, since which time he has lived retired.
In 1865 Mr. Magoffin was united in marriage to Jliss Manlius A. Thomson, a daughter
of Colonel Manlius B. Thomson, commander of the Third Kentucky Cavalry in the Mexican
war and at one time lieutenant governor of Kentuck.y. Mr. and JVIrs. Magoffin have become
the parents of five children, the only survivor, however, being Ebenezer, mentioned else-
where in this work.
542 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
In polities Mr. Magoffin is a ilomocnit and lias served as a momlier of the state central
committee, being recognized as a prominent and inlluential leader in party politics. He
served as postmaster of Monango for two years, after wliieh he resigned, for he has little
desire to hold pnblic office, ])referring that his public duties should be done as a privat
citizen, and in many ways he has contributed to the upbuilding and progress of his
community.
e
DR. .TAMES D. JIcKEXZIE.
Dr. James D. McKenzie, who was one of the well known residents of Milnor, was an
active and successful medical practitioner of that town. He was born in Inverness, in the
province of Quebec, Canada, JIarch 38, 1840, and pursued his education at St. Francis'
Academy, in that country, and in Oberlin College at Oberlin, Ohio, where he studied for a
year, there completing his more specifically literary course. His choice of a life work fell
upon the practice of medicine and in preparation for the profession lie entered the medical
department of the State University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, from which he was grad-
uated, winning his professional degree. In 1866 he entered upon active practice in Vermont
and while there residing was made superintendent of schools in his locality. He afterward
became a resident of the village of Floyd, Iowa, practicing there for about six years, at the
end of which time he removed to Fargo, North Dakota, where he opened an office and
continued in active practice for four years. He was afterward appointed to the position of
postmaster at Portland, Xorth Dakota, and while acting in that capacity he continued in
the practice of medicine and also conducted a drug store, remaining in business there for
about a year. He then returned to Fargo and opened a drug store. In 1885, however, he
sold the store and removed to :Milnor, where he opened an office for the practice of medicine
and at the same time conducted a drug business. His ability as a practitioner was widely
recognized throughout the community and his professional business grew to large pro-
portions. He kept in close touch with the trend of modern thought in relation to medical
science, was most careful in the diagnosis of his cases and successful in his practice. His
death occurred April 12, 1908.
It was on the 20th of December, 1864, tliat llr. McKenzie was united in marriage to Miss
Margaret Arkley, also a native of that county, and they became the parents of a son,
Clyde .!., who operates a sheep ranch in Alberta, Canada. Mrs. McKenzie still makes her
home in Milnor, where she has many warm friends, while the hospitality of her own home is
greatly enjoyed by those who know her.
Deep regiet was felt at the passing of Dr. McKenzie, not only because of his professional
worth but also because of his many sterling traits of cluiracter as manifested in warm friend-
sliip and a spirit of helpfulness. He was much interested in jiolitics and his inlluence carried
considerable weiglit in the councils of his jiarty. He became a member of the state central
committee and did everything in his power to further the interests of the party and he also
served on the Iward of health for about twelve years. He was a member of the North
Dakota State Jledical Society and was keenly interested in all those problems, the solution
of whicli tends to bring to man the key to the complex mystery which we call life.
LEKJH LAUGHLIN.
Leigh l.au^'lilin. a farnu-r residing on .section fourteen, Island I'ark tuwnsliip, Ransom
county, was born in Lisbon, North Dakota, August 29, 1885, a son of the Hon. Andrew H.
and Marion J. (Dunbar) Laughlin. The father was born at Green Lake. Wisconsin. Novem-
ber 11, 1848, and he was the son of .Tohn and Permelia (Bovec) Laughlin. Followiu" his
removal to North Dakota he engagi'd in teaching school for several years and then went
to Lisbon on the Sheyenne river on the 2Sth of .lanuary, 1882. There he secured eight
hundred acres of land and began farming. Not long afterward he embarked in the farm
implement business as a member of the firm of Laughlin & Palmer and later ojiened a real
DR. JAMES D. Mckenzie
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 545
estate aiul loan oiKce in Lisbon. He still further extended his business activities by estab-
lishing a cheese factory near Lisbon and thus along many lines of business he contributed
to the material development and upbuilding of his count}'. His fellow townsmen recognized
his ability and trustworthiness arid In 1882 he was elected register of deeds in Ransom
county which office he filled for four years. In 1894 he was elected commissioner of agri-
culture and labor and was also supervisor of the census in 1898. He was chosen to repre-
sent his district in the state legislature and was chairman of military affairs. He originated
house bills No. 39 and No. 117 and was connected with other important legislation. His
political allegiance was given to the republican and prohibition parties and he stood firmly
in defense of his honest convictions at all times. In 1883 he married Marion J. Dunbar
who died in 1886 leaving two children, Lulu, who was born .June 13, 1884, and Leigh. In
1889 Mr. Laughlin married Eliza Sargent and they had one son Dell, born in 1893. Mr.
Laughlin was identified with the Knights of Pythias, the Ancient Order of L'nited Workmen
and the Ancient Order of Foresters. He passed away February 4, 1914, and his death was
deeply regretted for he had proven himself a valuable citizen of his, community, contribut-
ing in large measure to its progress along many lines of lasting benefit. It is a matter
worthy of note that Permelia Bovee was one of the first persons to take up land in Michi-
gan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota.
Leigh La\ighlin attended the district schools and the schools of Lisbon and afterwards
assisted his father in his various business interests until the father's death. He also devoted
a year to pursuing a course in the operation of gas tractors in Minneapolis, after which
he accepted a position with the Rumely Company and continued with them for a year.
Following his father's death he purchased the interest of the other heirs in the home
farm of eighty acres. Previous to that time he had purchased a half section of land and
the additional purchase made him the owner of four hundred acres, a part of which was
gravel land. He cultivates about eighty acres and rents the remainder of his land, deriving
a good income therefrom. Upon his place he has a fine, flowing spring of cold, clear water
which he sells in Lisbon and from which he derives a substantial addition to his income.
On the 36th of February, 1908, Mr. Laughlin was married to Miss Ethel Beatrice Granger,
a daughter of George and Anna (Tappan) Granger, who was born in Cass county, Michigan,
September 5, 1881, and there resided until she came to North Dakota. She is the only
survivor of a family of four children, of whom three died in infancy. By her marriage she
has become the mother of a son, Harry Granger, who was born December 18, 1908, and
is now attending school in Sheldon.
Mr. Laughlin gives his political support to the republican party. He was elected
and served as school clerk for about eight years and in 1913 was chosen by popular suffrage
for the office of township clerk, which position he is still filling. In 1898 he served as
page in the state senate. He holds membership in the Presbyterian church wliile his wife
is a member of the Episcopal church. Fraternally he is prominent, belonging to the Masonic
lodge, the Knights of Pythias, the Dramatic Order of the Knights of Khorassan, the Wood-
men and the Workmen. He is loyal to the purposes and teachings of these various organiza-
tions. F'or eight years he was sergeant in Battery A, First Artillery, North Dakota National
Guard.
HON. THOMAS FRANK MARSHALL.
Hon. Thomas Frank ilarshall, possessing initiative and marked ability as an organizer,
has contributed much to the business development of Oakes, Dickey county. He Is presi-
dent of the First National Bank of Oakes, president of the First State Bank of Verona, of
the Fullerton State Bank, the Guelph State Bank, the Dakota National Bank of Aber-
deen, South Dakota, and president of the Marshall-McCartney Company, one of the big
holding companies of the state. His entire business career has been characterized by con-
structive methods which have recognized and taken advantage of the opportunities offered
for the upbuilding of interests which have meant much to the communities in which they
are located. His plans have always been well defined and carefully executed and his suc-
cess has never been won at the cost of the failure of others.
546 HISTORY OF xNORTH DAKOTA
Mr. Marshall is a native of Missouri, liis birth having occurred in Uaniiil)al on the 7th
of March, 1854, his parents being George W. and Sarah K. (Uclllebauer) Marshall. The
father was a native of Kentucky and of IScotch-lrish descent, while the mother was born in
Virginia and came of (lermun parentage. They were married in the Ulil Dominion and for
a few years afterward tlrifted over the country looking for a permanent location. They
finally settled near flatteville, (irant county, Wisconsin, in 185G, and the father, who was
a miller by trade, there operated a grist mill for many years, becoming one of the leading
and substantial business men of that locality. In 1873 ho removed to South Dakota, to
which state his son, Thomas !•'. Marshall, had preceded him. He secured a homestead iu
Turner county and later removed to Parker, that county, where his death occurred in April,
lyiG, when he had reached the venerable age of ninety-one years.
Thomas F. Marshall was educated in the State XornuU .School at J'lattcviUc, Wisconsin,
where he pursued special courses in matliematics and surveying. Three months prior to
the time of his graduation, however, his health failed and having also exhausted his funds,
he left school, but forty years later the board of regents conferred upon him his diploma,
calling liim to the school on the event of the graduation of the class of 1913. After put-
ting aside his textbooks Mr. Marshall went to Yankton, South Dakota, in April, 1873, and
entered upon the work of surveying, while at the same time he took contracts from the
government for survey work, in which he was engaged for lifteen years. Within that period
he also established a grocery business in Yankton and conducted it in connection with his
other interests. Jn 1883 he removed to Columbia, South Dakota, his government survey
work taking him to that locality, and while there he also engaged in the banking business,
purchasing an interest in tlie private bank of William Davidson and thus organizing the
firm of Davidson & Marshall. Later he became one of the organizers of the first National
Bank of Columbia and was made a director of that institution. In 1885 he returned to Yank-
ton, closed out his business interests and in the spring of 1887 removed to Oakes, North
Dakota, bought an interest in the Bank of Oakes, and became its cashier and active man-
ager. Later he bought the interest of the other stockholders, becoming sole owner, and in
October, 1902, he nationalized the institution, making it the First National Bank of Oakes.
Tliroughout the entire period of his residence here his business activities have been of a
most important and far-reaching character, resulting to the benefit of the comnuinity as
well as constituting a source of individual success. He organized the Marsliall-.McCartney
Company, which is one of the big holding companies of the state and which acquired the
various banking institutions of which Mr. Marshall is president. It took over as well vari-
ous elevators and has extensive holdings in addition. This company was at one time inter-
ested in banks at Cogswell, Gwiuner and F'orbes, North Dakota, and for five years owned
the controlling interest in the Citizens National Bank and Citizens Loan CVimpany at Willis-
ton, North Dakota, as well as the controlling interest in the Springbrook State Bank and the
Springbrook Trading Company and the Trenton State Bank and the Trenton Trading Com-
pany, but at a recent date the ilarshall-McCartney holdings in the last named have been
sold, in 1908 the Marshall-McCartney Company organized the Dakota Western Telephone
Company and developed the business until their interests were among the most extensive
of that character in the west, or in other words the second largest telephone company in the
state, their holdings reaching a vaUiation of more than a quarter of a million dollars. On the
1st of March, 1916, they sold to the Northwestern Telephone Company. At one time Mr.
Marshall o\\ned the large department store at Aberdeen, known as the (Jolden Rule, but
disposed of that business when elected to congress. The foregoing indicates clearly that
he has always been alert and enterprising, ready to meet any emergency and at all times
utilizing opportunities that have led to constructive work along business lines.
In his [lolitical views Mr. Marshall is an earnest republican. He served as surveyor
of Turner county, .South Dakota, and was the lirst mayor of Oakes after the incorporation
of the city, continuing as its chief executive for four years. In 1892 he was elected to the
state senate, serving for four years, and was a candidate for the United States senate in
1896 but met defeat by one vote in the caucus that elected McCumber. In 1900 he was
elected to the United States congress and remained a member of the national halls of
legislation for eight years. In 1908 he was a candidate for the nomination for I'nited
States senator on the progressive ticket at the first [irimary ever held in the state, his
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 547
competitors at that time being M. N. Johnson, H. C. Hansbrougli and C. B. Little. Mr. Mar-
shall received a plurality of over four thousand votes, or thirty-three per cent of the entire
republican vote, but the law required a forty per cent vote to make the nomination effective.
In the event of no candidate receiving this vote the two candidates receiving the highest
vote were to run in the primary held in the regular November election. On that occasion
Mr. JIarshall ran against Mr. -Johnson, who had received the second highest vote, and the
former was defeated. Two years later in the June primaries he was again a candidate for
the same ollice with P. J. ilcCumber as his opponent but was defeated by eleven hundred
votes. In 1912 he was a candidate for national committeeman and was elected b}' a majority
of twenty thousand votes at the first primary ever held in the United States to elect a
national committeeman. Jlr. Marshall exercises a great; influence and naturally has strong
opposition, as does every one who wins a place of leadership, for it has been well said that
"It is only the head above the line that gets hit." There is perhaps no one in North
Dakota that has more standi allies and it is a recognized fact that no one holds more
loyally to his honest convictions nor fights more earnestly in tlicir defense than docs Thomas
F, Marshall.
In 1878 Mr. Marshall was united in marriage to iliss Eva E. Grigsby, of Missouri
Valley, Iowa, a former schoolmate, and a sister of Colonel Melvin firigsby, a veteran of
the Civil war and the author of the amendment which provided for the three Rough Rider
Regiments in the .Spanish-American war. Colonel Grigsby is still living and resides in Sioux
falls. South Dakota, ilr. and Mrs. Marshall have had no children of their own but have
reared Elmer B. McCartney, the brother of his partner, who became a member of their house-
hold upon the death of his motlier when he was a little lad of three and a half years. He
is a graduate of Columbia University, in which he completed a course in civil engineering,
and is now in charge of a big irrigation project at Winchester. Grant county, Washington,
which is being built by the Marshall-McCartney Company.
Fraternally Jlr. ilarshall is a thirty-second degree JIason, having attained liigli rank
in both the York and Scottish Rite bodies, while of Ei Zaga! Temple of the Mystic Shrine
at Fargo he is also a member. He likewise belongs to Fargo Lodge, No. 260, B. P. 0. E.,
and he is most loyal to the teachings and purposes of these organizations.
In the extensive business organizations which Mr. Marshall has built up he has always
had the interests of his em])Ioyes at heart and as the various branches with which they
have been connected have developed and grown they have been given an interest in the
business and thus liave profited by the success of the enterprises, some of his employes
having been associated with him for more than a quarter of a century. The efficiency of his
organization and the .ability of his corps of lieutenants are such that the wheels of business
run almost as smoothly in his absence as when he is at the steering wheel. Whatever
he undertakes he accomplishes, not by the sacrifice of another's interests but because of his
constructive methods, which are based upon a recognition and utilization of opportunities
that many others pass heedlessly by. He is a strong man, strong in his ability to plan and
perform, strong in his citizenship and strong in his honor and good name.
R. M. CRICHTON.
I!, it. Crichton. cashier of the .State Bank of Verona, has always lived west of the Mis-
sissippi and the spirit of western enterprise and jjrogress finds expression in his life record.
He was born in Newton, Kansas, May 2, 1879, a son of William M. and Anna .J. (Seaman)
Crichton. The former, a native of Scotland, was born near Dundee in 1842 and the mother's
birth occurred in Bond county, Illinois. When but two years of age William M. Crichton
was brought by his parents to the United States, the family home being established in
Laporte, Iiuliana, where he was re.ired to manhood. He completed his education in the
Presbyterian College at Monmouth, Illinois, and has devoted his life to educational work,
having been prominently identified with teaching for a half century. He is now living on
a homestead in Colorado and is teaching in the Padroni school.
R. yi. Crichton attended the public schools and the high school at Auburn, Nebraska,
548 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
from whieli lie was graduated with the class of 1897. He afterward taught one term of
school but in 1898 made his initial step in the field of banking, securing a position in the
Carson National Bank at Auburn, where lie remained for nine and one-half years, resigning
the position of assistant cashier on the 1st of January, 1908, to accept the secretaryship
of the Auburn Music li .Jewelry Company, with which firm lie was identified for two years,
lie afterward spent a year in the ottice of the C'udahy Packing Comiumy in South Omaha and
on the 1st of January, 1911, he was oti'ered and accepted the position of cashier of the
State liank of Verona, in which responsible connection he has since continued. The bank
was incorporated in 190+ with a capital stock of ten thousand dollars and entered upon a
prosperous existence. At the time Mr. Crichton came to \'erona there was another bank
ill the town — the Farmers & Merchants Bank. In 1913 he effected the consolidation of the
two institutions, merging the latter into the former. The bank is a safe and reliable
linancial center, its progiessiveness being tempered by conservatism, its lirst )>olicy being to
carefully safeguard the interests of depositors. Jlr. Crichton tlnough long experience is
thorouglily familiar with every pliase of the banking business, and liis ability is manifest in
the increasing success of this institution.
In 1903 Mr. CVichton was united in marriage to iliss Sadie C. Scott, of Auburn. Neliraska,
by whom he has three children, namely: Isabelle, Anna and Robert S. Politically Mr.
Crichton is a republican but has no ambition for office holding. He is never remiss in the
duties of citizenship, however, and has served as president of the school board. Fraternally
he is connected with Auburn Lodge. No. 124, A. F'. & A. M., of Auliurn, Nebraska; Dakota
Consistory, No. 1, A. & A. S. R., of Fargo: and E! Zagal Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Fargo.
His wife is a member of the Presbyterian church and both are widely and favorably known,
while in banking circles ilr. Crichton has a very extensive acquaintance, ciijciying tlic con-
lidence, goodwill and high regard of his colleagues in the business.
HON. R. K. BATZER.
Hon. R. K. Batzer. member of the house of rejnesentatives and a successful agricultural
implement dealer of Hazelton, belongs to that class of citizens who are active in the devclo])-
ment of tlie state through the promotion of its material and political interests. He has
always resided in the west and the spirit of western enterprise finds expression in his career.
He was born in Morrison county, Minnesota, October 14, 1887, and in his youthful days
passed through consecutive grades in the public schools to his graduation from the high
school at Royalton, Minnesota, with the class of 190,5. He then entered the State Univer-
sity and on the completion of the law course won the Bachelor of Laws degree as a member
of the class of 190S. Immediately following his graduation he went to Hazelton and during
the first two years of his residence there was variously emjiloyed. working on farms or at
any labor that would enable him to earn an honest living. In 1911 he was appointed United
States commissioner by Judge Charles F. Amidon, of F'argo. and at the November election
of 1912 was chosen to represent his district in the state legislature. He then resigned his
position as commissioner to enter upon his legislative duties and made such an excellent
record during his first term that he was reelected in 1914. His position upon any vital
question is always clearly defined. He does not hesitate to announce or support his honest
convictions and he has been connected with much imjiortant constructive legislation, serving
on a number of important committees. In jirivatc life he is also active, having in 1910
established his present implement business. The first year, however, was one of disappoint-
ment and hardship, for there were probably not ten tliousand bushels of grain harvested
in Emmons county and as a consetjuence there was no sale for farm implements. In 1011
there was a slight improvement in crops and in 1912 the harvest came in abundance. Since
that time Mr. Batzer has prospered, his business growing in magiiitmlc until it is today
one of the important commercial enterprises of the county.
On the 17th of December, 1914, Mr. Batzer was united in marriage to Miss Edna
McLachlan. of Braddock. North Dakota, and they have become the jiarents of a son, Reinhold
K. Mr. and Mrs. Batzer are members of the Episcopal church and he is recognized not
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 549
only as one of the most prominent republicans but also as one of the leading business men
and popular citizens of his county. At all points in his career he has been actuated by
laudable ambition that has led him forward along the steps of an orderly progression.
GEORGK JI. McKENNA.
George M. McKenna, states attorney of Napoleon, was born in Laporte, Indiana, on
the 10th of February, 1879, and pursued his education in the public schools of Chippewa
Falls, Wisconsin, after which he attended the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.
He was graduated from the Southern Jlinncsota Normal School at Austin, Minnesota, in
1900 and afterward completed a course in the University of Minnesota as a member of the
class of 1903, there winning the LL. B. degree. In the same spring he came to Napoleon
and the following year was elected state's attorney, in which official capacity he has served
continuously since. He is an able lawyer, strong in argument, forceful in his reasoning,
logical in his deductions.
In 1904 ilr. JIcKenna was married to Miss Edith Grace Weber, of Austin, Minnesota,
and to them has been born a daughter, Marcella Grace. In politics Mr. McKenna has ever
been a stalwart republican, supporting the party since age conferred upon him the right
of franchise. Fraternally he is connected with Bismarck Council, No. 1604, Knights of
Columbus, and is now its chancellor and one of the state lecturers of that organization. He
and his wife are communicants of the Catholic church. His interests and activities are
thus broad and varied, but while he has done much to further political and moral progress,
he has also wisely promoted his business interests and is now the owner of twelve hundred
and eight5' acres of valuable farm land in Logan county from which he derives a substantial
annual income. His investments have been judiciously made and he displays keen discern-
ment in the management of his business afl'airs.
CHRISTIAN THOEESON.
Christian Thoreson, a dealer in agricultural implements at Mohall, in which connec-
tion he has built up a substantial business, is one of those who became identified with Ren-
ville county in the period of its pioneer development by filing on a homestead a mile
west of the present town of Mohall in 1901. This district has been characterized by very
rapid settlement, growth and improvement, a fact which js attributable in no small measure
to Mr. Thoreson, whose labors for the benefit of the county have been efl'ective and far-
reaching forces. He was born in Norway on the 13th of November, 1850, and is a son
of Ole and Johanna (Walstad) Thoreson, who came to the United States in 1855 and
settled in Dane county, Wisconsin. Later they removed to Douglas county, Minnesota,
and there the mother passed away in the '80s. About 189fi the father came to North
Dakota, establishing his home in Cavalier county, where he entered a claim and continued
to reside up to the time of his demise, which occurred in 1911.
Christian Thoreson was only five years of age at the time of the emigration to the
new world and the district schools of this country afforded him his educational privileges.
His youthful days were spent in the usual manner of farm lads, his time being divided,
between the work of the fields and the duties of the schoolroom, with an occasional hour
for such sports as attract the attention of a boy. On reaching manhood he began farm-
ing on his own account in Douglas county, Jlinnesota. and became the owner of more
than a half section of land. He was closely identified with general agricultural pursuits
in that locality until 1886, when he took up his abode in the town of Brandon, Minnesota,
and built the Farmers Elevator, which he operated for four years. In 1900 he made a
trip to North Dakota and while in this state filed on a lioraestead a mile west of the
present site of Mohall. In 1901 he located on that property and won his title thereto.
In 1902 he erected the first store building in ilohall and established a hardware, furniture
550 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
ami iniijloiiR'iit bxisiness, wliicli coiiBtaiitly grew and cxiiaiulcil widi the rapid si'ttlomont
and developihcnt of that soutioii of the state. In I'JKi lie sold liis haidwaie and fuini-
ture stock but still continues to deal in agricultural implements and Iiis patronage has
now reached extensive and gratifying ])roporti<>ns. He has worked diligently, allowing no
obstacle nor dilliculty to bar his path if it could be overcome by ]iersistent, earnest and
honorable ellort. He has extensive holdings in farm lands, owning ten hundred and forty
acres, of wliich four hundred acres is located in Kenville county and six hundred and forty
acres across the line in Canada.
In November, 1870, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Tlioreson and Miss -Minnie
KolVwold, of Jiinneapolis, ilinneosta, who was born in Germany. They became the parents
of eleven children, namely: Anna, the wife of C. D. Nelson, of Plentywood, Jlontana:
Agnes, the wife of Howard A. ilcKinzic, of St. Cloud, Minnesota; Lena, the deceased wife
of Alfred Berkie, of Greenbush, Jlinnesota; Minnie, who married George Keuj), of Columbus,
North Dakota; Nellie, the wife of John Sheridan, a resident of Renville county; Cora, the
wife of Louis Spellum, of Upham, Montana; Emma, a teacher in the public schools of
Plentywood, Montana; Gladys, at home; John, who is proprietor of a hardware and ini])le-
nient business at Sherwood, North Dakota ; William, who is managing his brother's hard-
ware business at Sherwood; and Bennie, a hardware merchant of Upham, Montana.
Mr. Thoreson's study of the political questions and issues of the day has led him to
become a supporter of republican principles and he does all in his power to promote the
success of the party. He served almost continuous!}' in office since the organization of
]\Ioiiail until about two years ago, when he withdrew from active participation in political
allairs. While living in Minnesota he was for several years a member of the school
board and after removing to Mohall he was treasurer of the city for a inimber of years
and for eight years was an alderman. He and his wife are consistent nuMubers of the
Lutheran cliurch and such is their sterling worth that the hospitality of tlu' best homes
of Mohall and the surrounding country is cordially extended to them. While born across
tne water Jlr. Tlioreson has spent almost his entire life in the upper Mississippi valley
and the spirit of western enterprise and progress finds expression in his business career
and in his cooperation with all those forces which work for public progress and im|)rovemcnt.
CARL A. M-4LANDER.
Carl A. Malander, a real estate and insurance broker of Oakcs, was born in Sweden,
April 34, 1864, of the marriage of John and Christina Malander, who came to the United
States when their son Carl was an infant of but eighteen months. The family home was
established in Roone county, Iowa, where the mother passed away a year later. The
father afterward married again and resiih'd in Boone county to the time of his death.
When left motlierless Carl A. Malander was taken to the home of .John A. Johnson,
of Webster county, Iowa, by whom he was reared to manhood, obtaining his education in
the public schools. As early as his twelfth year, however, he became a wage earner,
working at farm labor for four dollars per month. He was employed as a farm hand until
his nineteenth year, when he entered tlie coal mines at Des Moines, being employed as a
miner for seven years, at the cinl of which time lie began farming on his own account in
Pocahontas county, Iowa, wisely investing his hard earned savings in one hundred and
sixty acres of land. After cultivating that farm for five years he scdd and removed to
lOmmet county, Iowa, where he became owner of one hundred and sixty acres which he
cultivated for several years. In 1000 he arrived in Oakes, North Dakota, where he estab-
lished a real estate and insurance business in partnership with R. -\. .Miildaugh. which rela-
tion was maintained until 1910, when Mr. Malander purchased his partner's interest in
the business. In 1913 he was joined by W. R. Whitver, thus forming the present firm
of Malander & Whitver, which is one of the leading real estate firms of the southeastern
part of the state. They have secured a large clientage and their business has been a sub-
stantial clement in the development of the town and surrounding country as well as the
source of substantial personal success.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 551
Mr. JIalaiidei- has been married twice. lu 1889 he wedded Jliss Elizabeth Peterson,
of Des Moines, Iowa, by wliom he had a daughter, Mabel, who resides at home. The wife
and mother pa.ssed away in 1894 and eleven years later Mr. Malander was again married,
his second union being with Miss Etliel Cockburn, of Estherviile, Iowa.
Mr. Malander is an exemplary representative of the Masonic fraternity, belonging
to the blue lodge; Oakes Chapter, No. 13, R. A. M.; and the Order of the Eastern tStar,
of which his wife is also a member. He is also identified with the Knights of the Macca-
bees. Mrs. Malander is an Episcopalian in religious faith, taking an active interest in
the work of the church. Mr. Malander is a recognized leader in republican circles and
has served for two terms as major of Oakes, from 1911 to 1914 inclusive. He has also
been a member of the board of aldermen. On the 15th of April, 1915, at the expiration
of his second term of office as mayor, Mr. Malander was presented with a Howard gold
watch, suitably inscribed, as an appreciation on the part of his fellow townsmen of his
valuable service to the city, his administration being characterized by many civic improve-
ments. He brought to bear in the conduct of municipal affairs the same sound judgment
and honorable purpose which have ever characterized his business activities, and the con-
sensus of public opinion places him in the ranks of the foremost residents of Oakes.
WALTER L. WILLIAMSON.
Walter L. Williamson, engaged in the loan and real estate business at Lisbon, was
born in Appleton, Wisconsin, April 3, 1859, a son of Walter M. Williamson, who was
born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1836 and was a direct descendant of Daniel William-
son, who was one of the colony that accompanied William Penn to America in 1682.
He served in the colonial assembly of Pennsylvania for fifty years. His grandson, John
Williamson, had outgrown the Quaker love of peace sufliciently to flght under "Mad
Anthony'' Wayne during the Revolutionary war and the family was otherwise connected
with the early history of the Keystone state. Dr. Walter M. Williamson spent liis entire
life in Philadelphia, where he became a practicing physician of the homeopathic school,
being graduated from the Hahnemann Homeopathic College, which was founded by his
father. Dr. Walter Williamson. Dr. Walter M. Williamson was united in marriage to
Mary Potter Raymond, of Machias, Maine, who was of old colonial stock.
In early youth Walter L. Williamson went with his parents to Philadelphia, where
his education was acquired. In 1883 he arrived in North Dakota, settling at Milnor,
Sargent county, where, as a member of Alley's corps of surveyors, he assisted in making
the LTnited States land survey of this section of the state. Here he has since resided and
from 1885 until the present time has devoted his attention to banking and to the farm
loan business. Twenty-two years ago he opened an oflice in Lisbon as farm loan agent and
in the intervening period he has contributed largely to the development and improvement
of this section through the loans which he has placed, circulating money which has enabled
farmers to carry on the work of improvement. The attainment of individual wealth has
never been his sole end and aim, for he has eagerly embraced the opportunity of assisting
in the development of his part of the state and his efforts have been far-reaching and
beneficial.
In connection w'ith public affairs, too, Mr. Williamson has played a most important
part, his inlUience always being on the side of progress. He served for seven years as a
member of the school board and the cause of education profited by his cooperation, while
of the first normal school board of the territory he was the secretary. He was for six years
a member of the city council and exercised his official prerogatives in support of many
measures for the general good. He was the first president of the Commercial Club of
Ijsbon and at the present time is serving his twenty-first year as secretary of the Lisbon
Building & Loan Association. He has also been actuated by a broad spirit of humanitarian-
ism in efforts to aid the unfortunate and ameliorate the hard conditions of life for man-
kind. He is now serving as a member of the board of the Children's Home at Fargo,
North Dakota, and he is an active and helpful member of the Christian clunch at Lisbon.
552 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
All'. Williamson has been maniod twice. In 1889 lie wedded ilaitlia E. Knuppenbuig,
a resident of Richland county, !Noith Dakota, of which locality her parents were early
settlers. She was born in Pennsylvania in 1S63, came to Dakota in 1872 and died on the
3d of August, I'JOo, leaving children: Francis V., who is now married and has one child;
and Mary E., a teacher in tlic Eaigo kindergarten, now residing at home, lu I'JUO ill'.
Williamson was again married, his second union being with Mrs. Agnes I'age Williamson,
the widow of his brother and a daughter of English born parents.
In his fraternal relations Mi'. Williamson is a Jlason. He was initiated into the order
in Anchor Lodge, No. 25, F. & A. M., of ililnor, in ISUO and afterward passed through
its various oliices, serving as worshipful master. Upon his removal to Lisbon he became
identified with Sheyenne Valley Lodge, No. 12, also with Lisbon Chapter, No. 7, R. A. M.,
and Ivanhoe Commandery, No. 8, K. T. He has been presiding oflicer in each of these
bodies and he has also taken the Scottish Rite degrees in Fargo, while upon him has been
conferred the honorary thirty-third degiee, which is bestowed only in recognition of supe-
rior service to the order. He was one of the original members of the board of trustees
of the Masonic Temple at Fargo and acttd as vice president of that board for a decade-
He holds membership in Lisbon Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star and he is the
twenty-first grand high priest and the twenty-fifth grand master of the state of North
Dakota. His activities have been varied and his experiences most interesting. Arriving
in North Dakota at an early day, he met all of the hardships and privations incident to
life upon the frontier, but undaunted courage and determination enabled him to face and
overcome these. He realized and has utilized the business ojiportunities here presented
and at the same time has never allowed business to monopolize his attention and there
has been no occasion when he has refused to assist his fellowmen or failed to take part
in those social amenities which constitute the rejuvenating power in the life of every
extremely busy man.
JARVIS H. TOMPKINS.
Every community numbers among its citizens those who arc leadiTs in molding the
material development and in jn'omoting the progress of the state along the lines which work
for higher standards of culture, integrity and virtue. Of this class Jarvis II. Tompkins is a
representative. For many years he was identified with commercial interests and is now
active in real estate operations. At the same time he has been a most potent factor in
advancing the intellectual and religious interests of the community through his cooperation
with the schools and churches. He was born at Orafton, New Brunswick, May 4, 1865, a
son of William and Eliza (Rogers) Tompkins. The mother was born in Ireland in 1828
and the father's birth occurreil in Woodstock, Canada, in 1826. He was always a farmer,
following that occupation until his demise, and his wife has also passed away.
.Jarvis H. Tom]ikins was their eighth child in a family of nine. He attended .school at
South Newbridge, New Brunswick, and when eighteen years of age went to the state of
Maine, where he worked for others ror a short time. He afterward removed to Pennsyl-
vania, where he was employed in the lumber woods for seven and oiu>-luilf years, doing
contract work during a part of that time. On leaving the Keystone state in llir latter part
of July, 1891, he made his way to the northwest, arriving in Minot on the :id of August.
Here he engaged in the butchering business on the 4tli of April, 1892, and continued active
in that field of labor for fourteen mikI otic -lialf years, when he sold out to William .Tolmson.
During that time he had beconu' the owjicr of farm lands and of city property, having wisely
placed his money in the safest of all investments — real estate. After selling his nu^at market
he devoted his time to looking after the renting of various city iiropertics and farm lands
and to his activities in school and church affairs. Liitii. Imumvc r. he aj^airi liccame connected
with the butchering business, forming a partnership with Mr. Porter that continued for
eighteen months, at the end of which time he sold his interest to Mr. Nelson. He still
continues active in the field of real estate, handling his own properties, his entire time
being devoted to that business and to other interests which he regards as the duty as well
JAR'SaS H. TOMPKINS
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 555
as the privilege of every individual. He has displayed sound business judgment in his
undertakings and was long accounted one of the representative merchants of Minot, where
his wisely directed efforts have brought to him substantial success.
On the 30th of January, 1897, Mr. Tompkins was united in marriage to Miss Jennie
McLean, a native of Woodstock, New Brunswick, and a daughter of Arthur and Jane
(Crawford) McLean. Her father is also a native of Woodstock, born of Scotch parentage,
and the mother was born in Debec, New Brunswick, of Scotch-Irish lineage. Her grand-
parents in the paternal line were Hugh and Isabel (Blair) McLean, both natives of Scotland,
and her maternal grandparents were William and Catherine (McBeth) Crawford, also
natives of the land of hills and heather. Her mother is now deceased, while her father
is a retired farmer living in Woodstock. In the McLean family were three children, of
whom Mrs. Tompkins is the second in order of birth. She was educated in the Cedar Hill
school at Woodstock and by her marriage has become the mother of two children: Paul
CVawford, born July 37, 1902; and Mildred Effie, born October 12, 1905.
In his political views Mr. Tompkins is a stalwart republican, and while he has never
been a politician in the sense of office seeking, he has served as alderman of Minot for one
term. He is deeply interested in the cause of educational progress and for nine years has
been a member of the Minot school board and is a trustee of Wesley College of Grand
Forks. He is today the oldest member of the Methodist Episcopal church of Minot, having
joined upon his arrival in this city. He has since been most active and helpful in the work
of the church, in which he is serving as steward, trustee and treasurer. He recently received
a four years' badge for not missing Sunday school during that entire period, and had it
been fourteen years instead of four years he would have earned it just the same, for he
is always at his place in the Sunday school, doing everything in his power to instill into
the minds of the young those principles which shall prove guideposts on life's journey.
He was elected delegate to the church conference at Fargo in October, 1915. He has in
his home a beautiful upholstered chair which was given him by the church on his fiftieth
birthda}' — a tangible token of the appreciation of his fellow members of the splendid part
which he has taken in church work. When he removed to Minot the city claimed a popu-
lation of but eight hundred and was not then the county seat. He has witnessed many
notable changes here and has ever borne his part in those activities which have promoted
civic virtue and civic pride and which have upheld the social, intellectual and moral stand-
ards of the community.
ARTHUR P. GUY.
Arthur P. Guy, a leading member of the Dickey county bar, practicing successfully
at Cakes, was born in Mantorville, Minnesota, May 15, 1872, a son of Augustus L. and
Alice (Lewis) Guy, who are natives of Indiana and Kentucky respectively. They were
married in the former state, to which Mrs. Guy, who had been left an orphan when a
child, had removed with her grandparents. Mr. Guy became a stonecutter and followed
that occupation throughout his active life. He served throughout the Civil war as a pri-
vate in defense of the Union and in days of peace has been equally loyal in citizenship.
He and his wife are now residents of Spokane, Washington.
Spending his youthful days in his native state, Arthur P. Guy was educated in the
public schools of Sauk Rapids and of Brainerd and later attended the University of Minne-
sota, which conferred upon him his law degree in June, 1898, for he had determined to
become a member of the bar and carefully prepared for practice as an attorney. In the
summer following his graduation he opened a law office in St. Paul, Minnesota, but the
following year came to North Dakota, settling at Wishek, Mcintosh county. At that
time the Sault Ste. Marie Railroad had just been completed and the town had scarcely
been started. Mr. Guy there remained imtil 1909, when he removed to Oakes, where he
has since successfully engaged in practice, being now accorded a large and distinctly repre-
sentative clientage. He has ever recognized that industrj' is just as essential in the practice
of law as in the trades or in commerce and he therefore prepares his cases with great
Vol. n— 30
556 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
thoroughness and care, so that he is never liisconcerted by the unexpected attack of an
opponent. He presents liis caxise with clearness and force and is recognized in his county
as a strong and able lawyer.
In 1899 Mr. Guy was united in man-iage to Miss Kate C. Muldoon, of St. Louis,
Missouri, by whom he has two children, Kathryn Alice and Arthur Peydon, .Tr. Mr. Guy
and his wife are of the Episcopalian faith, but as there is no church of that denomination
in Oakes, they attend the services of the Presbyterian church. His political indorsement
is given to the republican party and he is a prominent Mason, belonging to Hope I.K)dge,
A. F. & A. M., and Oakes Chapter, No. 12, R. A. M., while both he and his wife are mem-
bers of the Order of the Eastern Star, Mrs. Guy being a member of the grand lodge of
the Eastern Star of the state. Mr. Guy also belongs to Oakes Lodge, No. 81, K. P., and
the Modern Woodmen of America and in the former organization is chairman of the com-
mittee on laTvs of the grand lodge. From the foregoing it will be seen that his abilities
fit him for leadership and that his associates, appreciative of his worth, have called him
to positions of prominence.
CHARLES W. NELSON.
Charles W. .felson, a leading merchant and business man of Verona, was born in
Maine, December 1, 1876, a son of Peter and Cornelia Nelson, who were natives of 8weden,
where they were reared and married. One child was born to them ere they left their
native country to become residents of the new world. They settled in Maine and in 1884
Mr. Nelson came to North Dakota, taking up a homestead in Dickey county, where he
carried on agricultural pursuits for a number of years. Ultimately he came to make his
home with his son Charles, his wife having died ere the removal from ^Maine.
Charles W. Nelson obtained a public school education and on reaching manhood began
farming for himself in Dickey county. About 1901 he removed to Richland county. Avhere
for five years he was extensively engaged in raising shorthorn cattle and Percheron
horses. The year 1900 witnessed his arrival in Verona, at which date he established a
mercantile store and has since been prominently identified with the commercial interests
of the town, being recognized as the leading nicrdiant of Verona. The stock wjiich he
carries is large, attractive and carefully selected and his reasonable prices, combined with
the integrity of his business methods, have brought to him success. Tn addition to his
mercantile interests he has four hundred and eighty acres of valuable farm land in Lamoure
county.
In 1911 yir. Nelson was united in marriage to Miss Emma White, of Lamoure coimty,
who passed away two years later. A republican in politics, Mr. Nelson has been active
locally in party ranks, serving for four years as a member of the town board, during one
year as chairman. Fraternally he is identified with Mackay Lodge, No. 18, A. F. & A. M.;
Dakota Consistory, No. 1. A. & A. S. R., of Fargo: and KI Zagal Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S.,
of Fargo. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran church. Honorable i)rinciples have
actuated him at every point in his career and his success has been buildcil upon Imnesty
as well as close application and industry.
-SI. .T. FTSaiER.
M. .T. Fischer, banker, merchant and lumberman, whose business enterprise constitutes
a chief element in the develo|)ment of Strasburg and his section of Emmons county, is
a representative of that progicssive element in the citizenship of the county that has
been furnished by Russia. He was born in Selz, Russia, .Tanuary 10, 187.5. a son of .Jacob
Fischer, mentioned elsewhere in this work. After spending the first ten years of his life
in his native country he accompanied his parents to the new world and continued his
education in the common schools. After his textbooks were put aside he continued to
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 557
assist his father in tlie further development and work of the old homestead farm until
1901, when he removed to Pierce county, North Dakota, and filed on a homestead near
Harvey, occupying the property long enougli to seciue title thereto. He then sold that
place and returned to Emmons county, where he purchased a quarter section of land which
he engaged in farming until 1907. In that year he took up his abode in Strasburg and
purchased a fourth interest in the Strasburg Bazaar, which was the pioneer mercantile
establishment of the town and remains one of the foremost commercial interests of
Emmons county. Later he and two of his partners purchased the interest of the fourth
partner and the three remain proprietors at the present time. In the fall of 1913 Mr.
Fischer became identified with the banking business, purchasing stock in the Securitj'
State Bank, of which he was elected a member of the board of directors. In 1914 he
became a stockholder in the German State Bank and is thus closely associated with the
financial interests of his town. In 1913 he became one of the purchasers of the North
Star lumberyard and reorganized and incorporated the business under the name of the
Strasburg Lumber Company, Jlr. Fischer becoming one of its board of directors. He is
likewise the owner of four hundred and eighty acres of farm land and also owns an equity
in other lands. He possesses indefatigable energy and sound judgment and his business
investments have been most judiciously made.
In 1898 Mr. Fischer was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Eberle, of Hague,
Emmons county, who was born in Russia. To them have been born eight children, namely:
Alousia, Jacob, Rosa, Wendelin, Mary, Cecelia, John and Martha, all of whom are yet
under the jiarental roof. The family arc communicants of the Catholic faith and Mr.
Fischer is a member of the German Roman Catholic Society. Politically he is a democrat
yet of liberal views and does not consider himself bound b}' party ties. He concentrates
his efl'orts and attention upon his business, and well defined plans and untiring effort have
constituted the basis upon which he has bnildod his success.
ALBERT ALBRECHT.
Albert Albrecht, senior partner in the firm of Albrccht Brothers, general merchants
of Anamoose, claims Germany as the land of his birth, his natal day being June 4, 1864.
His parents, Frederick and Dorothea (Dietrich) Albrecht. are mentioned elsewhere in
this volume in connection with the sketch of their son, Hon. L. C. Albrecht. At the usual
age Albert Albrecht became a pupil in the schools of Germany and when still quite young
began serving an apprenticeship at the miller's trade. He remained a resident of his
native country until he reached the age of twenty-seven years and in July, 1891, crossed
the Atlantic to America. He landed in New York city but made his way at once to
Chicago, where he spent three months with an uncle. He then removed westward to Big-
stone, South Dakota, wliere he devoted his attention to farming. In the summer of 1897
he came to ilcHenry county. North Dakota, and filed on a homestead three miles south
of the present town of Anamoose. In the spring of 1898 he took up his abode upon his
farm and in that summer the store building was erected and the firm of Albrecht Brothers
began merchandising. The business has since been continued and the steady growth of
their trade has made theirs one of the most impoi"tant commercial concerns of the county.
They carry a large and well selected lin° of general merchandise, being most careful in
making their purchases, while the business policy of the house is such as will bear the
closest investigation and scrutiny. In October of the same year in whicli the store was
opened Albert Albrecht was appointed the first postmaster of Anamoose. in which official
position he served for ten years.
In 1907 occurred the marriage of ilr. Albrecht and Miss Augusta Seehafer, of McHenry
county, who was born in Wisconsin. They had one child. Carl W. The wife and mother
passed away in December, 1908, and in 1913 Mr. Albrecht was again married, his second
union being with Miss Sophia Schweicker, of Hamburg, Minnesota. They are now parents
of a daughter, Eleanor.
Mr. and Mrs. Albrecht hold membership in the Lutheran church and his political
558 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
allegiance is given to tlie republieaii paity. He ranks witli the leading business men of
McHenrj' county and has given his attention untiringly to the conduct of the store. Tlie
firm of AUirecht Brothers has been one of the jirinie factors in the wonderful develop-
ment of this section of the country and tliey have very extensive land holdings not only
in North Dakota but in four other states, while Albert Albrecht owns independently three
hundred and twenty acres of farm land three miles south of Anamoose. It was a fortu-
nate day for him and his brothers when they determined to seek a home in the new
world, for in this country, where effort is unhampered by caste or class, they have found
the opportunities which have led to success. Realizing that industry is the basis of all
honorable business advancement, Albert Albrecht has appplied himself most closely to his
commercial interests and no one questions the honesty of his acts or the integrity of his
motives.
TIMAN L. QUARVE.
In the development and growth of FessenJen tlic general mercantile establishment
owned and controlled by Timan L. Quarve has played an important part and its owner
is regarded as one of the most progressive, wide-awake and alert business men of his
section of the state. He was born on the 17th of March, 1857, in Minnesota, a son of
Levor T. Quarve, a native of Hallingdal, Norway, who was born in 1830 and came to the
new world in 1848, settled at Rock Prairie, Wisconsin, where he engaged in farming. He also
took up stock raising in Wisconsin and was thus engaged until 1854, when he removed to
Houston county, >Dnnesota, where he purchased various forty acre tracts of land at fifty
dollars per tract, adding to his holdings until he had two quarter sections. He converted
his land into rich and productive fields and through his carefully managed farming inter-
ests won substantial success that now enables him to live retired from further business.
He is making his home at Spring Grove, Minnesota, at the age of eighty-six years, while
his wife passed away in 1912 at the age of seventy-seven years. She bore the maiden
name of Christi K. Berg and was also a native of Norway, whence she came to America
at the age of fourteen.
Timan L. Quarve is the oldest of a family of ten children, of whom live are yet living.
After mastering the branches of learning taught in the common schools of Minnesota
he continued his education in Luther College at Decorah, Iowa, from which institution he
was graduated with the class of 1878. He took up the profession of teaching, which he occa-
sionally followed for ten years during the winter seasons, while the summer months were
devoted tb work upon his father's farm. After teaching for a year in Iowa he taught lor six
years in Minnesota and for three yeais in Benson county. North Dakota, and was also
a teacher at Devils Lake. He came to this state in 1886, when it was still a part of
Dakota territory, and soon after his arrival he secured preemption and tree claims near
Viking, Benson county, where he lived in true pioneer style, occupying a sod house for a
year. He was first engaged in farming in Minnesota and in 1881 married Sigrid H. Harald-
seth, who was born in Norway in 1859. She was a daughter of Halvor and Guro Harald-
seth, who in the year after her birth came to the United States, settling in I SOI in Houston
county, Minnesota, where they continued to reside until called to the home beyond. Timan
L. Quarve has had a family of five children: Levard, born in 1883; Halvard, who was born
in 1884 and died in 1901; Anmld, lK)rn in 1889; Gerard, born in 189]; and Edith C, born
in 1894.
For about ten years Mr. Quarve remained upon his farm in Benson county and while
thus engaged established a general store and also acted as postmaster, justice of the peace
and school clerk at Viking. At length he discontinued his store and removed to Fessenden
in June, 1895. There he rented a store building, in which he installed a line of general
merchandise, and in the fall of that year he erected a building twenty-five b.y forty feet
and enlarged his stock, while subsequently he added from time to time to his store so
that its dimensions were finally twenty-five by one hundred and forty feet. In 1901 he
erected his present store building fifty by one hundred and twenty feet and two .vears
later built an addition on the side twenty-five by eighty feet. AH these changes indicate
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 559
how rapidly his trade has grown. His first store building was destroyed by fii-e in the fall
of 1903, eight business blocks being swept away in the conflagration. His establishment
today is the largest general merchandise store in Wells county and he carries an extensive
line of general merchandise, hardware and fuj-niture. Something of the volume of his
trade is indicated in the fact that he new employs twelve clerks, who are kept busy attend-
ing to the wants of customers. He displays great care in the selection of his goods and
in the conduct of his establishment he holds to high standards in the personnel of the
house and in the treatment accorded patrons. His business integrity is above question
and he has worthily won the position which he now occupies as the leading general mer-
chant of the county. He is also a stockholder in the First National Bank of Fessenden
and he yet owns his homestead in Benson county. In the spring of 1914 he established
a general store at Heimdal, Wells county, where he also carries a good line of merchandise
and is accorded a liberal patronage.
Jlr. Quarve gives his political allegiance to the republican party, which finds in him
a stalwart advocate of its principles. For three years he was a school director and has
also been treasurer, president and secretary of the Wells County Fair at different times,
covering a period of ten years, and he is now one of its directors. He is also secretary
of the Hallinglaget, a fraternity consisting of descendants of people who have come from
Hallingdal, Xorway. In May, 1914, the centennial year of Norway's independence, this
fraternity made a present of twenty thousand dollars to Hallingdal, Norway, for its poor
and needy. The organization at the present time has a membership of seventeen hundred.
Mx. Quarve is also a charter member of the Lutheran church of Fessenden, in the work
of which he takes a very active and helpful part, serving as its secretary. Ehiring the
years of his residence in North Dakota he has labored untiringly for the upbuilding of the
state and there is no phase of pioneer life with which he is not familar.
DAMIAN LAUINGER.
Damian Lauiiiger, one of the three proprietors of the Strasburg Bazaar, the leading
mercantile enterprise of Strasburg, Emmons county, was born in Russia, July 12, 1873, a
son of Benhart and Stephana (Burgad) Lauinger. The father died in Russia and the
mother came to the new world four years after the arrival of her son Damian, her death
occurring in Emmons county in 1914.
Damian Lauinger was educated in the German schools of Russia and was a youth of
twenty years when he bade adieu to friends and native land and sailed for the new world,
for the favorable reports which he had heard concerning the business opportunities in
this country led him to the determination to try his fortune on this side of the Atlantic.
He at once made his way to Emmons county. North Dakota, and during the first three
years of his residence there was employed as a farm hand. In 1898 he homesteaded one
hundred and sixty acres five miles northeast of Strasburg, on which he resided for five
years, thereby securing title to the property. He afterward sold that place and bought a
farm of three hundred and twenty acres one mile northwest of Strasburg. Removing
to that farm, he occupied it for two years, after which he became a resident of Strasburg
in 1905 in order that he might give his attention to the management and control of the
Strasburg Bazaar, of which he was one of the founders. This business was established
in 1902 by Mr. Lauinger, John J. and IMichael Baumgartner, E. Keller and Jacob Feist.
For eleven years Mr. Lauinger has been active in the management and control of the
business, which has been developed along satisfactory lines until they now have one of
the leading mercantile establishments of Emmons county, carrying a large stock and
enjoying a most liberal patronage. He is also a stockholder in the Security State Bank,
in the German State Bank and in the Strasburg Lumber Company, all of which are strong
elements in the business development of the town. He also owns individually five hun-
dred and sixty acres of valuable farm land in Emmons county and he is regarded as a
most substantial citizen, alert and enterprising in business and quickly recognizing the
560 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
o|)i)oitunitics surrounding him. Wluit lie undertakes he accomplishes and in liis vocabulary
there is no such word as fail.
In 1898 Mr. Lauinger was uuittii in nuirriage to Jliss Barbara Woll, a native of
Kussia who came to the United States in 1880. To them have been born four children,
namely: Jacob D., Stephana, Mary and Agnes. Mr. Lauinger and his family are adherents
of the Catholic church and he belongs to the German Roman Catholic Society. His political
endorsement is given to the democrtic party and he has served as a member of the town
board and also as treasurer of the school board. Nothing that features in the public life
of the community qr has to do with the development of this section of the state fails to
elicit his attention and he gives earnest support to eveiy cause which he believes will
promote public progress. He deserves much credit for what he has accomplished, for he
started out in life empty handed, having no capital when he came to the United States.
Work has been the basis of his success and upon that foiuidation lu> has buiUled wisely
and well.
GEORGE GRANT, M. D.
Dr. George Grant, who is successfully engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery
in Wishek, Xorth Dakota, was born on (he 2d of June, 1S73, in Ontario, Canada, his parents
being JIalcolm and ilartha (Lather) Grant. The father was born on the Orkney Islands,
off the coast of Scotland, and was a young man when he crossed the Atlantic and settled
in Canada. In Hamilton, Ontario, he married Miss :Martha Lather, who was a native
of Lancashire, England, and when a child accompanied her parents on their emigration
to the new world. During his active life INIr. Grant engaged in farming but is now living
retired at the advanced age of ninety years, his birth having occurred in 1826, and he
makes his home in Bothwell, Ontario. His wife died in 1912.
Dr. Grant was reared at home on the farm and his early education, acquired in the
local schools, was supplemented by study at the Chatham Collegiate Institute. Prior to
finishing his education there he began teaching school and for five years followed that
occupation. In 1900 he came to the United States and took up the study of medicine,
being for two years a student at the Univsrsity Medical College of Kansas City, but for
the last two years of his course he attended the Illinois Medical College of Chicago, from
which he received his M. D. degree in the class of 1904. Following his graduation. Dr.
Grant came to Wishek, North Dakota, where in the intervening twelve years he has
built up an extensive practice. He ranks among the leading physicians and surgeons
of his part of the state and the success that he has attained is well merited.
In 1911 Di-. Grant was united in marriage to Miss Sarah B. Link, of Pipestone, Minne-
sota, and to them have been born two children. Jeannette L. and George, Jr. The Doctor
is an honored member of the Southern District .Medical Society of North Dakota; the
North Dakota State Medical Society; and the American Medical Association; and he
also belongs to Maple River Lodge, No. 41. A. ]•'. & A. JL. of Kdgeley, North Dakota;
Bismarck Lodge, No. 1199, B. P. 0. E.; and the Knights of the Maccabees. By his ballot
he supports the men and measures of the republican i)arty and takes a commendable
interest in public affairs. He is one of the representative citizens of his conuuunitv and
wherever known is held in high esteem.
II. J. JOHNSON.
H. J. Johnson is one of the leading business men of Oakes and ranks high in real
♦■state circles in North Dakota. He was born in Denmark, August 23, 1S7.T, a son of
riaus and Anna .lohnson, who died during the early boyhood of their son, who was then
reared by his maternal grandparents, with whom he came to the United States in 188.'>.
They settled upon a farm in Dickey county. North Dakota, where their remainin" davs
were passed.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 561
H. J. Johnson beg<an his education in the public schools of his native country and
continued his studies in the district schools of Dickey county. In 1S90 he entered the
Sauk Center Academy and Business College, from which he was graduated on the comple-
tion of a commercial course with the class of 1893. He then began work in a clerical
capacity for C. J. Flynn, a general merchant at Beardsley, Jlinnesota, with whom he was
associated for six years, and during the latter part of that period he acted as manager
of the business, having previously worked his way upward, winning promotion through
the recognition of his ability, loyalty and fidelity.
In the spring of 1899 Jlr. Johnson removed to Oakes and opened a real estate and
insurance office. In that business he has since continued and both branches have proven
profitable, many important realty transfers having been promoted by him. He now con-
trols one of the most extensive real estate businesses in the southern part of North
Dakota and no one is better informed concerning property values or knows more thor-
oughly what is upon the market. Extending the scope of his activities, he began raising
and dealing in cattle, horses and hogs and in order to carry on that business he invested
in land and today owns forty quarter sections of excellent farm land or sixty-foiu- hundred
acres. He now gives his attention in large measure to his ranch operations and to the
raising of horses and hogs and in this connection he has attained to a position of leadership,
for his holdings of farm lands place him among the most extensive landowners of the state.
In addition to his other interests he owns and manages the Oakes Harness & Saddlery
Company, which is one of the leading commercial enterprises of the city, conducting
business along both wholesale and retail lines.
In 1909 Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Grace E. Richards, of Arlington,
Iowa, by whom he had two children, one of whom survives, Ethel .Janet. In politics Mr.
Johnson is a republican and is now serving on the board of aldermen at Oakes. He is ever
foremost among those who are seeking the welfare and advancement of the citj^ and
district and his efforts are of a most practical and progressive character. Fraternally
he is connected with Hope Lodge, No. 29, A. F. & A. M.; Oakes Chapter, No. 12, R. A. M.;
Oakes Lodge, No. 40, I. 0. 0. F. ; and the Order of the Eastern Star, to which his wife
also belongs. Mr. Johnson is a most resourceful business man, ready to meet any emergency
with a strength that comes from clear insight and a right conception of things. In his
entire career there has been nothing sinister and nothing to conceal. His business activities
have been ever aboveboard and he has followed constructi\e methods which have led to
the attainment of most substantial and gratifying results, liis efforts proving an element
in promoting the business development and prosperity of his locality as well as in advancing
his individual success.
THORVAL J. LEE.
Thorval J. Lee, a farmer residing near Fingal, Barnes county, was born at Kongsberg,
Norway, June 29, 1849. His father, John Lee, was employed in the extensive silver mines
which are owned and operated by the government in Norway. He had a family of seven
children, the eldest of whom was Anthon. who became a storekeeper in Kongsberg and
there died at the age of forty years.
The second of the family was Thorval J. Lee, who remained in his native country until
April, 1869, when he started for America, landing at Quebec. He had his ticket from
Norway to Stoughton, Wisconsin, and from Quebec was sent with other emigrants to Grand
Harbor, Michigan, in box ears, the trip taking nine days. From that point they crossed
Lake Michigan to Milwaukee and proceeded from there to Stoughton. Having learned the
carpenter's trade in Norway, Mr. Lee went to work in a carriage shop and was promised
fourteen dollars per month and board, but at the end of the month his employer's funds
amounted to only four dollars, with which sum Mr. Lee had to be content. He next entered
the employ of a contractor who was building farm residences and in the fall of that year
he took a trip to Illinois, where he remained for three months. He afterward resumed
carpentering with his former employer and so continued until the fall of 1870. In the fol-
562 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
lowing spring he began contracting on liis own account in a small way and was thus engaged
until 1S78, when he came to North Dakota and took up a tree claim in Barnes county, nine
miles southwest of Valley City. Later he returned to Wisconsin, where he remained until
the following year, when he brought his family to this state, arriving at Valley City
on the 18th of June, 1879. From that point he traveled to his homestead on the east side of
the Sheyenne and began farming. He put up a sod house twelve by fourteen feet and a
sod barn, and he occupied that home for four years or until his funds were sufficient to
enable him to secure a more modern dwelling. He is today the owner of an excellent farm
of four hundred and eighty acres largely devoted to grain raising. He usually keeps thirty
head of Brown Swiss cattle, twenty head of horses and a large number of high grade hogs,
and aside from his farming interests he has become a stockholder in the Jliddle West Trust
& Loan Company.
It was on September 21, 1872, that Mr. Lee was united in marriage to Miss Matilda
Hanson, a native of Sweden, whose acquaintance he had formed before leaving Norway
and who had been left an orphan during her early girlhood. The children of this marriage
are as follows: Henry T. is mentioned elsewhere in this work. Carl, who was educated in
the Agricultural College at Fargo and was for some time connected with the state dairy
department of Wisconsin, has also held the office of assistant state inspector of weights
and measures. He married Gertrude Lange. Albert is deceased. Hulda attended the Val-
ley City State Normal School and is now engaged in teaching. Anthon attended the public
schools and the college in Fargo and is now farming in Norman township, Barnes county.
Oscar was killed by lightning when seven years and four months of age. Melvin was edu-
cated in a business college at Dixon, Illinois, and is now chief clerk with the Middle West
Loan & Trust Company. Anna attended the women's seminary in Fargo and is now the
wife of Lars Hoogstad and resides in Nome, North Dakota. Alfred is now a salesman with
the Kumsley Threshing Machine Company. The family is one of which the parents have
every reason to be proud.
Mr. Lee has become an active factor in community interests and affairs. He served for
five years as school director, was also township assessor and was road overseer for several
years. Fraternally he is connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and he is a
member of the Lutheran church. In 1896 he visited his old home town of Kongsberg after
twenty-seven years spent in America, and he found that the church which he attended as a
boy and which was built in 1761, capable of seating ten thousand, was kept in the best
possible condition. Mr. Lee has a fine home in the rear of which stand large barns and
outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock. His first house, a little sod dwelling built
in 1879, was replaced in 1884 by a small frame structure, but in 1909 his present modern
residence was built and is today one of the attractive homes of Barnes county — commodious
and well appointed — an indication of the success which has attended the enterprising efforts
of the owner.
HON. HEZKKIAII .lOHN ROWE.
Hon. Hczekiah .Tohn Rowe, of Casselton, is serving for a second term as state senator
after an interval of twenty-five years from the period of his first service. Throughout the
interim there has been nothing to make his fellowmen lose faith in his public spirit and
devotion to the general good. On the contrary there has been much that has heightened
their belief in his loyalty to all that makes for good citizenship and for the upbuilding
of the commonwealth. In private life he is known as a capable physician, who for forty
years has successfully practiced, being numbered among the alumni of the Jefferson Medical
College of Philadelphia.
Dr. Rowe was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, March 7, 1848, a son of
Hczekiah and Lucy (Holtzffl) Rowe. He completed his classical education in the Vermillion
Institute at Hayesville, Ohio, and prepared for his professional career as a student in the
.lefferson Medical College at l'liihuloI[jhia, which conferred upon him the M. D. degree in
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA . 563
April, 18T6. In the meantime he had engaged in teaching, becoming superintendent of
public schools, but later concentrated his attention exclusively upon the practice of medi-
cine and surgery, his efforts at all times being characterized by a sense of conscientious
obligation that has made him an earnest student and kept him in close touch with the advance-
ment that is continually being made by the medical fraternity. While never too hasty
in discarding old and time-tried methods, the value of which has been proven, he has never-
theless been quick to recognize the value and advantage of new ideas and discoveries and
has utilized these to the benefit of his many patients.
On the 6th of October, 1880, in Loudonville, Ohio, Dr. Eowe was married to Miss
Helen Taylor a daughter of A. A. Taylor, who was a manufacturer of flour and occupied
a prominent business position in Ohio. For his second wife Dr. Rowe chose Eosina Ursula
Messner, a daughter of John G. Messner, a member of the firm of Messner Brothers, a large
business corporation on the Range in Minnesota, having for several years been there
engaged in the wholesale and retail meat and grocery business. Dr. Rowe has two sons, of
whose records he may be justly proud. The elder, Arthur T. Rowe, D. D. S., is a graduate
of the University of Minnesota and now practices his profession at Larimore, North
Dakota. He married Marian Degnan, of Winona, Minnesota. The younger son. Dr. Paul
H. Rowe, is a recent graduate of Rush Medical College of Chicago, having pursued a six
years' course, receiving his Bachelor of Science degree from Chicago University. He is now
located at the Washington Boulevard Hospital of Chicago.
Dr. Rowe's military experience covers service in his teens as a private of Company D,
One Hundredth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until the close
of the Civil war, when he was honorably discharged. This is but one phase of the proof
of his loyalty and patriotic citizenship. In Casselton, where he has been located for thirty-
seven years, it is known that his aid and influence can always be counted upon to further
any progressive public measure, and the school system of the city is largely a monument
to his devotion to the cause of education, for through many years he has been continuously
president of the board, laboring untiringly and effectively to raise the standards of the
schools. His fellow townsmen, appreciating his worth and recognizing his ability for public
service, chose him as their representative in the state senate in 1890, and now, after
twenty-five years of civil life, he is again a member of the upper house, having been reelected
in 1914 for a four years' term. His consideration of public questions is deep and thorough
and when he endorses a measure it is because of his earnest belief in its efficacy as a fac-
tor in good government. He introduced the first bill in the senate of the state of North
Dakota.
In religious faith Dr. Rowe is a Presbyterian and fraternally he is connected with the
Masons and the Odd Fellows. Of the latter organization he was grand master in 1885
and 1886, during territorial days, and he has represented the Odd Fellows lodge in the
Sovereign Grand Lodge twelve times. He belongs to the Commercial Club of Casselton,
and in social circles Dr. Rowe and his wife occupy an enviable position. Theirs is an
attractive residence, and he also owns other city property. He is thoroughly identified with
the interests of city and state, a typical representative of the northwest, ever recognizing
the duties and obligations of citizenship and knowing that he has a part to play in connec-
tion with the upbuilding and development of the state.
ARTHUR BARTLETT.
The city of Oakes numbers Arthur Bartlett among its progressive and public-spirited
men. Many evidences of his devotion to the general good can be cited and his fellow towns-
men, appreciative of his worth, have called him to the board of aldermen, on which he is now
serving. At the same time he is conducting a successful and growing business as proprietor
of the City Restaurant. He was born in Edwardsville, Illinois, January 10, 1868, a son of
Allen and Elizabeth (McNichol) Bartlett, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania but in
childhood accompanied their respective parents on their removal westward to Pjdwardsville,
564 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Illinois. They were married in tliat i-ity just jiriui tn tlie outbreak of tlie Civil war and
ilr. Hartlett then engaged in farming until about ISG'J, when he removed to Macon county,
Illinois, where he also carried on general agricultural pursuits for several years. On estab-
lishing his home in Decatur lie turned his attention to the livery business, which lie suc-
cessfully conducted for many years. He passed away August 3, 1887, having for some time
survived his wife, who died in 1874, when their son Arthur was a lad of but six years.
The fatiier afterward niarriinl Miss .Jennie ilaftell, who passed away seven or eight years
later.
Arthur Bartlelt acquired a district school education and when about sixteen years of
age went to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he was apprenticed to the nail maker's trade, being
tlius employed until the factory was closed down in 1888. That was the last factory in the
I'nited States to make cut nails. Wlien the factory was closed in the spring of 1S88, Mr.
Bartlett came to Xortli Dakota, arriving in Dickey county when a young man of twenty
years. Alreadj-, however, he had had four years' experience in the business world and on
reaching this state he rented a section of land and began farming on his own account, his
sister acting as his housekeeper. In 1903 he filed on a homestead which had been deserted
by a former occupant. There were no crops, however, and ilr. Bartlett relinquished hii right
for one hundred and fifty dollars. The land, however, today is worth sixty dollars per acre.
In 1911 he purchased a quarter section twelve miles northeast of Oakes, in Sargent count}',
and still cultivates that tract. In 1909 he removed to Oakos and purchased the City Kestau-
rant, which he has since conducted. During this period he has enjoyed a very liberal
patronage, for the cuisine is excellent and his table offers all that the market affords.
In 1889 Mr. Bartlett was united in marriage to Miss Ruby McCoy, of EUendale, Dickey
county, by whom he had two sons, namely: Harold A., engineer in tlie city light plant at
Mitchell, South Dakota; and Don E., who is employed as a mechanic in a garage at Oakes.
The wife and mother passed away about two years after her marriage and in 1893 Mr. Bart-
lett wedded Miss Minnie E. Falls, also of Ellendale. by whom he had four sons, as follows:
Eeesc A., residing in Oakes, North Dakota, who is district manager of the National Casualty
Company of Detroit; Clarence, who works in his fathei's restaurant; Theodore, who is also
employed in the restaurant; and Harry, at home.
In his political views Mr. Bartlett is an earnest republican. He has served repeatedly
as a delegate to county and state conventions and has been an earnest factor in the work
for better government, being associated with many of the wholesome and purifying reforms
which have been growing up in the political system of the state. In 1912 he was elected
a member of the board of aldermen and has since been continued by reelection in that posi-
tion, making an excellent record by the efficient manner in which he works to further the
welfare and progress of the city. Fraternally he is connected with Oakes Lodge, No. 40,
1. O. 0. K.; Oakes Lodge. No. 81, K. P.; and Silver Leaf Lodge, No. 5015, M. \V. A. In
religious faith Mr. Bartlett is a Methodist, while his wife belongs to the Episcopal church
By the consensus of public opinion he is classed with the representative residents of Oakes
and Dickey count}', his influence being ever on the side of material, intellectual, political and
moral advancement. A spirit of progress has actuated him at every point in his career and
many tangible evidences are cited of his devotion to the general good.
JOHN E. LAINGEN.
Lamoure county has various banking establishments whose stability has been an element
in the growth and development of that section of the state. Active in financial circles there
is John E. Laingen, cashier of the Farmers & Merchants State Bank of Berlin. He was born
at Lake Crystal, Minnesota, June 13, 1886. a son of Peter and Ranaug (Kjcstad) Laingen,
both of whom were natives of Christiania, Norway, whence tliey came to the I'nited States
in early manhood and womanhood, becoming residents of Blue Earth county, Miiinosota,
near Lake Crystal, where they were subsequently married. Prior to his marriage the father
I>iirchased a farm here on which he resided to the time of his death, living on the old home-
stead for about forty-eight years. He pa.ssed away in 1915, while his wife died in 1911.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 565
Eeared under the parental roof, John E. Laingen attended the public schools and was
graduated from the high school at Lake Ci-ystal with the class of 1903. He afterward
became a student in the Mankato (Minn.) Business College and is numbered among its alumni
of 1905. The following year, on the 1st of September, 1906, he removed to Berlin, North
Dakota, and was one of the factors in the organization of the State Bank, of which he was
made assistant cashier. Six years later he left that institution and organized the Farmers
& Jlerchants State Bank, receiving the charter and opening the doors for business on the
34th of August, 1913, becoming cashier of the institution. On the 30th of .January, 1916,
he succeeded in consolidating the State Bank of Berlin and tlie Farmers & Merchants State
Bank, merging the former into the latter, under which name business has since been con-
ducted, Mr. Laingen remaining as cashier and an active force in shaping the jjolicy and
directing the interests of the institution. He closely studies the business and its oppor-
tunities and is continually reaching out along broadening lines to promote the success of
the institution and make it a factor in the business development of the community as well.
He has made Judicious investment in farm lands and is now the owner of three hundred
and twenty acres in Lamoure county.
On the 39th of .June, 1910, Mr. Laingen was united in marriage to Miss Luella Peter-
son, of Berlin, North Dakota, who was born in Lansing, Iowa. They have one child, Ruth
Almeda. His life exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the Masonic fraternity, in which he
has attained high rank, having membership in Mackay Lodge, No. 18, A. F. & A. M.; Edgeley
Chapter, No. 22, E. A. M. ; Jamestown Commandery, K. T. ; and the Order of the Eastern
Star, to which his wife also belongs. Mr. Laingen is a stalwart republican and is the present
village treasurer. In community affairs he is deeply interested, his influence being always
on the side of progress and improvement. He belongs to the Lutheran church, which indi-
cates that he is not neglectful of moral obligations. In a word, as has been shadowed forth
between the lines of this review, he is one of the well known and successful citizens of
Lamoure countv.
FEANK SAHLI.
Frank Sahli, a dealer in flour and feed at Hague and also a grain and cream buyer,
was born in Russia, August 15, 1866, a son of Ignatz and Catherine (Ossenbrenner) Sahli.
The mother died in Russia, after which the father followed his son Frank to the LTnited
Slates but remained in this coimtry, however, for only si,x years, when he returned to his
native land, where he passed away six months later.
Frank Sahli was educated in the German schools of Russia and in his youthful days
entered upon an apprenticeship to the carpenter's trade, which he followed while in that
country. Ere emigrating to the new world he was married in 1S90 to Miss Elizabeth Bros-
sart and in 1893 they came to the United States, spending the first winter with a brother-
in-law on a farm in Emmons county. North Dakota. The following spring Mr. Sahli went
to work on the railroad as a section hand at Roscoe, South Dakota, and was there employed
for a year, while two years were spent in similar work at Aberdeen. He then removed to
Eureka, South Dakota, where he was second man in a grain warehouse and subsequently
was promoted to the position of manager of the business, remaining there for four years.
He then went to Kulm as manager of his employer's elevator at that point but after a
year returned to Eureka and was in the employ of another grain merchant for two years.
In 1903 he arrived in Hague as one of the pioneers of the town, which was then a little
hamlet containing a single store building and two elevators. He was placed in charge of the
one belonging to the Spencer Grain Company and managed it for two years. In connection
with others he then purchased the .Tohn Ell elevator and did business under the name of
tile Sahli Elevator Company, having charge of the interests of the firm for three years.
Later he purchased his partners' shares in the business and became sole proprietor. He has
since operated alone and is conducting a gi'owing and profitable grain trade. He is also a
heavy buyer and shipper of cream and he deals in flour and feed, so that his extensive
and important interests have made him one of the leading business men of Hague.
566 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
To Mr. and Mrs. Salili liave been born nine children, of whom seven are yet living, as
follows: Catherine, the wife of Eugene Wolf, who is an agriculturist of Kmmous county
and by whom she has a daughter, Hildegard; Frank, who works for his father and who
married Miss Julia Schmidt and has one daughter, Klma; John, who also assists his father
in the conduct of his business interests; Mary, Barbara, Joseph and Agatha, all at home
In his political views Mr. Sahli is a democrat, and while he has never sought political
oflice, he has served for some years as a member of the school board. He belongs to the
Catholic church, the Knights of Columbus and the German Roman Catholic Society. A spirit
of enterprise actuates him in all his business relations and from a humble position he has
worked his way steadily upward, his life record showing what may be accomplished through
energy and determination in a land where cll'ort is not hampered by caste or class.
JACOB J. POORT, M. D.
Dr. Jacob J. i'oort, a physician and surgeon practicing in Strasburg, was born at Amers-
foort, in the Utrecht province of the Netherlands, on the 10th of October, 1861, a son of J.
B. and Gertrude (Van Thiel) Poort, who arrived in the United States in 18SS and established
their home in Joubert, South Dakota. They later made several removals and spent their
last days in Delmont, South Dakota, where the father passed away October 9, 1904, at the
age of seventy-eight years, while the mother survived until July 14, 1905, reaching the
age of seventy-two years.
Dr. Poort, after attending the common schools and the gymnasium at Amersfoort,
continued his education in the Utrecht University, which conferred upon him the M. D. S.
degree upon his graduation with the class of 1889. He then entered upon the practice
of his profession in his native country but in 1904 was attracted to the new world by the
glowing reports which had reached him concerning America and its opportunities. Accord-
ingly he crossed the Atlantic and then entered the medical college at Sioux City, Iowa, from
which he was graduated with the class of 1907. For a few months thereafter he resided
at West Point, Nebraska, but on the 13th of January, 1908, made his way to Strasburg,
North Dakota, where he has since followed his profession, building up a large and remunera-
tive practice.
Dr. Poort has been married twice. In Holland, in 1889, he wedded D. C. Van Honstede
and to them was born a son, Jacob J., now living at Elbow Lake, ^Minnesota. The wife and
mother passed away in Holland and on the 6th of April, 1905, Dr. Poort was again married,
his second union being with Miss Jacoba C. Verheys, of Delmont, South Dakota, who was
born, however, in Holland. They have many friends in Strasburg and throughout the sur-
rounding country and their own home is a hospitable one. The Doctor has had the benefit
of thorough professional instruction both in his native land and in America, and reading and
study keep him in close touch with the trend of modern thought and scientific investigation.
PROSPER H. LAMBERT.
Prosper II. Lambert, assistant cashier and one of the stockholders in the Jlohall Security
Bank of Mohall, Renville county, was born in Bigstonc, South Dakota, June 25, 1886. His
father, Louis E. Lambert, was born near Paris, France, and when a youth of seventeen years
came to the United States. He was married in Wisconsin to Miss Anna White, a native of
that state, and for several years he was employed in lumber mills in Wisconsin but after-
ward removed to South Dakota, where he worked as a carpenter and builder for eight or
ten years. On the expiration of that period he removed to Minnesota, where for the past
thirty years he has been engaged in the lumber business, and for twenty years he has been
a resident of Renville, Minnesota, taking a most active part in promoting the business
development of the city and in other ways contributing to its progress and upbuilding.
Prosper H. Lambert became a pupil in the high school of Renville, Minnesota, and after-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 567
ward pursued a commercial course in the Minneapolis Business College, completing his studies
there in 1905. He then identified himself with the banking business as stenographer and
bookkeeper in the First National Bank of Kenville, with which institution he remained for
the years, rising to the position of assistant cashier. Subsequently he was associated with
the Gold-Stabeck Loan & Credit Company of Minneapolis for a year and a half. In 1910
he spent six months in the Mohall Security Bank as assistant cashier and in 1913 he returned
to Mohall to again accept that position, in which capacity he has since continued. In July,
1916, he purchased stock in the bank and is now one of the large stockholders of the institu-
tion. His long training in the banking business has well qualified him for the responsibilities
that devolve upon him in tliis connection and his enterprise places him with the leading busi-
ness men of the town.
Mr. Lambert belongs to Minot Lodge, No. 1089, B. P. O. E. He is one of the leading
and representative men of Mohall, actuated In all that he does by a spirit of progress and
improvement, and he has made for himself a very creditable position both as a business
man and citizen.
ALEXANDER R. WRIGHT.
Alexander R. Wright is the publisher of The Oakes Times and has the best equipped
newspaper plant in the state outside of the larger cities, a fact of which Oakes as well as
the proprietor may well be proud. He was born on a farm ne^r Ballymena, County Antrim,
Ireland, February 27, 1873, and in 1888 came to the United States with the family. The
niotlicr, Elizabeth (Harkncss) Wright was of the strong family of Gastons and Alexander
Wright, the father, was a stanch Covenanter of Scotch descent. The son, Alexander R.
Wright, was a youth of fifteen at tlie time he crossed the Atlantic and in the winter of
1888 he became a resident of Dickey county, North Dakota. His education had been largely
acquired in the common schools of Ireland but he afterward attended the Union school in
Waukesha, Wisconsin, and later was a student in a district school west of Ellendale fol-
lowing his arrival in Dickey county. He next became a pupil in the high school of Ellen-
dale and when he was graduated therefrom won the valedictorian honors. He remained upon
his father's farm until 1890, which year witnessed his initial step in connection with the
printing business, for at that date he entered the office of the Ellendale Commercial in the
capacity of devil. He worked in printing offices at Ellendale most of the time for seven
years but spent a year and a half at Aberdeen, South Dakota, in the job department of
the News. In November, 1897. he returned to Ellendale and on the 2d of December pur-
chased a half interest in the Ellendale Leader, becoming a partner of F. S. Goddard. For
six years he continued as editor and publisher of that paper and during that time Mr. God-
dard acted as postmaster of the town. On the 1st of November, 1903, Mi-. Wright removed
to Oakes and became sole proprietor of the Oakes Republican, the plant having been pur-
chased the previous year by Goddard & Wright, who were then running the Leader. Mr.
Wright has since been publisher of The Oakes Times, having changed the name of the paper
in 1905. His partner, Mr. Goddard, who became sole owner of the Leader, died over a year
ago and was succeeded by his son, Herbert J. Goddard. The Times has an investment of
twenty-two thousand five hundred dollars in the business block and plant, making it the
best equipped country weekly in the state. In addition to this property Mr. Wright owns
an attractive residence in Oakes and also a quarter section of land, and his business and
property holdings are the visible evidence of his well directed activity and enterprise. His
standing in journalistic circles is indicated by the fact that he was elected president of the
North Dakota Press Association for the 3'ear 1909-10, although he was not a candidate for
the office nor did he desire it. His political allegiance has always been given to the republi-
can party and he became a supporter of the progressive republican organization in this state.
On the 20th of June, 1900, at Ellendale, Mr. Wright was united in marriage to Miss
Lillian Ruth Hodges, whose birth occurred at Cochituate, now a part of Boston, February
26, 1S77, her parents being Mr, and Mrs, B, S, Hodges, She lost her mother when but seven
years of age and was reared by her grandparents. By her marriage she has become the
568 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
mother of two eliildrcn. K<l\vai<l S. and Kutli i;iizal)etli, \\\u< aio lilti'i'ii ami four years of
age respectively.
Jlr. Wright's military experience covers tiiree years' service as a memlier of (he National
Guard of North Dakota, when he was connected with Company il of ICllendalc. He attends
the Presbyterian church and he belongs to various fraternal organizations, including Hope
Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Oakes, of which he was master in 1914, working from the bottom
up; Oakes Chapter, R. A. JI., of whidi he is now scribe; the Eastern Star; the Ancient
Order of United Workmen; the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; the Knights of Pythias;
and the Yeomen. Mr. Wright attacks ever.vthing with a contagions enthusiasm and at the
same time his activities are cliaracterized by a thoi-oughness which ])ermits of the omis-
sion of no detail that will add to the successful accompli^lnni'nt of his purpose.
JACOB SCHALL.
Jacob Schall, a farm implement dealer and one of the representative and progi'essive
business men of Hague, was born in South Russia, near Odessa, on the 25tli of October, ISfiT,
a son of Nicholas and Mary (Fahn) Schall, both of whom were natives of that country.
The fatlier was descended from ancestors from Wiirtemherg, Germany, while the mother's
people came from Alsace-Lorraine. In 1888 Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Schall crossed the
Atlantic to the Ignited States and established their home in McInto.sh county. North Dakota,
where he purchased a farm and carried on agricultural piirsuits until his death.
Jacob Schall began his education in the German schools near his birthplace in Russia
and afterward attended the Russian high school. In 1885 he came to the United States and
through the following five years he was drifting through the middle west, working at vari-
ous occupations which would yield him an honest living. In 1890 he went to Eureka, South
Dakota, where he engaged in the hardware business, and later ho added a stock of farm
implements and also began buying grain. His activities and interests increased in volume
and importance and for twenty-one years he was prominently identified with the business
life of Eureka. He also became an active factor in its public alTairs and served for a time
as a member of the town council. He was likewise a member of the school board of Eureka
for several years and took a most active and helpful part in the upbuilding of the town.
In 1911 Mr. Schall removed to Hague, where he opened an agricultural implement store,
and in the intervening period of five years to the present he has won a ])lace among the
foremost business men of Emmons cojinty.
In 1894 Mr. Schall was married to Miss Catherine Jlitzel. then a resident of Eureka,
South Dakota, but a native of South Russia. They now have five children, namely: Martin
F., August J.. .Jacob J.. Raymond A. and ilary A., all at home. In politics Mr. Schall is a
democrat and has served as a member of the town council. He is a Catholic in religious
faith and behmgs to the Knights of Cobnnbus and the German Roman Catholic .Society. His
life has been indeed an active and useful one during the period of his residence^ in the
Dakotas and success has crowned his earnest and persistent efforts. He is now the owner
of a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in I^lclntosh county, North Dakota, and one
hundred and sixty acres in McPherson county. South Dakota, and his agricultural interests
ns well as his mercantile enterprise are thus contributing to his gj-owing prosperity.
.TOHN :m. LEPPERT,
John JI. Leppert. president of the Farmers & ^lerchants State Hank of Berlin, has in
various public and private connections so directed his interests and affairs as to become well
established in public opinion as a representative and valued citizen of Lamoure county. He
was born in Allamakee county. Iowa, January 25, 1871, a son of Andrew and Eva (Alander-
sclieid I Leppert. who were natives of Germany and in early nuinhood and womanhood came
to the TTnited States, establishing their home in Allamakee county among the pioneer set-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 569
tiers. They were subsequently married there and settled upon land which the father
purchased from the government. He continued his residence there to the time of his
death and, adding to his holdings, acquired four hundred acres of valuable farm land which
he brought to a high state of cultivation. He died about 1S83 or 18S3, at the comparatively
early age of fifty-six years, and is survived by his widow, who at the age of seventy-five
years now resides with a daughter at Church, Iowa.
John M. Leppert supplemented a district school education by study in tlie normal school
at Decorah, Iowa, and in the Valder Business College at that place. He afterward took a
course in telegraphy at .Janesville, Wisconsin, but did not adopt that calling as a source of
livelihood. Instead he accepted the proffered position of secretary of the creamery at
Church, Iowa, in which capacity he served for eight years. He continued in that connection
luitil 1903, wlicn he resigned to become a candidate for the office of county treasurer in
Allamakee county and won victory at the polls, serving in that position for five years, his
second term expiring on the 1st of .January, 1909. He then determined to enter the banking
business and looked around for a suitable location. In the summer of that year he came to
Berlin, North Dakota, and purchased an interest in the State Bank of Berlin, of which he
Avas made cashier, acting in that capacity until the State Bank was consolidated with and
merged into the Farmers & Merchants State Bank, of which Mr. Leppert was chosen presi-
dent, continuing at the head of the institution since that time. He is an energetic and far-
sighted business man and his well directed efforts are an element in the growing success
of the bank.
On the ITtli of December, 1908, Mr. Leppert was united in marriage to Miss Nettie
McMillan, of Waukon, Iowa. Politically a republican, Mr. Leppert has always stanchly
indorsed the principles of the party and has been active in its local circles. At the present
time he is serving as a member of the town board of Berlin and also as a member of the
school board. He and his wife are very active and earnest workers in the Methodist Episcopal
church and he is serving on its board of trustees. His interest has been by no means con-
fined to materia] things. On the contrary he is interested in all that pertains to public
progress and improvement, to educational and moral advancement and thus has become a
citizen of value to the community.
J. J. SCmilDT.
Every community numbers as its leading citizens men of enterprise, determination and
strong character who recognize and utilize advantages that lead to progi-ess, improvement
and success. Such a man is J. J. Schmidt, the president of the Anamoose National Bank
and a member of the firm of Schmidt, Gulack & Heitman, hardware dealers, and also one
of the proprietors of the Schmidt-Gulack elevator. In a word, he is one of the foremost
business men of ilcHenry county and liis record indicates what may be accomplished when
the individual is not afraid to venture where favoring opportunity points out the way.
He was born in Russia, March 10, 1870, a son of .John and Mary (Huber) Schmidt, who
came to the United States in 1891, establishing their home in Mcintosh county, North
Dakota, where the father took up a homestead sixteen miles north of Eureka. There he
resided for eight years and in 1900 removed to Anamoose. where he became identified with
his son in the implement business, but after two years his death occurred. His widow sur-
vives and is yet living in Anamoose. •
The district schools of Russia provided .1. .J. Schmidt with his educational privileges
and in 1891, when twenty-one years of age, he came with his parents to the new world.
For two years he worked upon the farm with his father and in 1894 he secured a position
as clerk in a general store in Eureka, where he was employed for five years. He next
removed northward to Harvey, Wells county, where for eight months he was engaged in the
grain business on his own account. He became a pioneer resident of Anamoose and there
established himself in the implement, flour and feed business and the building which he
erected was the first business block built on the main street. He was joined by T. O. Gulack
in 1901, the latter purchasing the interest of 3Ir. Schmidt's father. Not only did they
570 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
successfully continue in the hardware and implement business but also extended their efforts
to the grain trade, building an elevator in Ananioose. This was but the first of the forward
steps which have been taken by tlie firm. In 1904 they built an elevator at Kief and one
at Ruso and in 1905 a fourth elevator was built at Dogden, all of which are still operated
by the firm except the Dogden elevator, which was burned down in 1914, In 1909 Mr.
Schmidt became one of the founders of the Sehmidt-Samels Lumber Coiui)any at Martin,
North Dakota, which company was reorganized and incorporated the same year under the
name of the Samels Brothers Company, of which Mr. Schmidt is the president and one of
the heavy stockholders. This company now deals in lumber, machinery and general mer-
chandise at Martin. In 1907 Mr. Schmidt purchased the Anamoose State Bank, which in
1909 he converted into the Anamoose National Bank and which institution does probably
the largest business of any bank in McHenry county, amoimting to more than three hun-
dred and fifty thousand dollars annually. Mr. Schmidt is also a director of the Martin
State Bank. At a recent date he has erected a hotel building in Anamoose at a cost of
twenty-five tliousand dollars and in many other ways he has contributed to tlie upbuilding,
development and progress of the town.
In 1S94 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Schmidt and Miss Rosina Hirsch, of Eureka,
North Dakota, who was borh in Russia. To them have been born eight children, as follows:
Waldemar E., who is employed in his father's bank; Melita A.; Berthold J.; Ernest W.;
F. Theophiel; Julius G. ; Richard 0.; and Alvira R. All the children are still under the
parental roof. The family has a most attractive home in Anamoose and in addition to that
property Mr. Schmidt is the owner of thirteen hundred and sixty acres of farm lands situated
in three North Dakota counties. His political support is given the republican party and
for several years he has served as a member of the town board. He and Ins family are
members of the German Baptist church and their influence is always on the side of right,
truth and progress. In the vocabulary of Mr. Schmidt there is no such word as fail.
^^Tien one avenue of opportunity seems closed to him, he seeks out other paths that will
lead to the desired goal and he never stops short of successful attainment in carrying out
his plans. Moreover, his activities and interests have ever been of a nature that have con-
tributed to public progress as well as to individual prosperity and there are few citizens of
McHenry county who have done as much to further its material and moral development.
FRED E. SMITH.
Fred E. Smith, president of the State School of Science at Wahpeton, is one of the fore-
most men in educational circles in North Dakota, and the high standard which the institu-
tion has attained is in large measure due to him. He has devoted his life to educational
work and his natural fitness for that line of activity and his long experience therein emi-
nently qualify him for positions of leadership.
Mr. Smith was born in Tunbridge, Vermont, .Tanuary 24, 18G1, of the marriage of
Richard and Jane (Hall) Smith, and is a representative of a family that has long been
identified with the history of New England, the American progenitors having settled in Hart-
ford, Connecticut, in 1636. The father was born in Vermont on the 31st of January, 1821,
a son of Ebenezer Smith, and there grew to manhood. He devoted a number of years to
farming, but .subsequently turned his attention to milling and was conducting a feed and
flour mill at the time of his death. He gave indubitable proof of his patriotism by enlist-
ing in Company E, Second Vermont Volunteer Infantry, for service in the Civil war, and
for three years he remained at the front. His political allegiance was given to the republi-
can party, and his religious faith was that of the Congregational church, wliile fraternally
he was a Mason. He passed away in 1896 and had survived his wife for fifteen years, as
her demise occurred in 1881, when she was sixty-one years of age, as she was born in
Vermont on the 11th of January, 1820. They were married in the Green Mountain state
and became the parents of four children, two of whom are living, the brother of our sub-
ject being Emerson H.. an attorney of Fargo.
Fred E. Smith attended the public schools of his native town in the acquirement of
FRED E. SMITH
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 573
his early odueation and when twenty-one years of age entered Kimball Union Academy
at Meriden, New Hampshire, from which he was graduated in 1885. He then matriculated
at Dartmouth College, completing a course there in 1889, when the A. B. degree was con-
ferred upon him. In 1901 he graduated from Albany Law School with the degree of LL. B.
In the meantime he had provided for his own support for a number of years, as
when seventeen years of age he began teaching, and he worked his way through college.
The energy and determination which enabled him to pay his own expenses while acquir-
ing an education have been factors in his subsequent advancement in his chosen profes-
sion. He taught in various places in the east until 1899, when he accepted a position as
superintendent of schools of Fargo, North Dakota, where he remained until 1903. In 1905
he was elected superintendent of the schools of Wahpeton and held that position for five
and a half years, making such an excellent record as a school executive that he was elected
president of the State School of Science at Wahpeton. This institution is one of the vigor-
ous and growing schools of the state although it has been established for only thirteen
years. When it was founded in 1903 it consisted of a small building that had previously
belonged to the Red River Valley University. Five new buildings have been erected and
equipment has been added as the school has grown, thus affording facilities for efficient
training in agriculture, engineering, domestic science and a number of trades. There are
also academic and commercial departments and the work done in the school is recognized
as being of a high grade. For the scholastic year of 1913 the total enrollment was two hun-
dred and seventy-one students and the faculty numbers si.xteen. The institution has been
established upon a sound basis and those who are at its head are determined that its develop-
ment shall keep pace with the needs of the young men and women of the state and that
it shall grow with the growth of the state. President Smith keeps in close touch with the
trend of educational thought and is always seeking means by which the school may more
efficiently serve its purpose of providing technical and industrial training. He has the
hearty cooperation of the faculty and also of the student body and has demonstrated that
he is the man for the place.
In 1894 Mr. Smith was married to Hiss Kate Ticknor, of Lebanon, New Hampshire.
He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is also a Mason, belonging
to the blue lodge, the Royal Arch Chapter and the Knights Templar Commandery. He has
served as senior warden in the lodge; has been grand master of the Grand Lodge of North
Dakota and is now worshipful master of Wahpeton Lodge, No. 15, A. Y. & A. M. In the
Odd Fellows he has held the office of grand representative. He is a republican in politics and
keeps well informed as to all of the questions of the day but has not sought office outside
of the path of his profession. In 1908 he was a candidate for state superintendent of
instruction but was defeated. He has thoroughly identified his interests with those of
North Dakota and his work is proving of great value to the entire state.
HANS NORMAN DYSTE.
Hans Norman Dyste, of Forman, Sargent county, is not only a representative citi:?en
but also a native son of that town, his birth having occurred there, June 10, 1886, he being
the first white child born in the town. His parents, Nels H. and Hannah (Narum) Dyste,
were natives of Norway but came to the United States in early life, settling in Minnesota.
Their marriage was celebrated in Minneapolis and on removing to North Dakota Mr. Dyste
took up land in Sargent county. Soon afterward, however, he turned his attention to mer-
chandising and opened a general store, liaving brought a stock with him. Six years later
his brother, John Dyste, entered into partnership with him and the business relation between
them was continued until 1909, when Nels H. Dyste retired and is now spending his days
in the enjoyment of a well earned rest. His wife passed away in Forman.
Hans N. Dyste was the second in order of birth in a family of nine children, all of
whom reached adult age. He attended the public schools in his native city and after leaving
high school acquired a business education in Minneapolis, entering the Archibald Business
College, from which he was graduated on the completion of a commercial course. LTpon his
Tol. n— 31
574 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
return to Sargent county he was appointi'd to tlie [losition of dt'imty treasurer, which office
lie filled for three years, and later he became his father's assistant in the store, devoting
four years to its conduct. At the end of that jieriod he took up the occupation of farming,
which he followed for six years in Bowcn township, Sargent county, and in 1914 he removed
to Stirum, where he took charge of the Stiruni State Bank, occupying the position of cashier
for some time and being also one of the stockholders and directors. This bank was organized
on the 18th of May, 1907, with W. H. Cole as the president, W. H. Jlallinson as the vice
president and K. V. Lahr as cashier. Mr. Cole still remains at the head of the institvition,
but J. S. L'Uand has succeeded to the vice presidency. The bank is capitalized for ten thou-
sand dollars and has a surplus and undivided profits of si.x thousand dollars. A general
banking business is conducted and while cashier Mr. Dyste proved very capable in directing
the all'airs of the institution. He is now residing at Forman.
Mr. Dyste keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, is a republican
in his political views and has been chosen as his party's candidate for register of deeds.
Fraternally he is connected with the Masonic lodge at Forman and he also belongs to the
Lutheran church at Forman, associations which indicate much of the nature of the rules-
and principles which govern his life.
FRANIv SIMON.
Orderly progression throughout his entire business career has brought I'rank Simon to-
a creditable position in the business circles of Emmons county, as president of the Kintyre
State Hank and his record is one of \vhich he has every reason to be proud for in the face
of difliculties which would have utterly discouraged many a man of less resolute spirit and
determination he has persevered until he is today at the head of an institution which has-
been declared by a member of the present state banking board to be "one of the best and
cleanest operated banking concerns in North Dakota."
Mr. Simon was born in Linn county, Iowa, .lune 30, 1879, a son of .Iosc|ili :iii(l Anna
(Shorne) Simon, who were natives of Bohemia and came to the Tnited States immediately
after their marriage, settling in Iowa. They were in very limited financial circumstances
but made every effort to gain a start. The father contracted to buy a farm on which he
made a small payment but while moving to the farm he was killed, leaving his widow with
si.\ small children to support, Frank being but six years of age at the time. It was indeed
a struggle for existence. The strictest economy was practiced and the members of the family
worked extremely hard in order to make the payments upon the property. The farm was
a tract of wild land and tlie mother bought a small house which she removed from another
farm to her place. As the children grew and were able to work they heliied to pay for the^
farm and the mother used every possible means to provide her children with an education.
All had the opportunity of attending school and each one became a creilit to tlie self-sacrificing
mother and to their adopted country. Their labors at length made the farm a valuable and
productive property upon \vhieh the mother lived until 1902, when she passed away at the
age of fifty-five years.
Frank Simon remained at home until his seventeenth year although three years previous
to that time his mother assisted him in buying some farm m.ichinery and he engaged in
farming for himself. This was during the period of the hard times in the early '90s, yet
in the three years he made tliree liumhed dollars, which he used in securing an education. In
1897 he entered Highland I'ark College, at Des Moines, Iowa, taking up a special course
in electrical and mechanical engineering. The Spanish-American war broke out while he
was thus engaged in his studies and he enlisted for service as a member of Company K,
Fifty-first Iowa Volunteer Infantry, in .lune, 1898, and in the following May he was trans-
ferred to the Fifth Iowa Volunteer Light Artillery with which command he remained until
the close of the war. After the cessation of hostilities he returned home and resumed his
studies at the Highland Park College, from which he was graduated in 1899 as an electrical
and mechanical engineer. He then went to work in the electrical power house in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, but because of impaired health he sought a change of climate and secured
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 575
a position in the government navy yard at Port Orchard, near Seattle, Washington, where
he liad cliarge of the electrical and compressed air machinery. He was later employed on the
construction of the battle cruiser Nebraska and remained in the west for two years but his
health did not improve and he spent six years drifting from place to place, hoping to be
benefitted thereby, and was variously employed in many states. For a time he was a guard
in the state prison at Hondo, Texas, and when there occurred an insurrection and break
for liberty he was alone with nine convicts out in the mesquite but subdued them, although
in the face of grave personal danger.
In 1904, on the death of a sister, he returned home to Iowa and soon afterward took
a course in pharmacy in the Highland Park College from which he was graduated as gold
medalist of his class in 1905. He then entered the drug business in Walker, Iowa, but in
the fall of 1906 turned his attention to the banking business, becoming identified with the
Walker Savings Bank as cashier and manager on its organization, succeeding in building up
the business to protitable proportions. In 1910 he arrived in Kintyre and organized the
Kintyre State Bank at which time there was only a store in the town and the outlook was
rather discouraging but somehow Mr. Simon believed that the country would progress, that
its lands must become settled and he persevered with the result that the Kintyre Bank is
now a profitable and growing institution which would be a credit to any town and its busi-
ness methods have received the highest endorsement of the state banking board. He has
never had. a piece of paper charged to profit and loss since he engaged in the banking business
and his policy has ever been a liberal one toward the bank's patrons, extending assistance
to a point that does not endanger the business of the bank or risk the interest of depositors.
In 1908 Mr. Simon was united in marriage to Miss Fandetta B. Lake of Walker, Iowa,
and they have one child, Vernon Gihnore. Mr. Simon is a thirty-third degree ilason, a fact
which indicates his prominence and worth in the order as that degree is only conferred in
recognition of marked service to the order. Throughout his entire life Mr. Simon has been
actuated by high ideals and a strong sense of duty and. fortunate in possessing character
and ability that awaken confidence in others, the simple weight of his character and ability
have carried him into important relations.
ARTHUR .1. KESLER.
Arthur J. Kesler, cashier of the First National Bank of Edgelcy, which is the leading
banking institution of Lamoure county, was born in Fenton, Michigan, April 12, 1872. a son
of John B. and Louisa A. (Watton) Kesler, the former a native of Michigan and the latter
of England. The mother came to the L'nited States when a child of seven years in com-
pany with her parents, who settled in Vermont but afterward removed to Detroit, Michigan.
On attaining adult age John B. Kesler engaged in merchandising at Fenton, Michigan, and
for many years was prominently identified with the commercial interests of that town and
of Middleville but in 1883 disposed of his interests in Michigan and came to North Dakota,
entering actively upon the pioneer work which has led to the modern day development. He
arrived in Lamoure county in .June and homesteaded the southwest quarter of section 28,
Nora township, on which he located. In September the family followed and located at
LaMoure for the winter. A year later Mr. Kesler built a store building and stocked it
with a line of general merchandise, this being the first building erected in the town of St.
George, a town that has now passed out of existence. After the founding of the town of
Edgeley Mr. Kesler removed his business to that point and continued actively and success-
fully in merchandising until about 1910, when he retired from active business to enjoy in
well earned rest the fruits of his former toil. In 1913 he removed to Fargo, where he still
resides, his income being sufficient to supply him with all the comforts and some of the
luxuries of life.
Arthur J. Kesler was educated in the district schools, also in the University of Dakota
at Vermillion, South Dakota, and at the Red River Valley University at Wahpeton, North
Dakota. After completing his studies he assisted his father in the store until July, 1903,
when he was off'ered and accepted the position of cashier in the State Bank of Edgeley.
576 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Two years later tlic l>;iiik was reorganized as the First National Bank and Mr. Kesler liaa
remained as cashier of the institution, taking' a most prominent part in the development
and upbuilding of the bank to its present enviable position, its high standing ami the volume
of its business giving it rank as the leading banking institution of Lamoure eountj-.
In I'JOO ilr. Kesler was united in marriage to iliss Anna JI. Anderson, of Edgeley, by
whom he has three children, namely: Kdith V., Lucille K. and Clill'ord A. In his political
views Mr. Kesler is an earnest republican who does not hesitate to announce his honest
opinions yet has never been bitterly aggressive, nor has he ever placed partisanship before
the public welfare. At the present writing, in 1916, he is city treasurer of Edgeley. Both
he and his wife are loyal members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Kesler is
prominent in Masonic circles, belonging to Maple River Lodge, Xo. 41, A. F. & A. M., of
Edgeley; and Dakota Consistory, No. 1, A. &, A. S. R. He is likewise identified with Pomona
Valley Lodge, No. 63, K. P., the Woodmen of the World and the Ancient Order of United
Workmen. He has become widely and favorably known as a business man and citizen,
occupying a prominent position in banking circles, his colleagues and contemporaries enter-
taining for him high regard and goodwill because of the methods which he has followed and
the spirit which he has displayed.
ARTHUR B. ATKINS.
Arthur B. Atkins, attorney at law practicing at Napoleon, was born in Cohunhia, South
Dakota, -July 6, 1884, a son of Oiarles W. and Emma (Burgess) Atkins, the former a native
of Pennsylvania and the latter of Streator, Illinois, in which city they were married in
the year 1878. They lived in that state until 1881, when they went to South Dakota, set-
tling first at Columbia. The father is an attorney at law and for many years was a promi-
nent figure at the South Dakota state bar but is now living retired, enjoying a well earned
rest at Columbia after long connection with professional interests.
Arthur B. Atkins was educated in the public schools of his native city and in the Uni-
fersity of Minnesota, where he was graduated on the completion of a course in the depart-
ment of agriculture with the class of 1905. He then pursued a two year course in law in the
university and in 1907 he came to Napoleon. He passed the required examination before the
supreme court in .June, 1907, and was formally admitted to the North Dakota state bar.
He then located in Esmond, Benson county, where he continued to practice until the spring
of 1909, and the following fall he located in Napoleon, where in the intervening seven years
he has built up an extensive practice that has connected him with much of the important
litigation tried in the courts of his district and made his name a familiar one as that of
an able and learned lawj'er in his part of the state.
On the fith of December, 1913, ilr. Atkins was married to Jliss Anna Nelson, of .Vshley,
North Dakota, and they liave become parents of two children, Lucille and Charles W. Mrs.
Atkins is a member of the Episcopal church and the family is prominent in the social circles
of the city. Politically Mr. Atkins is a republican and is regardi'd as a man of inlluence
in his community, for his keen insight enables him to (piickly understand a situation and
to correctly value opportunities. He works diligently to promote ])ublic progress as well
as to win individual success and in a calling where advancement depends entirely upon
personal merit he has worked his way steadily upward.
WILLIAM T. COOPER.
The newspaper interests of !McLean county have a worthy representative in William
T. Cooper, who is now publishing the Benedict Banner. His birth occurred September 19,
1871, in Auburn, Virginia, of which state his parents, William V. and Mary A. (Terry) Cooper,
were also natives. In 1877 the family removed to Montgomery oounty, Indiana, and resided
there until 1889, when they took up their abode in Harrison county, Iowa. There they lived
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 577
until 1893, when they removed to Polk county, Missouri, but at the end of four years the
parents returned to Iowa, their last days being spent in Leon, that state, where the father
died in the spring of 1905 and the mother in the following fall. The former was ninety-nine
years of age at that time and on the day of his death had walked three miles to mail a letter
to our subject. He was a veteran of the Civil war and was with the army in Nebraska for
some time, being stationed at Fort Lincoln and Fort Kearney. In his family were nine chil-
dren, of whom five are still living, namely: William T., of this review; Lunda, the wife of
G. A. Eumly, of Decatur county, Iowa; George JI., also a resident of that countj'; JIavide;
and Bessie.
William T. Cooper was about six years of age when the family left his native state and
removed to Indiana, where he attended the district schools in the acquirement of an educa-
tion. He went with his parents to Iowa and ilissouri and remained in the latter state for
two years after they returned to Iowa. There he was maiTied February 26, 1897, to Amanda
E. Stoeker, a native of Polk county, Missouri, and to them have been born four cliildren:
Fred, who is now principal of the village schools of Karlsruhe, North Dakota; Edwin V., who
is editor of the Mirror at McLaughlin, South Dakota ; Ruby Irene, who is attending high
school in Washburn, Nortli Dakota, and resides at home; and Wilmoth, also at home.
Mr. Cooper was engaged in farming in Missouri, and on coming to this state in 1902
took up a homestead in McLean county, one and a half miles west of Benedict. He proved
up on the same and farmed there until 1910, when he rented his land and removed to Benedict.
In April of that year he bought the Benedict Banner, which was established Febiiiary 26,
1908, by Otto H. Lomen, from whom Mr. Cooper purchased it. It is independent in politics
and is wisely edited, so that it now enjoys a good circulation. Mr. Cooper is also engaged
in job work, for which his office is well equipped, and he still gives considerable attention to
his farming interests, w-hich are well managed.
He is now an independent candidate for county commissioner from the third district and
nas been endorsed by the democratic party. He is chairman of the town council and was
president of the Commercial Club of Benedict for three years. He is also past grand of the
Odd Fellows lodge at that place and is regarded as one of the most prominent and influential
citizens of that village.
EBENEZER iL^GOFFEST.
Ebenezer Magollin, a leading merchant of Monango, Dickey county, and president of
the Farmers & Merchants State Bank at that place, has throughout his business career been
notably prompt, energetic and reliable and those qualities have constituted salient factors
in his growing success. His life record had its beginning in Saline county, Missouri, where
he was born November 4, 1868, a son of Beriah ilagofRn. His public school training was
supplemented by a course of study in the Spencer Business College at Washington, D. C, and
following the completion of his course he went to South Dakota in 1884 and for two years
ran a mail route out of Westport. In the fall of 1886 he came to North Dakota, settling in
Monango, where through the succeeding three years he was engaged in carpentering. At all
points in his career he has been actuated by laudable ambition and when he had acquired
suflicient capital he embarked in merchandising in 1889 and has since been prominently iden-
tified with the commercial interests of the town and with its upbuilding in many ways. He
has developed the leading store of the place and in 1909 he became one of the organizers of
the Farmers & Merchants State Bank, of which he was made vice president, while subse-
quently he was elected to the presidency, the interests and policy of which he has carefully
directed, its growing success being attributable in large measure to his sound judgment and
to his progrcssiveness, which is tempered by a safe conservatism. In addition to his mercan-
tile interests he has bought and sold North Dakota farm lands very extensively jn years past
and now owns but two hundred and forty acres.
In June, 1897, Mr. Magoffin was united in marriage to !\Ii3s Fannie Helferty, of Monango,
and to them was born a daughter, Fannie E., who is now attending Jamestown College at
Jamestown, North Dakota. The wife and mother passed away in 1898 and in 1903 Mr.
578 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
MRgoiTin wedded Jliss Amy Northrop, of Monango, by whom he lias one child, Lois E., now
attending sehool.
Mr. ifagotlin is a democrat in liia political views and has served his town as alderman
and as mayor, easting the weight of his ollicial influence on the side of municipal reform and
progress. He has also been a member of the school board, served four years as a member of
the board of the State Normal and Industrial School at Ellendale, for two years of which
time he was president of the board, and he can be counted upon to further any plan for the
general good. He belongs to Ellendale Lodge, No. 13, F. & A. M., to the \\'oodmen of the
World, the Yeomen and the Knights of the Maccabees, nor does he neglect the higher, holier
duties of life, for he holds membership in the Presbyterian church, to which his wife and
two daughters also belong. He is now serving on its oOlcial board and is a generous con-
tributor to its support.
J. C. NIPPOLT.
J. C. Nippolt, the well known postmaster of Wishek and one of the leading citizens
of that place, was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, May 1-t, 1876, and is a son of William
and Wilhelmina (Boettcher) Nipjiolt. The father, who was a miller by trade, died in
early life when our subject was only twelve years of age, and the mother subsequently
married .John Smith, with whom she now resides in Portersvillc, California.
During his boyhood and youtli J. C. Nippolt attended the common schools and also
took a business course in a St. Paul business college. After his father's death he left
home and started out in life for himself, since which time he has made his own way in
the world unaided. In 1889 he went to McPherson county, South Dakota, where he was
employed at farm labor for three or four years, and then found employment in the Old
German Bank at Eureka, South Dakota, with which institution he was identified as
assistant cashier for some four years. The following two years were spent in ilinneapolis
in the employ of a grain firm and at the end of that time he went to Emmons county.
North Dakota, where for one year he herded cattle. It was in 1S99 that he became a
resident of Wishek and here he has since lived with the exception of a year and a half
when he represented the International Harvester Comjiany on the road. In Wisliok he
has been engaged in various business enterprises. For four years he conducted a hotel
and for eight years devoted his attention to tHe insurance business. On the 14th of
August, 1914, he was appointed postmaster and has since served in that capacity with
credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. He is a painstaking and
obliging odicial and has the respect and confidence of all who know him.
On the 14th of December, 1899, ;Mr. Nippolt was united in marriage to Miss (lenevicve
M. Hill, of Wishek, by whom he has two children: Irene, who is now attending high
school; and Irwin W., who is in the graded schools. Mr. Nippolt is a stanch democrat in
politics and has served on the Wishek town board. He is an honored member of Harvey
Lodge, A. F. & A. M.; and Wishek Lodge, No. 99. T. O. O. F, The success that he has
attained in life is due entirely to his own efforts and he merits tlie conlidence and trust
reposed in him.
RALPH W. HALL.
Ralph W. Hall, cashier of the Citizens State Bank of Edgeley, was born in Hudson,
New York, February 24. 1884, a son of Rcvibcn W. and Helen (Delaniater) Hull, both
natives of the state of New Y'ork, the former of Scotch descent, while the latter came of
Holland lineage. The father was for many years in his earlier life engaged in shipbuilding,
being employed in the yards at New York city, and in 1886 he came to North Dakota,
settling in Lamoure county, where he purchased a farm three miles southwest of the
present site of Edgeley, residing thereon for nine years, his labors resulting in a marked
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 579
transformation of the appearance of the pUvce. He tlien retired and removed to Edgeley,
enjoying a good income from his investments. He has been very successful in the manage-
ment of his business affairs and is now the owner of an entire section of the most valuable
farm land of Lamoure county. He still has extensive interests in the cattle business, to
which he gives his personal supervision.
Ralph W. Hall was but two years of age when brought by his father to Lamoure
•county, so that he has practically been a lifelong resident of North Dakota. After attending
the Edgeley high school he continued his education in the Dakota Business College at Fargo.
His j'outhful days acquainted him thoroughly with all the departments of farm work and
for some years after his textbooks were put aside he operated his father's farm. In 1909,
however, he disposed of his farming implements and his stock and turned his attention to
the banking business, entering the Citizens State Bank of Edgeley as assistant cashier, in
which capacity he continued until JIarch, 1915, when he was advanced to the position of
cashier of the institution and has since so served. He is regarded as a wide-awake, energetic
young business man to whom the a\enue of success is never closed, for when his progress
seems blocked in one direction he seeks out other paths that lead to the desired goal.
He owns an equity in a seven hundred and seventy acre ranch in Jlclntosh county, this
state, and the owners lease surrounding school lands, operating altogether thirty-five hun-
dred acres which is under fence and on which they range seven hundred and fifty head of
cattle. Thus is indicated something of the extent and importance of the business interests
of Mr. Hall, to whom opportunity is ever a call to action.
In 1913 Mr. Hall was united in marriage to Jliss Sibyl V. Covington, of Dexter, Jtis-
souri, by whom he has two children, Ruth Elizabeth and .Jean Louise. In his political
views Mr. Hall is a stalwart republican and for two terms has been honored with the
mayoralty of Edgeley, which has profited by his progressive and businesslike administration
that has brought about various reforms and improvements in civic affairs. Fraternally he
is connected with Pomona Valley Lodge, No. 65, K. P. He and his wife attend the Pres-
byterian church. Mrs. Hall is a graduate of the University of Missouri and for three years
or more was successfully engaged in educational work, while at the present time she is
active in the work of the Civic League. Both are much interested in the welfare and
progress of their city and ably support plans and measures which are looking to the
adoption of higher civic standards and achievements. Through his operations in business
fields Mr. Hall has contributed to the material [jrogress of his district, and Edgeley is in
large measure the expression of the enterprising spirit of himself and his associates.
GEORGE R. WHITFORD.
The consensus of public opinion names George R. Whitford as the foremost business
man of Mohall, for his intense and well directed activities have contributed much to the
upbuilding and improvement of the town along many lines. He was born in Cold Springs,
Minnesota, December 18, 1878, a son of .John and Agnes (Stevens) Wliitford, both of
whom were natives of Canada, where they were reared and married. In 1856 they crossed
the border into the United States, settling in Stearns county, Minnesota. The father was
known as the expert sawyer of the northwest and for many years was promincntlj' iden-
tified with sawmill work. It was he and his brothers .Joe and .Jim Ferguson who founded
the town of Fergus Falls, and Whitford street, one of the principal residence thoroughfares
of that city, was named after the two Whitford brothers. Joe Whitford was a well known
Indian trader of the early frontier days and he and John Whitford continued their inter-
ests in partnership, the latter operating the sawmills, while the former managed the trading
interests. .John Whitford died in 1897, at the age of sixty-nine years, and soon afterward
his widow removed to Devils Lake, North Dakota, where she -passed awaj' on the 18th of
January, 1910.
Stimulated by the example of his father, George R. Whitford has become a town
builder of North Dakota. He was educated in the public schools and in the North Dakota
State University, which he attended for a year, supplemented by a commercial course in
580 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Caton College of Minneapolis. The ambitious spirit of the youth and the elemental strength
of his character were indicated in the fact that in order to secure his college training there
he waited on the table to pay his way through school. He also individually paid his tuition
in the Nortli Dakota State University, ^^^l(■n his textbooks were put aside he secured a
position in a mercantile establishment at Devils Lake, where he was employed for a year,
and in December, I'JOO, he filed on a liomestead nine miles northwest of Mohall in what
was then Ward but is now Kenville county. In June, 1901, he took up his abode upon
that place and proved up on the liomestead in March, 1903. In September of the same
year he removed to Moliall and immediately made arrangements for the erection of a store
building, in which on the 2Gtli of November, 1902, he opened his doors for business as a
general merchant. ^Moreover, he had the distinction of being the first merchant of the town
to have his goods shipped in by train. Ids first consignment coming in on the first freight
train tliat entered ilohall. He remained actively in mercantile business for ten years,
during which time he erected three store buildings in the town. He also built the present
courthouse and the modern building occupied by the greater store. During this time he
did a business amounting to almost nine hundred thousand dollars. His (latronage came
from a wide territorj' and he carried everything demanded in geniral trade, while at all
times his earnest efforts to please his patrons, combined with bis straiglitforward methods
and the excellent line of goods which he carried, secured for liim a growing patronage,
making his business one of mammoth proportions, yielding to him a most substantial annual
profit. For the past three years Mr. Whitford has not been actively identified witli the
business, although the Mohall store and the store which he founded in Sherwood in 1912
are still conducted under his name. Since 1913 he has been engaged in real estate operations
and is a heavy holder of farm lands in Renville and Bottineau counties.
In February, 190.'!, at Devils Lake, Mr. Whitford was united in marriage to Miss
Charlotte Haslam, of that place, and they have two children, Georgia Evelyn and Josephine
Haslam. Mr. Whitford is a loyal member of Mohall Lodge. Ko. 7.3, A. F. & A. M., and
both he and his wife are connected with Mohall Chapter, 0. E. S.. of which he is now
worthy patron. He likewise belongs to Mohall Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., the Knights of Pythias
and tlie Modern Woodmen of America. His political allegiance is given to the republican
party and he was chairman of the committee that brought about the formation of Kenville
county and was also chairman of the county seat committee. He and his wife attend the
Methodist Episcopal church and he is ever ready and willing to aid in the support of
tliose movements wliich work for the moral progress of the community. In a word, he
has been one of the domiiuuit factors in the upbuilding of the city of Alohall ahmg the line
of material, political, social and moral progress, being a foremost factor in the advancement
of every movement for the town's best interests. Moreover, his efforts are of a. most prac-
tical character and he has ever been a man of action rather than of theory.
AL1U:RT a. ROBINSON.
Albert A. Robinson, president of the A. A. Robinson Elevator Company at 'Minot and also
interested in agricultural activitii's and in banking, was horn in Blackford township, (ireen
Lake county, Wisconsin, on tlic l.'JtIi of .January, 1865, a son of Frank ('. and Rebecca J.
(Smith) Robinson, natives of Maine and Ohio respectively. The father was a farmer by
occupation, following that pursuit until 1881, when he engaged in the grain and elevator
business at Clark, South Dakota. Later he continued in the same line at Oroton, South
Dakota, and in 1900 he was elected a member of the board of warehouse commissioners for
Soutli Dakota and Ijy that board was elected chairman, making his headquarters at I'ierre,
South Dakota, although he resides at Oroton. In the late '70s he was representative from
Winona county, Minnesota, to the legislature of that state and for a number of years he
was a member of the board of the South Dakota state fair. His business interests have
been of a nature that have contributed to public progress and his cooperation has always
been heartily given to movements and measures for the general good. His wife died in
the year 1898.
ALBERT A. ROBINSON
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 583
Albert A. Robinson was the second in order of birtli in a family of fonr children. He
pursued his early education in one of the old-time log schoolhouses of Winona county,
Minnesota, and afterward continued his studies at Clark, South Dakota. When sixteen
years of age he became a partner of his father in the furniture business at Clark, South
Dakota, where he remained until 1891, \\ lien he became connected with the grain business,
in which he continued for two years. He was afterward at Cavalier, North Dakota, and
conducted the business there until January, 1903, when he disposed of the elevator. In the
meantime, however, he removed to Duluth, becoming a resident of that city in July, 1902.
There he operated a grain mi.xing house until JIarch, 1903, when in association with a
number of business men of Duluth he organized the Robinson Elevator Company, which
bought fourteen country elevators and with which he was associated until JIarch, 1905, when
the sale of the properties was consummated. In that year he formed the A. A. Robinson
Elevator Company, the stockholders being A. A. Robinson, president; L. M. Robinson, vice
president and secretary, and H. J. Robinson, treasurer. He purchased the elevator at Minot
and for a time operated six different elevators but has recently sold some of these. He now
individually operates the elevator at Minot and in addition is engaged in the cultivation of
six quarter sections of land. He is likewise the vice president of the First State Bank at
Surrey and a director of the Second National Bank of Minot. He holds a large amount of
the stock in and is manager of the Logan Farmers Elevator Company at Logan, North
Dakota, and also of the Surrey Farmers Grain Association of Surrey, North Dakota. He
also does a lai'ge wholesale and retail grass and field seed business at Minot, which business
has grown to very extensive proportions, and he is a crank on pure seed. His interests are
extensive and important. The wise direction of his business affairs has brought him growing
success and has placed him among the substantial business men of the community.
In July, 18S6, ilr. Robinson was united in marriage to Miss Louise M. Arjiin, who was
born near Chicago, Illinois, her parents being Godfrey and Mary (Elliott) Arpin, the former
a native of Toronto, Canada, and the latter of Paris, France. Mr. Arpin was engaged in con-
tracting for a number of years and subsequently turned his attention to the furniture and
undertaking business at Clark, South Dakota, also carrying on general agricultural pursuits
for ten years. He is now living retired and still makes his home at Clark, South Dakota,
but spends the greater part of his time at Palm Beach, Florida. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson
have one daughter. Hazel .lane, the wife of Guy E. Almy, who resides in Minot and assists
his father-in-law as manager.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Robinson is identified with the Elks lodge at Minot and
with tlie United Commercial Travelers, of which he is deputy grand councilor. He enjoys
curling very much, helped organize the ilinot Curling and Skating Association in 1915, and
was elected president of said association. He holds membership in the Roman Catholic
'church and in politics is a republican, somewhat independent. He came to North Dakota in
1893 with a capital of ninety dollars. Today his assets may be counted in several figures
and his success is due to his personal effort, his close application, his persistency of purpose
and his keen business insight. He has worked his way steadily upward, knowing that
industry wins its rewards and that success may be won at the price of earnest, self-denying
effort.
A. F. LEHR.
It has been wisely said that banking institutions are the heart of the commercial
body, indicating the healthfulness of trade, and it is well known that the bank which follows
a safe, conservative policy does more to establish financial credit and confidence in times of
widespread financial depression than an}' other agenc.y. A. F. Lehr, of Gackle, is connected
with one of the substantial country banks of North Dakota, being president of the Logan
County Bank, which is an important feature in the business development of that community.
Mr. Lehr was born in Tripp, South Dakota, September 23, 1879, a son of Andreas and Clara
(Goehring) Lehr, both of whom were natives of Germany but were reared in Russia, where
they were taken by their respective parents when children. They were married in the
latter country and five children were born to them ere their emigration to the new world,
584 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
ajid four thereafter. Tliey crossed the Atlantic in June, 1879, and made their way to
Hutchinson county, South Dakota, where the fatlier secured a homestead claim and actively
engaged in farming until 1902, when he retired from business life and removed to Tripp,
where he now resides. He was quite successful in liis farming enterprises and acquiied nine
hundred and sixty acres of land but has now disposed of liis entire holdings, dividing some
of it among his children and selling the remainder. He never had occasion to regret his
determination to come to the United States, for here he found the business op])portunities
which he sought and in their utilization worked his way steadily upward to success.
A. F. Lehr was educated in tlie public schools of his native state and in January, 1903,
removed to Kulm, North Dakota, where he secured employment as a clerk in a general store
at a salary of ten dollars per month. In April, 1904, he went to Gackle and embarked in
the real estate business on his own account. In that undertaking he prospered and it led
to his business advancement along other lines. In 1905 he became one of the principal
factors in the organization of the Logan County Bank but continued to give his time and
attention to his extensive real estate transactions until 1909. In the interval, or in 1907,
he had been elected president of the bank and in 1909 he assumed active management of
its interests, since which time he has largely promoted the business. In 1912, liowever,
although still continuing in the position of president, he witlidrew from the active control
of the bank in order to give his attention to his other extensive interests and for two
years took no special part in the management of tlie bank's affairs but in 1914 he resumed
active connection therewith and is now the controlling spirit. Under his guidance the
business has grown steadily and the policy of the bank is such as wins popular confidence
and support. He has been a very extensive dealer in farm lands and at the present time
his holdings aggregate nineteen hundred and twenty acres. His investments have been most
wisely and judiciously made and have brought to him very gratifying success.
In 1900 Mr. Lehr was married to iliss llagdalena Hieb, of Kulm. and they have become
parents of five children, of whom three are living: Clara, il., Ella A. and Calvin C.
!Mr. Lehr votes with the republican party, which he has sujiported since age conferred upon
him the right of franchise. He has been a prominent figure in republican circles for a
number of years, his opinions carrying weight in its local councils, while his efforts for
better and cleaner politics have been widely resultant. He is now serving as a member of
the central committee of Logan county and he has been closely associated with those whole-
some and purifying reforms which have been growing up in the political life of the country.
Fraternally lie is connected with the American Yeomen and his position is that of one of •
the foremost citizens of Logan county, his fellow townsmen recognizing his marked ability
and resourcefulness — qualities that have made him a leader in shaping public thought and
action.
HON. JOHN A. BYE.
Hon. John A. Bye was a member of the first state legislature of North Dakota and has
been active in shaping the history and molding the policy of the district in which he 'ives. He
is numbered among the representative farmers of Cass county, his home being on section 34,
where he owns a valuable, productive and extensive tract of land. A native of Norway, he
was born September 27, 1847. and is a son of f)le anil Petronelle (Detlefson) Bye, who came
to the United States in 1853, taking \ip their abode in Houston county, Minnesota, where they
resided until called to their final rest.
John A. Bye was a little lad of five s\immers at the time of the emigration to the new
world and the public school system of Minnesota afforded him his educational privileges but
his opportunities in that direction were somewhat limited, as it was necessary that he begin
work upon the farm at an early age. In his youthful days he was trained to habits of indus-
try and economy — habit-i that have borne rich fruit in his later years. On the death of his
father he became the heir to one hundred acres of the home farm in Minnesota l)ut in 1871
he left that state and came to North Dakota on a prospecting trip. Pleased witli the coun-
try, he removed his family to Cass county in 1872, honiesteading his pnsent farm, upon which
he has since lived. He also secured a tree claim and a preemption claim and subsequently
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 585
bought railroad land and school land, being now the owner of eight hundred and seventy-five
acres of very valuable farm property in Pleasant township, Cass county, together with two
hundred and forty acres in Manitoba, within twenty-eight miles of Winnipeg. He has care-
fully and persistently carried on his farm work, with the result that he has brought his fields
to a high state of cultivation and that his property is now most valuable and desirable. The
practical and progressive methods which he has followed have converted his land from wild
prairie into highly productive fields and upon his farm are all modern equipments in the way
of buildings and machinery. Mr Bye is also a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company at
Hickson and in the Hickson Bank.
In 1867 Mr. Bye was united in marriage to Miss Mathea Olson, who died in 1881, leaving
seven children: Carl J., of Nailsville, Minnesota; Xellia J., the wife of L. Walhus, of Bremen,
North Dakota; Ole .J., of Ryder, North Dakota; Tillie J., the wife of Olof Smerud, a resident
of Kent, Minnesota; Fred J., who makes his home in Cass county, North Dakota; Henry J.,
of Williams county, this state; and Ida J., the wife of George Wotszler, of Eyder, this state.
Mr. Bye was married a second time, in 1883, to Miss Mathilda Borderud, a resident of Norman,
Cass county, and this union was blessed with four children but all are deceased.
Mr. Bye holds membership with the Sons of Norway and with the Norwegian Lutheran
church and his life has ever been guided by high and iionorable principles. In politics he is
Independent, voting for men and measures rather than for party. For many years he has been
active in community affairs, holding various township offices, to which he has been called by
the vote of his fellow citizens. Moreover, he was a member of the first state legislature
of North Dakota, serving through the double session of 1889 and 1890. He took an active
interest in shaping the laws of the state during the formative period in its historj' and
brought keen insight and a recognition of needs and opportunities to bear in the discharge of
the important duties which devolve upon him as a member of North Dakota's first general
assembly.
JOSEPH E. FITZGIBBONS.
No town of its size in North Dakota can boast a finer drug store than Braddock. where
Joseph E. I'itzgibbons has a thoroughly up-to-date establishment. A spirit of enterprise
prevades the place for the proprietor is wide-awake, alert and energetic, western progress
finding in him a worthy exponent. He was born in Dubuque county, Iowa, March 28, 1877,
a son of .James William Fitzgibbons. a native of Albany, New York, whence he accompanied
his parents to Dubuque county, Iowa, in pioneer times, the grandfather there following the
occupation of farming. James W. Fitzgibbons was there reared and in Iowa married Jfiss
Catherine Phalen, a native of Lynn Haven, Pennsylvania. Her parents also went to Iowa
at an early day, settling in .lackson county, where her father engaged in farming. J. W.
Fitzgibbons took up the same pursuit as a life work and remained upon his farm in Dubuque
county up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1904. His widow is still living at the
age of seventy-six years and resides with a daughter in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Spending his youthful dayp under the parental roof, .Joseph E. Fitzgibbons began his
education in the public schools, afterward attended Epworth Seminary at Epworth, Iowa,
and later the Iowa State L'niversity, at Iowa City, in which he pursued a pharmaceutical
course and was gi'aduated with the class of 1906, winning the Ph. G. degree, thus becoming
well qualified by thorough educational training for the business which he has taken up as a
life work.
In the fall of that year he came to North Dakota and for one year was in charge of the
drug store of the Hardy-Shontz Drug Company at Driscol. He afterward went to Water-
town, South Dakota, where he accepted a position with a patent medicine house — the Blue
Bell Medicine Company — with which he continued for a year. In the early summer of 1908
he went to Bismarck and became associated with the Bismarck Di'ug Company, so continuinc
until the spring of 1910, when he purchased the stock and fixtures of the compan}- and
removed the business to Braddock, where he has since conducted a modern drug store, wliich
is one of the best aixl most attractively arranged stores of the kind to be found in the
state in a town the size of Braddock. This naturally draws to him a large trade and by
586 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
reason of his straightforward business methods and earnest desire to please, he has no dilli-
culty in keeping his patrons and liis business is steadily growing. He is also identlfii'd with
Kmnions county as one of its landowners, having an entire section of land there, together
with one hundred and sixty acres in McLean county and a quarter section in Montana.
Mr. Fitzgibbons is a member of the Woodmen of the World and he has attractive social
(jualitics ^^hicll render him popular, the circle of his friends increasing as the circle of his
acijuaintance widens. He is also regarded as a valuable addition to the business forces of
liraddock and is a worthy representative of the modeiii, progressive coniincrcial si)irit,
wliicli is upbuilding North Dakota.
EGBERT r. ROSCOE.
Tlie habit of Robert P. Roscoe is to accomplish what he undertakes and the persistency
of purpose which he has displayed in managing his business all'airs has been one of the
strongest elements in his growing success. After a long and active connection with agricul-
tural interests he is now living retired in Dickey, Lamoure coiuity. His birth occurred in
Nova Scotia, March 1, 1863, his parents being Milledge and Susan (Robinson) Roscoe, who
are mentioned on another page of this work in connection with the sketch of E. B. Roscoe.
Robert P. Roscoe acquired his education in the public schools of Nova Scotia and on the
21st of September, 18S0, arrived in Lamoure count}' in company with his parents, being at
that time a youth of about eighteen years. Pioneer conditions existed here at that period
and with the work of early development and improvement he soon became associated. In
1SS6 he filed on a homestead in Roscoe township, which Iiad been named in honor of 'lis father,
and thereon he lived for several years, converting the tract of raw prairie into richly developed
fields which returned to him a gratifying annual income. During those years he also bought
other lands and is now the owner of six hundred and forty acres all in one body. For the
past seven years he has rented his land and has made his home in Dickey, his income from
his property, however, being of a most substantial character. Into other business fields he
extended his efforts, becoming one of the organizers of the Farmers & Mei chants State Bank
of Dickey, of whicli he is now a director. He is likewise a stockholder in (he Farmers Eleva-
tor at Dickey and for six or seven years he was a nu'mber of its board of directors.
Mr. Roscoe has attained high rank in Masonic circles, belonging to Dickey Lodge, No.
63, F. &. A. M., to Edgeley Cliapter, R. A. M., to Dakota Consistory, No. 1, A. & A. S. R.,
and to El Zagal Temple, A. A. 0. N. JL S., at Fargo. He likewise belongs to Lincoln Lodge,
No. 57, I. 0. O. F., and to the Modern Woodmen of America and his loyalty to these orders
finds expression in his exemplification of their principles in his conduct toward his fellow-
men. He believes in the JIasonic teachings of mutual helpfulness and brotherly kindness and
is frequently extending a hand to assist a fellow traveler >ii)on life's journey.
DAVID II. BUTTZ.
David II. Buttz is now living retind in lUitizvillc, IJansom comity, after long connection
with the farming interests of that locality. He was born November 4, l.S.'ii), in Buttzville,
Warren county, New Jersey, a town which was named in honor of his father, .John R. Buttz,
who was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, in .hine, ISll. and became an exten-
sive property holder, practicallj' owning all the town of Buttzville, New ,Ier.sey, which place
was known as Cedar Grove until its business interests passed into possession of .lohn R,
Buttz, when the name was changed. He, too, Ivcame practically the owner of the town of
Screpta, New Jersey, controlling all of its enterprises. He was a miller by trade and he also
engaged quite extensively in farming, conducting farms at both Buttzville and Serepta. He
died at the latter place in April, 1908. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Rebecca J.
Horn, was born at Weisport, Pennsylvania, and her death occurred in 1884.
Their family numbered eight children, including Major C. W. Buttz, who became a promi-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 587
nent resident of North Dakota and represented his district in tlie forty-fourth congress. He
was born in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, Xovember 16, 1S3T, and in 1839 was taken by his
parents to Buttzville, New Jersey. After completing his academic studies he became a law-
student at Belvidere, New Jersey, and in 1861 joined the Union army as a second lieutenant
of the Eleventh Pennsylvania Cavalry. The following year he was promoted to first lieu-
tenant and he received two brevet ranks from President Lincoln, one as captain "for gallant
and meritorious conduct in capturing from the enemy a full Rocket battery and the other as
major for gallant and meritorious services in front of Suffolk, Virginia," both bearing date
of May, 1865. In 1863, when his regiment was sent on a scouting expedition from Suffolk,
Virginia, to the Blackwater river. Lieutenant Buttz with twenty-five of his men engaged
three hundred of the enemy and by a dashing cavalry charge' succeeded in taking sixty-
seven of the number prisoners and capturing a Rocket battery. Afterward he was detailed
for service on court martials as judge advocate and for a period of two months was judge
advocate of court at Suflfolk, Virginia. He was wounded in 1863 and in October of that year
was compelled to resign on account of impaired health. He began the practice of law in
Norfolk, Virginia, and the following year was a delegate to the republican national conven-
tion in Baltimore. In 1864 he was appointed a director of the Exchange Bank of Virginia
and in 1866 he became commonwealth attorney for King William county. In 1870 he removed
to Charleston, South Carolina, and was elected solicitor of the first judicial district in
October, 1872, thus serving for four j-ears. He was republican candidate for the forty-fourth
congress, at which election the certificate was given to Edmund W. M. Mackey, but Mr.
Buttz contested the seat and on the 16th of July, 1876, it was declared vacant. He was
reelected to fill the vacancy in the forty-fourth congress and served until March 3, 1877.
In 1878 he became a resident of Fargo, North Dakota, and procured the official organization
of Ransom county in 1882. He established his residence in Buttzville and was elected states
attorney in 1884, serving for two years, after which he was a member of the state legislature
from 1903 until 1909 and thus left the impress of his individuality and ability upon the laws
of the state. Not only was he a political leader and distinguished attorney but also a suc-
cessful and extensive farmer, owning two valuable im]iroved sections near Buttzville worth
fifty dollars per acre or about sixty-four thousand dollars in all. When he passed away
Jul}' 20, 1913, Ransom county lost one of its most distinguished, worthy and valued citizens.
David H. Buttz, after pursuing his education in the schools of New Jersey, worked with
his father and brother-in-law, Mr. Titus, in the mills and he also took up the occupation of
farming in Warren county. New Jersey, where he remained until April, 1865, Avhen he went
to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he became connected with the operation of a mill, spending
two years in that city. He next went upon the road as a traveling salesman but after six
months removed to Williamsburg, Virginia, and bought eighteen hundred acres of timber
and farm lands, devoting the succeeding two years to the lumber trade. He shipped lumber
to New York, New Haven, Bridgeport. Philadelphia and Elizabethport, New Jersey, and
later he engaged in the wholesale grain trade at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he continued for
two years. He was next located at Charleston, South Carolina, where he became engaged
in the brokerage business, buying and selling all classes of county, state and government
paper for a period of nine years. In April, 1882, he arrived in North Dakota and purchased
sections 7 and 21 of Casey township. Ransom county. From that period to the present he
has been closely associated with the development and upbuilding of the district. He was
one of the organizers of the township and settled in the town of Carrington. which later
changed its name to Buttzville in his honor, for he was recognized as the most progressive
and influential man of the little town.
In 1875 Mr. Buttz was united in marriage to JSIiss Mary L. Kishpaugh, who was born at
Andover, New Jersey, and died in October, 1891, leaving two children: Adrian E., an attor-
ney and bank director of Leeds, North Dakota ; and Beatrice, the wife of William E. Hoag,
living at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. On the 18th of June, 1893, Mr. Buttz was again married, his
second union being with Mary M. Morrison, who was born in Belleville, Ontario, in 1865, a
daughter of Angus J. and Margaret (Steward) Morrison, both of whom were of Scotch descent
and of Canadian birth, Mrs. Buttz being the thii'd of their five children.
In connection with his farming interests JIi'. Buttz built the first elevator in Buttzville
and also established the general store there. He likewise developed a lumber and coal yard.
588 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
bringing liis first lumber by team from Tower City, Xortli Dakota, until the railroad was
put through. The expense of hauling the lumber was from ten to twelve dollars per thou-
sand feet. For a period of seven years he had eightyfoiu- hundred acres of land under culti-
vation, most of which he broke himself. In 1895 his wheat crop was estimated at two hun-
dred and fifty thousand bushels, all of which was lost as the result of a hail storm. His
possessions in North Dakota lands alone aggregated fourteen thousand four hundred acres.
His business interests thus became of mammoth volume and importance, making him the
leader among the business men of this section of the state. In his political views Jlr. liuttz
is a republican, supporting the party since casting his first presidential vote for Abraham
Lincoln. He has been school treasurer in Casey township and he does everything in his power
to further local progress. He became a member of the Masonic order at Charleston, South
Carolina, and both he and his wife are consistent members of the Methodist Ejtiscopal church
at Lisbon, North Dakota. After long and prominent connection with business alfairs which
have contributed much to the development and ujibuilding of this state he is now living
retired, but he does not cease to give hearty aid to all well devised plans and measures for
the general good.
HUGO P. REJIINGTOX.
Hugo P. Remington, a prominent lawyer of Ashley and the present republican candidate
for states attorney of Mcintosh county, was the first white child born in Fort Collins, Colo-
rado, his birth occurring on the 29th of June, 1879. He is a son of Walter \V. and Sarah
L. (Porter) Remington. The mother is a representative of an old Virginia family, while the
father was born in Ohio and is descended from a long line of sailors. He has devoted his
life to educational work and is at present principal of the East Side Latin school of Denver,
Colorado.
Reared in his native state, Hugo P. Remington is indebted to its public schools for his
early educational advantages and later he became a student in the University of Colorado,
from which he received the degree of B. A. in 1905 and the LL. B, degree in 1907. For two
years after his graduation he was on the road as a commercial traveler for his eyes had failed
him and he was unable to commence the practice of law. In 1909, however, he located in
Ashley, North Dakota, and opened a law office, since which time he has successfully engaged
in the practice of his chosen profession. He possesses marked ability as a lawyer and in
1916 was nominated by the republican party for the office of states attorney by an over-
whelming majority.
On Christmas Day of 1909, Jlr. Remington was \inited in marriage to Miss Margaret
Sutton, of Boulder county, Colorado, They attend the Jlethodist I'piscopal church and are
quite prominent socially. Mr. Remington is a member of Columbia Lodge, Xo. 45, A. F. &
A. M., of Boulder, Colorado; Bismarck Ivodge, Xo. 1199, B. P. O. E. ; and Ashley Lodge,
No. 115, I. O. O. F. He is one of the foremost attorneys of Mcintosh county and is a man
of prominence in the community, exerting a beneficial influence in public affairs.
.1. H. ^lEVERS.
J. H. Meyers, cashier of the Logan County Bank of Cackle, was born in Russia, Sep-
tember 15, 187G, a son of .Jacob and Catherine (Hertz) Meyers, both of whom were natives
of Russia but of German parentage. In 1889 they crossed the Atlantic to the United States,
establishing their home at Tyndall, South Dakota, where the father engaged in farming
upon rented land. In 1900 he removed to North Dakota and filed on a homestead in Stuts-
man county. He was not long permitted to enjoy his new home, however, for his death
occurred the same year. His widow afterward became the wife of John Pfau and they now
make their home at Upham, North Dakota.
J. H. Meyers was a youth of thirteen years when he accompanied his parents on the
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 589
long voyage across the Atlantic to the new world and upon the homestead farm in South
Dakota, amid the conditions and environment of pioneer life, he was reared, remaining there
until he reached the age of twenty-four years, when he started out in business life inde-
pendently. He spent a year on the range as a cowboy and sheep herder and later secured
a situation as clerk in the general store of A. A. Clothier & Son of Windsor, North Dakota,
with whom he remained for about four years. In the fall of 1905 he became identified with
the grain trade as a buj-er for the Powers Elevator Company for their Gackle station. He
represented that business for two years, when he formed a partnership with A. F. Lehr
and C. and JI. Hieb. The}' built an independent elevator, which they operated under the
name of tlie North Dakota Elevator Company, with Jlr. Meyers as manager. That business
was continued until .January, 1913, when the elevator was sold, but in 1914 Jlr. Meyers and
Mr. Lehr repurchased it and now own and operate the elevator, conducting a profitable grain
business. In 1907 Mr. Meyers further extended his efforts along business lines by becoming
a stockholder in the Logan County Bank and on the 1st of January, 1913, he entered the
bank as its vice president, while in 1914 he succeeded the outgoing cashier and has since
acted in that important position.
On the 3d of September, 1907, Mr. Meyers was married to Miss Gertie Hieb. He is a
democrat in his political views and is the present town clerk of Gackle. He has also served
as a member of the school board for the past six years and is interested in all plans and
measures for the benefit and welfare of town, county and state. Public opinion classes him
as one of the prominent bankers and leading business men of Logan county.
EDGAR L. PEXN.
Edgar L. Penn. editor and proprietor of the Sherwood Tribune, published at Sherwood,
Renville county, was born in Camden, Carroll county, Indiana, November 23, 1873, his parents
being Silas I. and Mary (O'Leary) Penn. The father is a native of Carroll county, Indiana,
and of English ancestry, while the mother, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, was of
Irish lineage. They were married in his native county, where the mother, who in early
childhood was left an orphan, was reared. Mr. Penn is still an active business man of
Carroll county, where he ranks with the well-to-do and prominent farmers. In 1892 he lost
his first wife, who died leaving five children, three sons and two daughters, since which time
he has wedded Miss Mary Often, by whom he has three children.
Edgar L. Penn was educated in the common and high schools of Camden, Indiana, in
the Central Normal College at Danville, that state, and at the Normal University at Marion,
Indiana, which institution conferred upon him the Bachelor of Science degree at his gradua-
tion with the class of 1900. He took up educational work, to which he devoted his energies
for ten years, teaching from 1894 until 1905, at first in the district schools and subsequently
in high schools. He proved an able instructor, imparting clearly and readily to others the
knowledge that he had acquired. In 1903 he came to North Dakota to accept the position of
principal of the schools of Leal, Barnes county, which position he occupied in 1903-04. He
then became principal of the Souris schools in 1904-05 and in the fall of the latter year was
appointed deputy collector and inspector of customs. He was then sent to Sherwood, where
he has since made his home, and in 1907 he purchased the Sherwood .Journal, while in Decem-
ber of the same year he bought out the Sherwood Tribune, consolidating the two papers under
the latter name. In 1908 he resigned his position as revenue collector in order to give his
undivided attention to newspaper work and in the intervening period of eight years he has
built up one of the leading weekly publications in Renville county. It has a large circulation,
which renders it an excellent advertising medium and its patronage in that connection ia
now gratifying.
In 1913 Mr. Penn was married to Miss Loretta E. O'Leary, of Alameda, Saskatchewan.
Canada. He has a homestead in Montana where the family maintain their residence. Mr.
Penn holds membership in the ilethodist Episcopal church, of which he is a trustee, while
his wife is a communicant of the Catholic faith. He also belongs to Sherwood Lodge, No.
95, I. 0. 0. F., and passed through all the chairs up to noble grand, and is a member of the
590 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Modern Woodmen of America. His political endorsement is given to tlie republican iiarty
and he served as proofreader in the state senate in the session of 11)15. His position is never
an equivocal one. He stands lirmly in support of every principle in which he believes and his
inlluence and aid arc always given on the side of progress and iniprovcnienl.
FOREST B. DILLE.
Forest B. Dille, cashier of the Farmers & Merchants State Bank of Jlonango, was' born
in Mina, Dakota territory, now South Dakota, September 29, 1884, a son of Wade B. and
Lois (Moore) Dille, the former a native of Necedah, Wisconsin, and the latter of Ontario,
Canada. They were married in Aberdeen. South Dakota, tlie lather having arrived in the
territory in 1882, at which time he was made station agent at Mina. In 1886 he removed to
Monango, becoming the first station agent at that point for the Jlilwaukee Railroad Com-
pany. He continued to act as station agent there for eighteen years, at the end of which
time he resigned his position to engage in the lumber business, which he carried on until 1909,
when he removed to Washington, establishing his home in Mount Hope, where he now resides.
His wife passed away in Monango in 1902.
Reared in the town in which he still resides, Forest B. Dille there acquired a public
school education and afterward attended the North Dakota State Xornuil and Industrial
School at Ellendale, from which institution he was giaduated with the class of 1903. On
the completion of his studies he went west to Spokane, Washington, and entered the employ
of the Great Northern Railroad Company, with whicli corporation he was identified for four
jyears in the capacity of assistant cashier in the freiglit oHice. In 1908 ho returned to
Monango and worked in his father's lumber office until the spring of 1909, when the business
was sold and at that time Mr. Dille was offered and accepted the position of assistant cashier
of the Farmers & Merchants State Bank. Two years later he was made vice president of
the bank and in 1913 Mr. Dille purchased the stock of the cashier of the bank and succeeded
to that position, in which important capacity he has since served, largely controlling the
policy of the institution, his plans being based upon the careful safeguarding of the interests
of depositors as well as U])on the development of the business of the bank. lie has also
extended liis connection with banking into other districts, for he became one of the organizers
of the Farmers State Bank of Forbes and is a member of its board of directors. For some
years he dealt quite extensively in farm lands but at the present writing retains only four
hundred and eighty acres in Dickey county and eighty acres in Minnesota.
In 1913 Ml-. Dille wedded Miss Ruby Fox, of Alonango, who was born in Payncsville,
Minnesota, and they have one son, Gordon W. Jfr. Dille is a member of the Knights of the
Maccabees and his political support is given to the republican party. He is the present
treasurer of the school board of Jlonango but has never been an ollice seeker, feeling that his
business affairs make ample demand upon his time and energies and that success will more
assuredly be his if he concentrates his efforts upon those interests which he has undertaken
as a means of livelihood.
FIXLAY .mux ( IlRlSTIi:. M. D.
Dr. Finlay .lohn Christie, engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery at Burlington,
was born in Glengarry county, Ontario, June 21, 1876, a son of Hugh S. and Anna (Mcintosh)
Christie, who were also natives of that county, where the father followed farming and still
continues to reside, although he is now retired from active business. His wife passed away
in 1910.
One can imagine that Dr. Christie's boyhood was a lively one as he was the second in a
family of six sons. He attended the public schools of Jfartintown and the high school at Corn-
wall, Ontario, and then, in preparation for a ])rofessional career, entered the McGill Medical
College at Jlontrcal, from which he was graduated with the class of 1902. His student days,
DR. FINLAY JOHN CKRISTIE
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 593
however, were not continuous as he had left home at the age of eighteen years to engage
in the profession of teaching, wliich work claimed his attention for four years before he
entered upon his four years' course at McGill. Following his graduation he came to North
Dakota in July, 1903, and entered upon the practice of medicine at Minnewaukon, where he
remained for four years. He afterward practiced for about three and a half years in Butte,
Montana, and then opened an office in Burlington; where he has since remained, devoting his
attention to general medical practice. He is very careful in diagnosing his cases and con-
scientious in the performance of his professional duties and the close attention which he pays
to his practice has also been one of the salient features in his gi'owing success. He is like-
wise president of the Burlington Farmers Telephone Company.
Dr. Christie was married on the 28th of June, 1905, to Miss Florence Boss, also a native
■of Glengarry county, Ontario, as were her parents, Daniel and Mary Jane (Urquhart) Ross.
Her father, w'ho devoted his life to farming, died in 1909 and the mother is still occupying
the old homestead. Dr. and jNIis. Christie have two children: Hugh Donald, born July 17,
1912; and Marguerite, born January 25, 1914.
Dr. Christie has membership in Evergi'een Lodge, No. 48, A. F. & A. M., at Minnewaukon,
North Dakota, in which he filled all of the offices save that of master. He belongs to the
Knights of Pythias Lodge No. 237, of which he is a past chancellor, and he has membership
with the Yeomen. His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church and his political
belief that of the republican party. He has served on the township board in Burlington and
also as a member of the board of education. Along strictly professional lines he has connec-
tion with the Northwestern District Medical Society and the North Dakota State Medical
Association and his interest in his profession is manifest in his continuous study, which
keeps him well prepared to meet the onerous and responsible duties that are always con-
fronting the physician.
H. 0. BATZER.
H. 0. Batzer, cashier of the Bank of Hazelton at Hazelton, Emmons county, was born in
Royalton, Minnesota, November 1, 1882, a son of Rudolph J. and Susan W. (Winch) Batzer,
natives of Germany and of Canada respectively. The father, who was graduated on the
completion of a course in civil engineering in Germany, came to America in young manhood
and later had charge of construction work on railroads which were being built in Pennsyl-
vania. He was thus engaged for some years and during that period lost his voice. About
1881 he removed westward to Minnesota, settling on a farm, on which he reared his family.
While he terms himself a farmer he has also done much local work in civil engineering, hav-
ing marked ability in that line. He now makes his home in Royalton, Minnesota.
H. 0. Batzer completed his education in the high school of Royalton and at twenty years
of age began his training in the banking business, entering the First National Bank of Roy-
alton in the capacity of bookkeeper. He was subsequently made assistant cashier of that
institution and remained with the bank until May, 1906, when he came to Hazelton and in
company with George H. Niles and A. H. Turriton, now bank superintendent of Minnesota,
bought the Bank of Hazelton, of which he became cashier, since acting in that capacity. This
bank was established in the spring of 1903 by C. B. Little, Joseph Hare, S. M. Pye and
others but was a small concern, occupying a little corner in the Matthews &. McCrory store.
Its capital stock was but five thousand dollars and a bank statement issued November 17,
1903, showed its deposits to be nine thousand, one hundred and ninety-eight dollars. The
comparison of this with the last statement of the bank, issued September 12, 1916, shows
the steady and substantial growth of the institution, which is now capitalized for ten thou-
sand dollars, has a surplus of equal amount, deposits of two hundred and twenty-eight
thousand dollars and loans and discounts amounting to one hundred and sixteen thousand
dollars. In 1903 the bank began the erection of a building and a year or two later the
business was sold to Matthews & Healy, who in turn sold out to H. 0. Batzer and George
Niles. In 1907 the personnel of the bank again changed, when S. E. Kurtz and
H. W. Batzer purchased the interests of Mr. Niles, at which time Mr. Kurtz was
Vol. 11—3 2 ,
594 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
elected president. About the same time the bank purchased and moved into more
commodious quarters across the street. The present oflRcers are: S. E. Kurtz, presi-
dent; John McCrory, vice president; H. 0. Batzer, cashier, with H. W. Batzer and S. E.
Brindle also as stockhohlers. In every direction the business has grown steadily and they
have erected a new bank building which would be a credit to a city of much larger size.
This they have occupied since September 27, 1915. It is a structure twenty-five by sixty
feet built of dark colored rock faced brick and trimmed with white Bedford stone, erected
at a cost of ten thousand dollars. It is fireproof and modern in all its appointments. There
Is a tile floor with marble base boards and the fixtures and furniture are all of modern style.
There are three large vaults, one containing safety deposit boxes, and the lesser fittings of
the bank, such as steel filing cabinets, etc., are thoroughly modern. The management of
the bank is practically under the control of the cashier, who is alert and enterprising, pos-
sessing keen sagacity and business integrity which is above question. Under his direction the
deposits of the bank have increased from twenty-eight thousand to two hundred and twenty-
eight thousand dollars. The capital stock was increased to ten thousand dollars from the
earnings of the bank. He has become quite extensively interested in buying and selling farm
lands and now owns an entire section in Emmons county.
On the 24th of November, 1908, Mr. Batzer was united in marriage to Miss Mary Jane
McManus, of St. Cloud, Minnesota, and to them have been born two children, Herman O. and
John C. Mr. Batzer belongs to the Episcopal church, while his wife adheres to the Catholic
faith. In politics he is a repiiblican and while not an office seeker is much interested in the
welfare and progress of the community and cooperates heartily in plans and measures for the
general good. He is now serving as treasurer of the school board. His fraternal relations
connect him with Hazelton Lodge, No. 64, K. P.. with the Modern Woodmen camp and the
Brotherhood of American Yeomen. Hazelton acknowledges its indebtedness to his progres-
sive spirit and his life record indicates what may be accomplished when ambition points out
the way and energy and determination characterize one's course.
KOY C. ADAMS.
Roy C. Adams, cashier of the First State Bank of !Manfred, Wells county, belongs to
that enterprising class of young men who are rapidly developing and building up the north-
west. He was born in Minnesota in 1883, a son of E. M. and Sara Adams. The father, who
became a pioneer resident of Minnesota, engaged in general farming in support of his family
throughout his entire life. Both he and his wife were for many years residents of Minnesota
and there reared their family of four children, two of whom are now living. Both the father
and mother have passed away.
Roy C. Adams, the youngest of their children, was educated in th<> public schools of
Minnesota and Iowa and his youthful experiences were (hose of the farm bred boy, for at an
early age he began to assist in the work of the fields and largely devoted the siimmer months
to such tasks until after he had attained his majority. In 1905, when twenty-two years
of age, he came to North Dakota and making his way to Fessenden, Wells county, he secured
employment in the State Bank, with which he was connected for a period of about three
years although he spent a short time in other work. In October, 1907, he removed to Manfred
and became cashier of the First State Bank, which had been organized by T. L. Beiseker, C.
A. Beiseker and E. F. Volkman in 1002. Mr. Adams centers his entire interest in the bank
and it is successfully managed and conducted. He has been continuously connected with the
banking business since 1905 and is thoroughly acquainted with every phase of the work,
while Manfred's citizens and other patrons of the bank find him ever a courteous and oblig-
ing official.
In 1907 Mr. Adams was united in marriage to ACss Ella .T. Anderson, a native of Decorah,
Iowa, and a daughter of Jacob and Ellen Anderson, who were early residents of that state.
The father has now passed away but the mother is still living in Decorah. Mr. and Mrs.
Adams have one child, Raymond, born in 1914.
In politics Mr. Adams is a republican but is not an aspirant for office although he keeps
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 595
well informed on the questions and issues of the day and is never remiss in the duties of
citizenship. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and is loyal to the teachings of the craft.
His fellow townsmen speak of him in terms of warm regard and he enjoys the confidence
and goodwill of his colleagues and contemporaries in business.
CX3NRAD A. AKDUSEE.
Conrad A. Arduser, cashier of the First State Bank at Adrian, is a native son of Lamoure
county, his birth having occurred February 5, 1S88, on the old homestead farm of his parents,
John C. and Margaret (Christ) Arduser, who were natives of Wisconsin but in 1886 arrived
in North Dakota and homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres in Saratoga township, Lamoure
county, on which they took up their abode. That was during the pioneer epoch in the history
of the county and they shared in the hardships and privations incident to pioneer life. They
still reside upon that farm and, having added to his holdings as his financial resources have
permitted, Mr. Arduser is now the owner of three sections of land, of which he has rented
nine hundred and sixty acres to tenants, while the remainder he operates, and upon his home
place he breeds and raises Red Polled cattle. His business affairs have been carefuUj- man-
aged and today he is one of the men of affluence in Lamoure countj'.
Conrad A. Arduser was educated in the public schools and the high school at Arcadia,
Wisconsin, supplemented by a commercial course in the Globe Business College at St. Paul,
Minnesota. When his studes in the latter institution were completed he retiurned to Lamoure
county and entered the Dickey State Bank, his service there giving him his initial training
and experience in the banking business. For three or four months he served in the capacity
of bookkeeper and was then made assistant cashier, in which connection he continued with
the institution for three years. In January, 1912, he removed to Adrian to accept the posi-
tion of cashier of the First State Bank and is yet occupying that office.
On the 21st of October, 1913, Mr. Arduser wedded Miss Amanda Larson, a daughter of
C. E. Larson, a prominent grain buyer of Dickey, and they have become the parents of one
child, Virginia. Mr. Arduser belongs to Dickey Lodge, No. 63, F. & A. M., and to Lincoln
Lodge, No. 57, I. 0. 0. F., of Dickey. In politics he is a republican and his religious faith
is indicated in his connection with the Evangelical church, while his wife is a member of the
Episcopal church. She is also identified with the Order of the Eastern Star and they are
both well known in Adrian, their hospitable home being ever open for the reception of their
many friends.
OSCAR A. OLSON.
Oscar A. Olson is well known in Max, McLean county, as he holds the responsible posi-
tion of cashier of the Citizens State Bank. He was born in Clinton, Minnesota, in 1885, and
is a son of Andrew and Martha (Anderson) Olson, natives respectively of Sweden and of
Norway. In 1S76 the father emigrated to the United States and took up a homestead in
Bigstone coimty. Subsequently he removed to Braham, Minnesota, where he now makes his
home. His wife also survives. Oscar A. is the oldest living of their eleven children, nine of
whom survive.
After completing the work offered in the public schools of Clinton, Minnesota, Oscar
A. Olson took a commercial course in the Metropolitan and Caton Business Colleges of Min-
neapolis and subsequently was for a year employed as a bookkeeper. At length he entered
the first National Bank of Braham, Minnesota, as assistant cashier, in which capacity he
served for three years. In 1907 he located at Max, North Dakota, and has since been cashier
of the Citizens State Bank of this place. The institution was established in 1906 by
August Peterson, of Harvey, North Dakota, and is capitalized for ten thousand dollars and
has a surplus of equal amount. For thirteen years Mr. Olson has been connected with bank-
ing and for nine years has filled the position which he now holds. The satisfactory condi-
596 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
tion of the linances of the Citizens State Bank is proof of his sound judgment and ability aa
it is he who directs the policy of the institution. He is a stockholder in the local elevator
and likewise owns land in McLean and Ward counties, his holdings totaling nine hundred
and sixty acres, from the rental of which he derives a gratifying income.
On the 7th of January, 1913, occurred the marriage of Mr. Olson ami Miss Juinna
Stege, wlio was born in Nicollet, Jlinnosota, and is a daughter of Herman and Jlaiie iStcge,
old residents of that st-ate. Two children have been born to ilr. and ilrs. Olson, namely,
Evelyn Mae and Margaret Marie.
Mr. Olson supports the republican part\- but is not an ollice seeker, conliniiig his politi-
cal activity to the exercise of his right of franchise. He has, however, served as school treas-
urer and has always maintained a keen interest in all matters pertaining to the schools
of his town. Fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen at Max, (he Odd Fel-
lows at Rj-der, Korth Dakota, and the Masons, belonging to the blue lodge at Garrison, the
chapter and commandery at Jlinot and Kem Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Orand Forks.
The high standards which have governed his life are further indicated by the fact that he
belongs to the Norwegian Lutheran church at Max and he is now an ollieer of that church.
He is identified with all plans for the furthering of not onlj' the material and civic liut also
the moral interests of his community.
JUDGE JACOB DOERR.
Jacob Doerr, judge of the probate court of Mcintosh count}- and one of the honored citi-
zens of Ashley, was born in Russia on the 23d of December, 1ST6, a son of Gottlieb and
Christina (Becker) Doerr. After spending the first eight years of his life in his native land
he was brought to the new world in 1884 and the family located in Tripp, South Dakota.
Four years later they became residents of ^Mcintosh county. North Dakota, where the father
filed on a homestead, residing thereon for about twenty years, but he is now livinr; in Lehr,
this state.
Judge Doerr was about twelve years of age when he became a resident of -Mcintosh
county. During his boyhood he attended the district schools, where he acquired a good practi-
cal education, and when not in school aided in the operation of the home farm. He thus
early became familiar with agricultural pursuits and on starting out in life for himself at
the age of twenty-two years began farming on his own account. For some years he con-
tinued to follow that occupation witli excellent results and is today the owner of five hun-
dred and twenty acres of land in Mcintosh county, which lie has brought to a high state of
cultivation. In 1912 he laid aside agricultural pursuits when elected judge of the probate
court and has since devoted his attention to the iluties of that ollice. His rulings are fair
and impartial and he is creditably filling the position to which he has been called.
.Judge Doerr was married in 189S to Jliss Christina George, of Mcintosh county, and to
them have been born seven children, namely: August, Edward, Albert, John, Henry, Walter
and William. The family hold membership in the ]!a]ilist church, and in politics the Judge
is an ardent republican, taking a coninii'ndable intcri'st in public affairs.
J. 0. GLENN.
J. 0. Glenn, a general merchant and hading business man of Merricourt, wa.n born in
Mount Vernon, Iowa. March 12, 1802, a son of .lames A. and Mary (Morford) Glenn, the lat-
ter also a native of Mount Vernon, while the former was born in Wellsville, Ohio. They were
married in her native city, to which place the father had removed in early manhood. He
became one of the pioneer residents of Mount Vernon, where he engaged in teaching music.
In 1877 he removed to Courtland, Kansas, where he turned his attention to farming and
where he has since made his home, covering a period of almost forty years. Tlumigliout the
entire time his attention has been given to general agricultural pursuits.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 597
J. 0. Glenn was reared under the parental roof and acquired a common school educa-
tion. On attaining his majority in 1883 he removed from Kansas to North Daicota, casting
in his lot with the pioneer settlers of Dickey county. On his arrival here on tlie 11th of
March, 1883, he preempted a quarter section of land and took up another quarter section as
a tree claim and both of these tracts he still owns. He at once began their development
and improvement according to the requirements of the law and his labors in due time brought
him his title to the property. In 1888 he removed to Lisbon, where he was employed as
cream buyer by the La Moure Cieamery Company, which he represented for a year. On the
expiration of that period he went to St. Paul, Minnesota, and for three years was general
agent for a bond company. Later he returned to Dickey county and for three or four years
was extensively engaged in farming a thousand acres of land owned by himself and his
mother-in-law. He then began trading and dealing in horses on a large scale and he also
purchased and operated a grain elevator in Merricourt. In 1906 he went to Chicago and
during the succeeding three years was a member of the Chicago Board of Trade but in 1909
returned to Dickey county and purchased his present mercantile business at Merricourt, giv-
ing to it his undivided attention since that time. He has a well appointed store which he
is successfully conducting and his trade is steadily growing with the development of the
county and as the result of his enterprising and thoroughly reliable business methods. He
still owns his original three hundred and twenty acres of land in Dickey county.
In 1896 Mr. Glenn was married to Miss Florence Lord of that county and they became
parents of two children, Donald and Edna. In 1913 Mrs. Glenn passed away and on the 13th
of March, 1914, Mr. Glenn married Miss Maud McMann, of Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, by
whom he has one child, Thomas Oliver.
Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. Glenn has voted with the republi-
can party, stanchly upholding its principles. He belongs to EUendale Lodge, No. 13, P. &
A. M., and makes his life an exemplification of the basic principles of the craft, which rests
upon a recognition of the brotherhood of man. North Dakota gained a valuable citizen when
in his early manhood he cast his fortune in with that of the state, and in the intervening
period he has contributed in no unsubstantial measure to the work of public progress here.
GUDMUNDUE P. SEVERTSON.
Laudable ambition has characterized Gudmundur P. Severtson at every point in his career
and through the steps of an orderly progression he has reached the position of cashier of
the First State Bank at Velva, McHcnry county. He was born in Ketlavik, Iceland, August
23, 1859, a son of Hans Anton and Carolina Severtson, who were also natives of that coun-
try. The ancestral line can be traced back to the year 878, the family being descended from
Iving Fairhead, of Iceland. The genealogical line is given in a history prepared by Hans A.
Severtson, a man of liberal education, who largely pursued his studies in Copenhagen, Den-
mark. He became a merchant of Reykjavik, Iceland, and later was F'rench consul in Iceland,
remaining for many years in the service of tlie French government in Iceland. Both he
and his wife passed away in that country.
G. P. Severtson obtained his education in the city of Reykjavik, Iceland, and in Copen-
hagen, Denmark, and in the latter city entered mercantile life. In 1883 he came to America,
settling first at Laporte, Minnesota, where he made his initial step in connection with bank-
ing as an employe of the Bank of Laporte. There he continued until 1891, when he removed
to Kenyon, Minnesota, where he was assistant cashier of the Bank of Kenyon until 1896.
Through the succeeding six years he was a bank cashier at Hanska, Minnesota, and in 1903
removed to Velva to accept the cashiership of the First State Bank, in which position he
still continues. He is a courteous and obliging official and his activities have contributed
to the success of the institution which he represents.
Mr. Severtson was united in marriage to Miss Emaline Hamre, of Kenyon, Minnesota,
a native of that state, and they have become the parents of three children, Ruth, Elma and
Leona, all born in Kenyon, Minnesota. Mr. Severtson gives his political allegiance to the
republican party and fraternally is connected with the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Wood-
598 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
men of America and the Ancient Order of United Workmen at Velva. A resident of this
town for fourteen years, he has become widely and favorably known in ilcHenry county,
his many substantial qualities gaining for him high regard.
DE WITT BAEE, M. D.
A well known representative of the medical profession in the southeastern part of the
state is Dr. De Witt Baer, who is now enjoying a remunerative practice in Braddock, where
he has been located for three years, after having previously spent several years in Steele,
this state. He was born in Davis county, ]ow-a, December 19, 1882, a son of Ross and Alice
(Womni) Baer, who were also natives of Davis county, their respective families having
located there in pioneer times upon removal to the middle west from Virginia. The father
died when the Doctor was only a year old and he was a lad of but seven years when his
mother passed away, so that he was reared to manhood by his uncle, Hon. T. H. Smith, a
prominent lawyer of Harlan, Iowa, and a member of the state senate. He was educated
in the public schools of Harlan and then, determining upon the practice of medicine as a
life work, he became a student in the Iowa State University, at Iowa City, where he was
graduated on completing the work of the curriculum of the medical department as a member
of the class of 1908, winning his professional degree.
The following fall Dr. Baer opened an ofEce in Steele, North Dakota, where he remained
in successful practice until 1913, when he removed to Braddock, and in the intervening
period of three years he has built up a business of gratifying proportions, his practice being
now large and of an important character. He is a close and discriminating student and
broad reading and investigation keeps him informed concerning the latest scientific discov-
eries and researches which tend to throw light on the complex mystery which we call life.
In 1913 Dr. Baer was united in marriage to Miss Minnie Swoverland, of Hersey,
Wisconsin, and they have one child, Robert. They occupy an attractive home in Braddock
and in addition Dr. Baer owns three hundred and twenty acres of land in Burleigh county,
six miles north of the town. His political endorsement is given to the republican party and
he is serving as the present county health officer and is also clerk of the school board.
Fraternally he is connected with Chancellor Walworth Lodge, No. 103, F. & A. M., of Steele
and Castle Lodge, No. 3, K. P., of Steele, and both he and his wife are members of the
Methodist Episcopal church, their many estimable traits of character winning for them high
regard.
JACOB FISCHER.
Jacob Fischer was one of the early settlers of Emmons county and for eleven years a
member of its board of county commissioners. In fact he ]ilayed a conspicuous part in the
early history of the county in relation to its development and jipbuiUling and he assisted
most of the settlers in obtaining their homesteads upon their arrival there. He is now
living retired in Strasburg, enjoying a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves. Rus-
sia claims him as a native son, his birth having occurred in that land on the 16th of Sep-
tember, 1852, his parents being Frank K. and 'Margaret (Kraft) Fischer, both of whom were
natives of Russia, while their parents were of German birth. In 1884 they sailed for the
United States, landing at New York on the 2d of November, and the following winter
■was spent in Yankton, South Dakota, but in the spring Frank K. Fischer, three of his sons,
including .Ineob, and a son-in-law each took up a preemption of one hundred and sixty acres
in Foulk county, South Dakota. In the fall of ISSG, however, .lacnb I'ischer left the pre-
emption on which he had proved up and removed to Emmons county, North Dakota, while
his father, brothers and brother-in-law followed him in the succeeding spring.
Upon his arrival in Emmons county Jacob Fischer filed on a tree claim and a homestead
thirteen miles east of Strasburg and occupied the homestead for twenty-two year.s. convert-
ing a tract of wild and undeveloped land into a highly cultivated and well improved farm,
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA * 599
his agricultural interests being carefully, sj'stematically and successfully conducted. On
the expiration of that period he removed to Strasburg in 1908 and has since lived retired,
enjoying well earned rest after long years devoted to arduous business. He is a stock-
holder in the Strasburg Lumber Company and has other investments which return to him
a substantial and gratifying income.
Mr. Fischer was married in Russia, in 1872, to Miss Helena Kipplinger and to them
was born a son, Matthias J., a leading business man of Strasburg who is a director of the
Security State Bank and a stockholder in the German State Bank. Both Mr. and Mrs.
Jacob Fischer are members of the Catholic church and his political allegiance has been
given to the democratic party since he became a naturalized American citizen. In 1897 he
was elected a member of the board of county commissioners and served continuously for
eleven years, being once appointed and twice elected to the office. At the close of his last
term he was importuned to again become a candidate but refused the nomination, feeling
that he had given adequate service to the county. He is never remiss in the duties of citi-
zenship and helpfully supports all plans and measures which he believes will prove beneficial
to his section of the state.
LUDVIG H. STEEN.
Ludvig H. Steen, county commissioner of Lamoure county and proprietor of the Eidsvold
Farm on section 22, Norden township, was born at Eidsvoldverk, Norway, on the 2d of
February, 1875, a son of Christian Hanson and Petra (Larson) Steen, who came to the
United States in 1880, establishing their home at Battle Lake, Minnesota, where they
remained for eleven years. In 1891 they came to North Dakota, settling in Logan county,
where the father secured a homestead claim on which he lived until 1904, in the meantime
converting the wild prairie tract into a highly productive farm. He then retired from active
business and removed to Kulm, where he now resides but still retains the ownership of the
old homestead, although he sold one hundred and sixty acres of his land on his removal
to town.
Ludvig H. Steen was educated in the district schools of Minnesota and remained at home
assisting his father until 1900, when he started out to farm independently. In 1899 he had
purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land in Logan county and upon that tract
be took up his abode, concentrating his efforts upon its further development and improve-
ment. In 1902 he purchased another three hundred and twenty acres a half mile from his
first farm and personally engaged in the cultivation of the entire tract. For the first half
section he paid fourteen hundred dollars and for the second three hundred and twenty acres
he paid ten dollars per acre. All this land he subsequently sold for forty dollars per acre,
thus realizing a handsome return on his investment. The sale of his property placed him
in easy financial circumstances and in 1903 he purchased five hundred and sixty acres of
land in Lamoure county, a mile from Kulm. Upon this place he has erected new buildings
and made it one of the best improved farm properties of the county. He breeds and raises
thoroughbred Percheron horses, making this a leading feature of his business.
On the 30th of June, 1904, Mr. Steen was married to Miss Laura C. Larson, a native
of Eidsvoldverk, Norway, who came to the United States with her parents in 1S89, the family
home being established in Lamoure county. Her father homesteaded the quarter section of
land upon which Ludvig H. Steen now resides and he was one of the well known and valued
pioneer settlers of the district. To Mr. and Mrs. Steen has been born a daughter, Dena A.
Politically Mr. Steen is a democrat and is the only representative of his party in Lamoure
county who occupies a county office. For several years he filled minor positions, such as
township clerk, township supervisor and school treasurer, and in 1912 he was elected
to the board of county commissioners, in which capacity he has since served, making a most
creditable record in office, for he brings to bear in the discharge of his official duties the
same sound judgment and spirit of enterprise which characterizes his management of his
private business affairs. He is a member of the Brotherhood of American Yeomen and he
and his wife belong to the Norwegian Lutheran church, in which he is serving as treasurer.
600 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
while in the work of the churcli they take active and helpful interest. Jlr. Stcen has won a
large measure of success, attributable entirely to his own ellorts, thus gaining the proud
American title of self-made man. His is a valuable farm property, which he named in honor
of his birthplace Eidsvold Farm.
LOUIS E. JOHNSON.
Louis E. Johnson is a vcrj' progressive citizen of Lamoure county, his home being one of
the excellent farms of Grand Rapids township, situated on section 8. He readily recognizes
and utilizes opportunities and in his vocabulary there is no such word as fail. Jlichigan.
claims him as a native son, his birth having occurred in Muskegon, September 15, 1884, his
parents being Erick and JIary (.Jacobson) Johnson, both of whom were natives of Sweden
and came to the new world in young manhood and womanhood. Tliej- settled at Wien, Mis-
souri, where they were subsequently married, and soon afterward they removed to Cliieago,.
where they lived for a number of years. Later they became residents of Muskegon, Michigan,,
and in 1885 established their home in Minneapolis, whence in 1S95 they came to North.
Dakota, locating in Lamoure county, Mr. Johnson trading his Minneapolis property for his.
home farm, comprising seven hundred and twenty acres of rich and arable land. Thereon
he resided up to the time of his demise, which occurred September 8, 1909. His widow still
survives and resides on the old home place.
Louis E. Johnson spent his boyhood and youth lander the parental roof and largely
acquired his education in the graded schools of Minneapolis and the district scliools of
Lamoure county. In the spring preceding his father's death he rented the home place and.
began farming on his own account and has since had charge of the development and cultiva-
tion of the place. He also rents three hundred and twenty acres adjoining and is operating
the entire tract. He devotes some attention to the raising of shorthorn cattle but the greater
part of his time is given to the cultivation of (he soil in the production of such grains as are
best adapted to climatic conditions here.
Mr. Johnson is a member of La Moure Lodge, No. 20, I. 0. 0. F., and of the Brotherhood
of American Yeomen and has many friends in those organizations but is best known as one-
of the progressive citizens and successful farmers of Lamoure county.
C. J. MAERCKLEIN, M. D.
Dr. C. J. Maereklein, a prominent and successful physician and surgeon of Gackle, North;
Dakota, was born in Newburg, Wisconsin, June 30, 1876. His parents, Cliarles and Alvina
(Thrun) Maereklein, were both natives of Pomerania, Germany, and came to the United
States with their respective parents, locating in Wisconsin, where they were reared and mar-
ried. They made their home on a farm in that state and the father continued to engage in
agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred in 1903. The mother is still living and
now makes her home with a daughter in Rhame, North Dakota.
During his boyhood and yovith Dr. Maereklein pursued his studies in the public schools
of his native state and attended the high school of West Bend, Wisconsin. He then entered
the ^Milwaukee Medical College, which he attended for one J'ear, and was next a student at
the Wisconsin College of Physicians and Surgeons, now the medical department of Marquette
University, from which he was graduated in the class of 1903, on the 30th of April. His
father had died about six weeks prior to this, on the 13th of March. 1902. and after his gi-adua-.
tion he was compelled to return home and take charge of the farm of two hundred acres,,
which he operated the following summer. During that time it was sold and in December,
1902, the Doctor began the practice of his profession with Dr. A. E. Henslin, of Le Roy,
Minnesota. He passed the medical examination before the Minnesota state board in April,
1903, and immediately opened an office in Le Roy, where he practiced independently for three
years. In casting about for a more suitable location, he came to North Dakota, in the-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 601
fall of 1006, and located in \Vj ndmore, where he remained until the spring of 1909. At that
time he purchased a half interest in the practice of Dr. N. J. Shields at Lidgerwood and was
associated with him until the fall of 1911, when he sold out to his partner and removed to
Jud. He practiced there until December, 1914, when he took up his residence in Gackle and
has since built up a large aud remunerative practice, which is steadily increasing. His ability
in his profession is widely recognized and he has met with good success in his chosen calling.
On the 24th of May, 1904, Dr. Maercklein was united in marriage to Miss Martha M.
Every, of Le Roy, Minnesota, and to them have been born four children, those now living
being Olive A., Charles E. and Eichard C. Mrs. Maercklein is a member of the Presbyterian
church and is a most estimable lady.
In politics the Doctor is a democrat and he is now acceptablj^ serving as justice of the
peace and as a member of the school board of Gackle. He holds membership in Harmony
Lodge, No. 53, A. F. & A. M., of Lidgerwood; Unity Chapter, No. 16, R. A. M.; Wihaha
Commandery, No. 4, K. T., of Jamestown; and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. In
the line of his profession he is also connected with the Southern District Medical Society
of North Dakota; the North Dakota State Medical Society; and the American Medical Asso-
ciation. He is one of the foremost practitioners in the southern district and is a man highly
honored and esteemed wherever known.
FRANZ TEMPEL.
Franz Tempel, for a number of years proprietor of the Temvik lumberyard at Temvik,
Emmons county, was born in Austria on the 3d of April, 1865, a son of Philipp and
Katharina (Schmidt) Tempel, who removed to Russia during the infancy of their son Franz.
The father died in that country and the mother afterward became the wife of Ludwig
Schwind. In 1S89 they removed with the family to the United States, settling in Marion,
Turner county. South Dakota.
Franz Tempel was reared to manhood in Russia, obtaining his education in the common
schools there, and in 1887 he married Miss Is^atharina Schatz. Two years afterward they
came with his mother and stepfather to the new world and also established their home in
Marion, Turner county. South Dakota. During the first summer Mr. Tempel worked as a
section hand on a railroad and the following winter was employed as second man in the
yard of the St. Croix Lumber Company at Marion, South Dakota. He closely applied
himself to his work, thoroughly mastered the business and after four years was made
manager of the yard, which in 1898 was sold to the J. H. Queel Lumber Company, with
whom Mr. Tempel continued as manager for ten years, his position being one of large
responsibility. In 1908, in connection with his brother, Balthaser Tempel, he removed to
Emmons county and purchased the town site of Temvik, then known as Brofy. At tliat
time Larvick Brothers, merchants of the town, had secured a postoffice under the name of
Larvick. Mr. Tempel and his brother contended for the name of Templeton and after a
three years' fight a compromise was made by joining the first syllable of one name to the
second syllable of the other and so the name of Temvik came into existence. The Tempel
brothers arrived on the 19th of March, 1908, but had previously shipped lumber, which was
on tlie track on their arrival, so that they immcdiatoly opened a lumberyard and from that
point forward they have steadily contributed to the upbuilding, development and progress
of the town. Their second enterprise was the building of a hotel and the place gradually
took on the appearance of a town. In August, 1909, they erected a bank building and
established the Templeton State Bank at Temvik. In 1911 they divided their banking
and lumber interests, Franz Tempel taking over the lumberyard, while his brother assumed
control of the bank. Their real estate interests are still held in common, however, under
the firm style of Tempel Brothers and include eight hundred acres of farm lands and the
town site. Franz Tempel also owns independently seven hundred and sixty-seven acres of
farm land, of which four hundred and twenty-seven acres lies across the boundary line in
Campbell county. South Dakota. The brothers still operate extensively in real estate and
602 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
their business activity along that line lias contributed niuuli to tlic settlonn'rit and develop-
ment of their section of the state. On the 1st of August, 1910, Franz Tenipel sold the
lumberyard to the Thomson Yards, Inc., and after settling his business affairs he and his
wife went to California, where they intend to spend the winter of 191G17. lie expects to
continue active in the real estate lield, however, and to establish a lumber business at some
point in the west in partnership with his son Keinhold.
To Mr. and Mi's. Tcmpel have been born eight children, seven of whom are living:
Reinhold, who is homesteading in Idaho; Philipp, the proprietor of a garage in Temvik;
Edward, who is assistant cashier of the Farmers State Bank of Hazelton; Johannes, who is
pursuing a musical education in the Valparaiso (Ind.) University; and Ernest, Elma and
Otto H., all at home. The parents are giving their children the advantages of higher
education and thus qualifying them for life's responsibilities and duties.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Tempel are members of the German Reformed cliurch and he gives
his political allegiance to the republican party. He is now township treasurer and for si.^
years served as a member of the school board at Marion, South Dakota, while since 1911
he has been notary public. Recognition of opportunity has led to his well directed efforts in
town building and he has made valuable contribution to the development and progress of
Emmons county. Opportunity has ever been to him a call to action and he never comes short
of the successful completion of any project which he undertakes.
EMIL T. SWANSON.
Emil T. Svvanson, cashier of the Chaseley State Bank at Cliaseley, Wells county, was
born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1883, on the present site of the J. I. Case implement
establishment, his parents being S. R. and Margaret L. (Eitl) Swanson. The father
settled in Minneapolis in the year 1881. He was a carpenter by trade and followed that
trade for a period of half a century. Both he and his wife are now living in Minneapolis
and are among the honored pioneer settlers of that state.
Emil T. Swanson was the third in order of birth in a family of six chihlicn, of whom
three passed away in infancy, while the others are yet living. Reared under the parental
roof, he obtained his education in the schools of Minneapolis and in the State University, in
which he spent two years devoted to the study of law. When his textbooks were put
aside he secured employment with the firm of E. S. Woodworth & Company, grain com-
mission merchants, with whom he continued for two years. Later he secured a position ^vith
Barnes Brothers, investment brokers of Minneapolis, whom he represented for seven years.
In 1903 he arrived in North Dakota and entered a government claim, wliich he at once
began to develop and improve, turning the first furrows and transforming the wild [irairie
tract into rich and productive fields. He continued to engage in farming tliere until 1912.
His place is located on section 14, township H5, range 72, Wells county, and he cultivated
altogether an entire section of land. While residing upon the homestead through the summer
months he worked during the winter seasons in different towns and at various kinds of
labor, at one time being employed as a common laborer for a period of two weeks at a wage
of a dollar a day in order to tide over a particularly hard winter. On the 15th of December,
1910, he accepted the position of cashier in the Cliaseley State Bank, which position he now
fills. This bank was organized in September, 1909, and he has been active in jiromoting its
policy and extending its business relations. In the spring of 1912 he bought a farm
adjoining the town, on which he built a thoroughly modern residence, which he now
occupies and which is supplied with all the comforts and some of the luxuries of life, in
addition to his other interests he was the organizer of the West Farmers Elevator Company
in August, 1916, and he was one of the organizers of the Chaseley Farmers Elevator Company,
which was organized in August, 1912. He is still interested in farm lands, his property
being rented, but he has upon his place full blooded cattle and other live stock. He readily
recognizes and improves opportunities that others pass heedlessly by and his keen business
insight, enterprise and diligence are factors in his constantly growing success. His home-
stead was located in a somewhat barren and rocky part of the county and his success in
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 603
transforming this into a valuable piece of property is a matter in which he may well feel
justifiable pride. The bank of which he is the cashier is capitalized for ten thousand
dollars and has a surplus of one thousand dollars and undivided profits of eleven hundred
dollars. The original bank building was destroyed by fire in 1914, so that they now
occupy temporary quarters.
In politics Mr. Swanson is a republican and while in Minneapolis he attended the
Congregational church. His activity has always been a potent force in fuithering any cause
in which he believes and he has cooperated in many elements of public good, while his
work has been a tangible force in bringing about present day progress and improvement.
OSCAK MATHISON.
Oscar Mathison, who has been a resident of Wiser township, Cass county, since pioneer
times, has gained a gratifying measure of success as a farmer. He was born in Norway
on the 3d of January, 1850, a son of Mathias and Anna S. (Peterson) Mathison, both of
whom died in that country.
In 1869, when nineteen years of age, Oscar Mathison, emigrated to the United States
and at once made his way to the middle west, settling in Lafayette county, Wisconsin. He
worked as a farm hand there and also attended school during the winter months, thus
perfecting his knowledge of the English language. He remained in Wisconsin for about nine
years but in 1878 came to what is now North Dakota and took up a homestead on section
14, Wiser township, Cass county, where he has since resided. During the intervening
thirty-eight years he has converted a wild tract of raw prairie into a highly cultivated and
well improved farm, and he receives a good profit from the sale of his grain and stock.
He owns two hundred and forty acres of land and is one of the substantial men of his
locality.
In May, 1878, Mr. Mathison was married to Miss Mary Swanson, who had arrived in
North Dakota but a short time before their marriage. They had one son, now engaged in
the machine business at Beach, North Dakota. Mrs. Mathison died December 16, 1884, and
in 1886 Mr. Mathison married Miss Slargaret Hanson. They are the parents of the following
children: Mary, at home; Louisa, the wife of Elvin Madson, who is operating our subject's
farm; Sophia, who is teaching school; Olga, the wife of Walter Fuller, of McKenzie county.
North Dakota; and Hilda and Olaf, both at home.
Mr. Mathison supports the republican party at the polls, and both he and his wife
belong to the Lutheran church, the advancement of whose work they promote in every way
possible. The sterling qualities which Mr. Mathison has manifested have gained him the
respect of all who have been associated with him, and he has won and retained the sincere
friendship of many.
HON. LAWRENCE N. TORSON.
Hon. Lawrence N. Torson, actively engaged in the practice of law at Rugby, was born
in Scandinavia, Wisconsin, July 16, 1859, his parents being ByrnjolfT and Maria (Nelson)
Torson, who were natives of Norway. On coming to America in 1844 the father settled in
Jefferson county, Wisconsin. He was a shoemaker and for a time followed his trade but
later bought land in Wisconsin and engaged in farming throughout his remaining days. His
death occurred in 1879, while his wife survived until January 13, 1903.
Lawrence N. Torson spent the days of his boyhood and youth in his native state, remain-
ing under the parental roof until he attained his majority. He afterward took up the
profession of teaching, which he followed in Wisconsin until 1885 and then removed to
Moorhead, Minnesota, where he began the study of law. The following year he was admitted
to the bar and in 1887 he located for practice at Mayville, North Dakota. In 1888 he went
to Towner, McHenry county, where he continued in law practice until 1896 and also filled the
604 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
ofBce of county superintendent of schools. Twenty years ago he located at Rugby, where he
has since practiced, and his ability has gained him a prominent ])osition at the Pierce county
bar, for he prepares his cases witli great thoroughness and care and presents his cause clearly
and forcibly, never failing to w'in the attention of court and jury and seldom failing to gain a
favorable verdict.
On the 12tli of February, 18S2, Mr. Torson was united in marriage to Miss Mary Jlyhren
and they have become the parents of five children: Maria, Thomas B., Joseph M. and Minnie
L., all yet living; and Benjamin, who died on the 7th of April, 1893.
The parents are members of the Lutheran church and Mr. Torson belongs also to the
Sons of Norway and to the Masonic fraternity. The cause of education has found in him a
stalwart champion and for ten years he did eflicient service along that line as a member of the
school board. He gives his political allegiance to the democratic party and is an active worker
in its ranks. He was state's attorney from 189G until 1900 and again from 1910 until 1914,
therefore occupying the position altogether for eight years. In 191-1 he was elected to
represent his district in ^he state legislature and it was he who introduced the bfll that
became known as the Torson bill, abolishing capital punishment in the state. His olBcial
record has at all times been characterized by marked loyalty to duty and a keen recognition
of the responsibilities and obligations of citizenship.
GRACE E. DUMONT.
Grace E. Dumont, who is filling the position of postmistress at Antler, was born in Salem,
South Dakota, March 6, 1S90, a daughter of Dexter and Ida (Howery) Dumont, the former
a native of New York and the latter of Wisconsin. The father devoted his life to the
occupation of farming and during the pioneer epoch in the development of South Dakota went
to that state, homesteading near Salem. For some time he gave his attention to the
development and improvement of a faim there and afterward removed to Howard, South
Dakota, where he operated a dray line until 1903. In that year he became a resident of
Bottineau county, where he purchased land one-half mile east of Antler. Witli character-
istic energy he developed and iniiuoved that farm, and he and his wife now reside on a farm
four miles southeast of Antler.
Grace E. Dumont acquired her education in the public schools of Howard, South Dakota,
and afterward took up the profession of teaching, whicli she followed for five years, most
of the time in Bottineau county. For two years she was a teacher in the public schools of
Antler. She then passed a civil service examination and was appointed postmistress, serving
for eiglit months, while on the 11th of February, 1914, she was reappointed jiostmistress
when that office was raised to the third class.
Miss Dumont is a believer in democratic principles. She holds membership with the
Rebekah lodge and her religious faith is indicated by her membership in the Presbyterian
church. She has gained many warm friends during her residence in Bottineau county, both tis
a teacher and as an office holder, and is popular with a large circle of acquaintances.
DAVID WILLIAM CLARK.
David William Clark, engaged in the insurance business at Valley Citj', comes from
New England, his birth having occurred in Bridgeport, Connecticut, May 9, 18.54. His
parents, D. W. and Louisa (Curtis) Clark, were also natives of the Charter Oak state, the
former born in Oxford and the latter in Bridgeport. They had a family of eleven children,
ten of whom are yet living and all of whom are married and have families, among whom an
occasional family reunion is held.
David W. Clark was the firstborn of these children and was a youth of thirteen years
when in 1867 the parents removed to Pennsylvania, going to the oil regions at Tidi<mte during
the oil excitement. The father owned wells there and like the great majority at times met
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 605
with defeat and again with success as he struck dry holes or gushers, but all in all he
prospered and continued in the oil business during his active life. As a young man he had
learned the machinist's trade and he invented a sewing machine, which he manufactured and
which was placed upon the market under the name of the Clark sewing machine. JIany were
sold in this country and the machine was also introduced in Europe and Canada, whereby he
accumulated some wealth previous to his operations in the oil fields. He died in 18S9 and his
wife passed away December 27, 1S99, at the age of si.xty-five years.
David W. Clark supplemented his public school course at Tidioute, Pennsylvania, by
study in Cornell University at Ithaca, New York, as a member of the class of 187C. He
afterward learned the printer's trade, at which he worked until 1877, when he engaged in
the insurance business. In 1879 he came to Dakota territory but soon afterward returned east
and did not take up his permanent abode here until 1881, when he again came to the
northwest and established an insurance agency in Valley City, covering a large district and
working up an extensive business. He represented the leading fire insurance companies of
the country and at the same time he engaged in real estate operations, while for six years
he published the Peoples Advocate. After selling that paper he continued in the insurance
and real estate fields, in which he had as a partner W. N. Campbell, their interests being
conducted under the firm style of Clark & Campbell.
Called to public office, Mr. Clark served as postmaster from 1886 until 1891. The firm
of Clark & Campbell continued in business from 1896 until 1905, when the partnership was
dissolved and on the 1st of May, 1906, Mr. Clark accepted the secretaryship and management
of the Xortli Dakota ilutual Fire Insurance Companj^ which had been established in 1903
and was carrying about one million dollars worth of insurance when he took charge. Under
his management tlie business has increased fourfold and has outdistanced all the other
mutual companies of the state. Success has attended the undertaking from the start. He is
today one of the foremost representatives of fire insurance in the state and in the management
of the interests of the company displays marked executive force and administrative ability.
In 1879 Mr. Clark wedded Miss Clara E. Porterfield, a native of Pennsylvania and a
daughter of R. A. Porterfield. Their children, five in number, are Louis P., Howard P.,
Marguerite, Elizabeth and William Jennings Bryan.
Mr. Clark has alwajs been deeply interested in community affairs and stands for every-
thing pertaining to substantial progress and permanent improvement in his city. He is now
serving for the third consecutive term as alderman, having been elected in 1912, 1914 and
1916, his term of oflSce to continue until 1918. He is a stanch advocate of democratic principles
and does everything in his power to further the welfare and upbuilding of the community.
The family possess notable musical skill and ability and they have a "home orchestra."
Mr. Clark organized the first brass band in Barnes county in 1881, known as the Valley City
Cornet Band, and conducted it for a number of years. He afterwards organized the First
Regiment Band of the National Guard in territorial da.ys. He has been interested in band
music from his boyhood and is now a member of the Valley City Band. He has also manifested
a deep interest in the stage and has taken an active part in private theatricals, his skill in
the histrionic art and in music adding much to many of the leading social afl'airs of the city.
FRED BERG.
Fred Berg, a well known and successful general merchant of McClusky. Sheridan comity,
was born in South Russia on the 16tli of September, 1877, his parents being Cliristian and
Maggie (Therur) Berg, natives of Wittenburg, Germany, who removed to South Russia. In
1881 they crossed the Atlantic to the United States and took up their abode near Wittenberg,
South Dakota, there remaining until they came to North Dakota, arriving in Harvey, this
state, on the 19th of March, 1900. Christian Berg bought a ranch at Pony Gulch and turned
his attention to the stock business, being thus engaged until 1911, since which time he has
lived retired at McCluskj'. His wife was called to her final rest on the 22d of March, 1915.
They became the parents of nine children, five daughters and four sons, all of whom reside
in or near Sheridan county.
606 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
l'"red Berg, who was a little lad of but four years when the family home was established
in South Dakota, spent his early life in assisting his father in the operation of the home farm.
He supplemented his preliminary education by a course of study in a business college at
Minneapolis, Minnesota, and subsequently, returning to Harvey, Xorth Dakota, spent a year
in the service of the Andrew Schatz Grain Company as a grain buyer. He then took up a
homestead claim six miles north of JlcClusky and also worked for the Jenson & Swanson
implement Companj' of Harvey. He lived on his farm a year after proving up on the property
and in 1905 removed to Denhoff, where he opened an implement store in partnership with
J. M. Weberg, this association being maintained for two years, when they sold out. During
the latter year of this partnership Mr. Berg purchased a half interest in a general mercantile
establishment with August Hetzler, of McClusky, conducting the enterprise for a year. In
1907 he disposed of all his business interests and erected a frame building on Main street
which he opened as a general store on the 12th of .June of that year under tlie name of the
McClusky Furniture Company. On the 3d of January, 1912, this was destroyed by fire and
the entire stock was lost. With undaunted energy, however, he erected another structure
fifty by eighty feet, the building being of cement with a brick front and one story and base-
ment in height. It is perhaps the most attractive building in McClusky. Mr. Berg carries an
e.vtensive line of furniture, hardware, groceries, shoes, dry goods, wall paper, draperies, nigs,
etc., and also conducts an undertaking department, having built up a largei and profitable
patronage through honorable methods and courteous treatment of customers. He is likewise
identilied with agricultural interests in Burleigh and Sheridan counties, personallj' cultivating
his land in the latter county.
In 1905 Mr. Berg was united in marriage to Miss Louise Sehindler, of Bowdon, North
Dakota, by whom he has fivi' children, namely: Alfred, Arlington, Herbert, Edna and Helena.
He is a republican in his political views and is widely recognized as a progiessive, enterprising
citizen whose efforts aie unstintingly put forth to promote the improvement and upbuilding
of his commuity. He has served as school treasurer for a number of terms and has held
numerous city offices. He was one of the leading spirits in the erection of the courthouse
and raised much of the necessary fund. Both as a merchant and citizen he has gained the
lii^h esteem and respect of his fellow citizens, who accord him recognition among the prominent
nien of Sheridan county.
AETHUR G. SJaXH.
Arthur G. Smith, a hardware merchant at Velva, lias advanced from a clerkship to his
present position as a representative merchant of McIIenry count)'. He was born in St. Paul.
Minnesota, in November, 1880, a son of S. G. and Marie A. (Barnard) Smith, the former a
native of Birmingham, England, and the latter of New York. The father came to America
with his parents in the '40s. He was educated for the ministry and for forty years engaged
in preaching the gospel in St. Paul, being identified with the Peoples church for thirty years.
On a Sunday morning in March, 1915, he delivered the usual Sunday morning sermon, but ere
the day closed he was called to his final rest. He had long survived his wife, who passed away
in July, 1888.
Arthur G. Smith was reared in St. Paul and pursued liis early education in that lity,
while his studies were completed in Switzerland. On returning from abroad he again went to
St. Paul and accepted the position of traveling salesman with a hardware firm, continuing
upon the road for five years. For a time he was employed in a hardware store at \\illow
City, whence he removed to Velva in 1907 and purchased a hardware stock and building
He has sinee carried on business at that jilace and has an extensive line of both shelf and
heavy hardware. He enjoys a liberal patronage and he has ever recognized the fact that
satisfied patrons are the best advertisement. His business policy is both progressive and
honorable and the integrity of his methods, combined with his energy, has brought to him
substantial success.
On the 24th of .Tune. 191(5, Mr, Smith was united in marriage to Jliss Alpha Holler, a
daughter of W, 0. Holler. He is identified with the Peoples church, an undenominational
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 607
Cliristian organization, feeling that the dffeiences whieli have separated the Protestant world
into denominations are unessential. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pj'thias
and the Yeomen. His political views accord with the teachings of the republican partj', and
while he has never been a politician in the sense of office seeking, he is now serving as water
commissioner of Velva and he is interested in all that pertains to the welfare and progress
of the town.
MARTIN APLAND.
Martin Apland. president of the First State Bank of Bergen and well known as a
breeder of thoroughbred shorthorn cattle, was born in Cambridge, Iowa, December 4, 1879,
his parents being Ole and Anna (Ersland) Apland, who took out the first marriage license
ever issued in Story county, Iowa. They were natives of Norway and prior to their marriage
they arrived in the United States, the father coming in 1853 and the mother in 1854. Both
settled in Story county, Iowa, and Mr. Apland purchased government land prior to the
passage of the homestead law, paying a dollar and a quarter per acre for the property.
With characteristic energy he began to transform the tract of wild prairie into productive
fields and year after year he carefullj- tilled the place, but his death occurred a short time
before the birth of his son Martin.
The latter was educated in the public schools and afterward became a student in
Luther College at Decorah, Iowa, from wliich lie was graduated with the class of 1903. He
later became a student in the State Agricultural College at Ames, where he pursued a course
in civil engineering, and afterward spent one year in the University of Idaho. On the 1st of
June, 1907, he arrived in Bergen, North Dakota, where he purchased stock in the First State
Bank. Not long afterward he was elected president of the institution atid has so continued,
liis efforts being a potent element in promoting the continued growth and success of this
institution, which is today one of the strong moneyed concerns in McHenry county. In 1912
he with Mr. Sorlien engaged extensively in the breeding of thoroughbred shorthorn cattle,
meeting with excellent success in the undertaking. He has built up an enviable reputation
in this line within the short period of four years and he now has forty-six head of pure bred
animals on his place, with a bull at the head of his herd for which he paid nine hundred
dollars when it was fourteen months old. He also has several heifers which cost four or
five hundred dollars each. Mr. Apland also has extensive property interests, having made
judicious investments in farm lands until his holdings now embrace two thousand acres.
In 1909 Mr. Apland was united in marriage to Miss Slaud Anderson, of Bergen, North
Dakota, by whom he has two daughters. Naomi and Anna. In his political views Mr. Apland
is a democrat, while fraternally he is connected with Dogden Lodge, F. & A. M., of which he
was one of the organizers, and with Minot Lodge, No. 1089, B. P. 0. E. He and his wife
are consistent and devoted members of the Lutheran church and its teachings guide them
in all life's relations. Fantastic theorizing may present seemingly plausible reasons for the
attainment of success, but careful analysis shows that business progress is alwaj's based
upon earnest, continued effort. It has been through untiring diligence, persistency of
purpose and commendable ambition that Martin Apland has worked his way upward and his
life record proves that prosperity and an honored name may be won simultaneously.
J. A. ROSS.
J. A. Ross, president of the First State Bank of Dogden, McLean county, has been
connected with the institution in an official capacity since its organization and to his acumen
and enterprise much of its success has been due. He was born in Princeton, Minnesota,
May 9, 1874, and is a son of Mr. and Mrs. N. A. Ross, both of whom were born in the east
608 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
but removed to Minnesota years ago. The father passed away in thnt state, and the
mother is still living there. To thera were born three children, of wlioni .). A. Ross is the
second in order of birth, and all survive.
J. A. Ross was educated in the schools of Minnesota, completing a high school course in
Princeton. In 1893 he engaged in the drug business, with which he was connected in Chat-
field, Minnesota, for eight jears. At the end of that time he aided in organizing the
Peoples Telephone Company and devoted three years to the management of that concern.
In 1905 he arrived in North Dakota and at once located on the Dogden town site, which he
handled and on which he was the first to settle. In 1906 he, together with E. A. Thayer
and A. L. Ober, organized the First State Bank of Dogden with a capital of twenty-five
thousand dollars. It was first located in a tent as the town was then in an embryonic
state of development, and later it was moved into a barn, where the business was con-
ducted for a time, or until the building in which, it is now located was erected. Mr. Koss
was the first cashier of the bank and in 1913 was made president, a position wliich he has
since filled with marked ability. From the beginning the policy of the institution has been
such as to win public confidence and the volume of its business has grown steadily. It now
has a surplus of five thousand dollars and its aflairs are in a very satisfactory condition.
Mr. Ross is also president of the Dogden Farm Land Company, which has important real
estate interests in this section of the state.
In October, 1896, Mr. Ross was united in marriage to Miss Marcia Dickson, a native of
Chatfleld. Minnesota, and they have become the parents of three children, iiamelv: Marcia
and Evelyn, who are attending St. Mary's Hall at Faribault, Minnesota; and Marguerite.
Mr. Ross is an adlicrent of the republican party but has never been an ofhcc seeker as
his business affairs have required his undivided attention. He belongs to the Masonic order,
is a member of El Zagal Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Fargo and is identified with the
Odd Fellows at Dogden. He has been a factor in the development of his town from the very
beginning until the present, and his public spirit has never been questioned.
M. B. HALLDORSON, U. D.
Dr. 'S\. R. Halldorson, engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Soiiris, was
born in Iceland on the 38th of November, 1869, a son of Bjorn and Holmfridur (Einars-
dottir) Halldorson, who came to the United States in 1884, establishing their home in
Pembina county. North Dakota, where the father purchased land and thereon engaged in
farming until 1898, since which time he has made his home among his children.
Dr. Halldorson was educated imder private tutors in Iceland and in the jniblic schools of
North Dakota, with one year's study at the North Dakota State I'niversity at Grand Forks.
In 189i he took vip his medical studies, entering the JIanitoba Medical College, which is
alliliated with the University of Manitoba. He was graduated from that institution with
the class of 1898 and following the completion of his preparation he returned to this state,
settling at Hcnsel, Pembina county, where he was successfully engaged in practice for three
and one-half years. In January, 1902, he came to Souris, where in the intervening fourteen
years he has built up an extensive practice, his professional duties making heavy demands
upon his time. He keeps in touch with the advanced thought of the profession, holding
membership in the Northwestern Medical Society, the North D.iknta State Medical Society
and the American ^^edical Association.
On the 9th of July, 1900, Dr. Halldorson was united in marriage to Miss Olive M.
Skajitason, of Pine Creek, Minnesota, by whom he had three children, two of whom arc
living, Olive Margaretta and Marion. Fraternally Dr. Halldorson is connected witli Tuscan
Lodge, No. 44, A. F. & A. M.; Phoenicia Chapter, No. 17, R. A. M.; the Yeomen; and the
Modern Woodmen of America. In his political views he is a republican and for five years
he served as mayor of Souris, giving to the town a businesslike and progressive administra-
tion characterized by many improvements. He stood at all times for those things which
are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride and made an excellent record in oflicc. He and
his wife are consistent members of the Unitarian church and Dr. Halldorson in every
5
o
w
y)
o
>
o
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 611
relation is recognized as a man in whom one may well place trust and confidence, for liis
ideals of life are liigh and his acts conform therewith. In professional lines he has made
steady advancement and is today one of the foremost physicians of Bottineau county.
WALTER K. LEE.
Walter R. Lee, owner and publisher of the Antler American, has made his home in
Bottineau county since 1909 and it was in that year that he purchased the American, a
paper of which he is now the proprietor. He is a native son of North Dakota, his birth
having occurred in Walhalla, December 10, 188.5. His parents, Edward G. and Eleanor E.
(McGuin) Lee, were natives of Canada. In 1878 the father became a resident of Pembina
county. North Dakota, where he worked in a mill for a time and also engaged in farming,
filing on land there which he continued to develop and cultivate until 1890. He then
removed to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and became a member of the police force of that city
for a time, after, which he returned to North Dakota, where he passed away in 1894. His
widow is now living with a daughter in Grand Forks.
Walter R. Lee was reared and educated in this state, supplementing his common school
training by study in the State University. During that period he also learned the printer's
trade, at which he worked until 1909, when he removed to Antler and purchased the Antler
American, which now has a subscription list of eight hundred and fifty. In addition he does
a large job printing business and he has a splendidly equipped office, containing a linotype
machine and two presses as well as all of the smaller accessories in the way of type, etc.
He likewise owns the building which he occupies and his business has now reached gratifying
proportions.
In June, 1906, Mr. Lee was united in marriage to Miss Anna Schmidt, a daughter of
John and Elizabeth (Martin) Schmidt, the former a native of Germany and the latter of
Berlin, Ontario. In pioneer times they became residents of North Dakota and the father
drove a stagecoach between Grand Forks and Acton. Later he took up a homestead claim,
which he occupied and operated for several years, but for the past twenty years he has been
engaged in the elevator business at Grafton and at Walhalla, making his home in the latter
place. Mr. and Mrs. Lee have become the parents of a son, Maurice, born July 12, 1909.
The religious faith of Mr. Lee is that of the Methodist church, while his wife is a
member of the Catholic church. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and to the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows. In politics he is a standpat republican, giving unfaltering allegiance
to the principles of the party because of his firm belief in their efficacy as factors in good
government. For six years he filled the position of city auditor and he has always been a
champion of those interests which are most potent forces in bringing about the general
improvement of the district in which he lives.
FRANK A. RINKEL.
Frank A. Rinkel, cashier of the State Bank of Antler, Bottineau count.y, has throughout
his business career displayed the spirit of western enterprise which has been manifest in a
quick recognition and utilization of business opportunities, leading to the rapid development
of the northwest. He was born in St. Peter. IMinnesota, March 37, 1882, a son of Christian and
Henrietta Rinkel, both of whom are natives of Germany. They came to America after
reaching adult age and were married in New York city about 1860. Immediately afterward
they removed westward to Minnesota, establishing their home in St. Peter, where the father
engaged in contracting and building, with which work he was prominently identified for forty-
five years, contributing much to the upbuilding and improvement of that city and the sur-
rounding country. He is now eighty-two years of age and for the past decade has lived
retired in St. Peter, enjoying a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves. His wife
also survives and is now seventy-nine years of age.
Vol. 11—3 3
612 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Passing tlirougli consecutive grades in the public schools, Frank A. Kinkel was graduated
from the high school of St. Peter with the class of 1900, and later he pursued a course in
stenography at Faribault, Minnesota. In 1901 he made his initial step in tlie business world
as a banker. Kemoving to Bottineau county, he entered the Merchants Bank of Bottineau,
now the First National Bank, as bookkeeper and stenographer and after two years, in com-
pany with .lolin T. Neville, who had been assistant cashier of the Merchants Bank, he went
to Richburg, now Westhope, and organzed the First International Bank of that place, of
which he became the vice president. In 1905, upon the founding of the town of Antler, he
allied his interests with the new municipality and associated himself with the town site
company, operating under the name of the Tallman Investment Company. In this connec-
tion he became one of the organizers of the State Bank of Antler and was placed in charge
of the financial policy of the institution as its cashier, at the same time retaining his stock
in the First International Bank at Westhope until 1907, when that bank was sold. The State
Bank of 'Antler was incorporated with a capital stock of fifteen thousand dollars and in
March, 1914, the First National Bank of Antler was pmchased and the two banks were
merged under the name of the State Bank of Antler with a capital of twenty-five thousand
dollars and a surplus of five thousand dollars, Mr. Rinkcl remaining as cashier and chief
executive officer of the newly organized institution. The bank deposits now amount to two
hundred thousand dollars and a general banking business is being successfully conducted, Mr.
Rinkel being thoroughlj- familiar with every branch of the business, which he carefully, wisely
and successfully directs. As he has seen opportunity for judicious investment he has become
the purchaser of farm lands until his holdings are now extensive, embracing eight hundred
acres in Bottineau county.
In 1903 Mr. Rinker was united in marriage to 5Iiss Frances R. Nelson, of Bottineau,
by whom he has a son and two daughters, namely: Ralph C, Grace and Blanelie H. While
not an active worker in the political field. Jlr. Rinkel is a loyal republican at the polls. He
has served as treasurer of the school board and the cause of education finds in him a stalwart
champion. He has attained high rank in Masonry, belonging to Antler Lodge, No. 80, A. F.
& A. M.; Phoenicia Chapter, No. 17, R. A. M., of Bottineau; Lorraine Commandery, No. 13,
K. T., of Bottineau; and Kera Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., of Grand Forks. Possessing a
purposeful spirit, strong and resourceful in action, Mr. Rinkel has made steady advance
since putting forth his initial effort in the business world and is now one of the represent-
ative financiers of his section of the state.
ALVA U. JACTCSON.
Alva I'. .Jackson, of I]iir<lsfield, is well known in newspaper circles as the publisher of
the riurdsficld Herald, which was established on the 36th of June, 1916. He was born
at Dalton, Wayne county, Indiana, in 1879, a son of Benjamin and Hannah (Deardorff)
Jackson, both of whom are natives of the Hoosier state, where the father conducted business
as a general farmer and mechanic, he and his wife still residing there. Their family num-
bers five children, of whom Alva U. .lackson is the eldest, and the circle yet remains unbroken
by the hand of death.
In the public schools of his native state Alva U. Jackson pursued his education and
remained under the parental roof until he attained his majority. He then went to Matthews,
Indiana, where he spent ten months and on the 26th of March, 1900, he arrived in North
Dakota, settling at Cando, where he remained for three years, his time being given to
farming pursuits. Later he engaged in the threshing business, running an outfit for two
years. He and his wife homesteaded on the 1st of November, 1903, securing a quarter section
of land in what is now Sheridan county. For a period of nine years they remained upon that
farm and each fall Mr. .lackson engaged in threshing, while througho\it the year he carried
on general farming and stock raising. In 1909 he took up the work of well drilling and
followed that business for a period of seven years. In 1912 he erected a residence in Hurds-
field, where he has since made his home, and on the 17th of July, 1916, he bought the Hurds-
field Herald, which had been established on the 2Cth of June. His printing experience ha»
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 613
been very limited but the editions published have been successful, and moreover, Mr. Jackson
possesses energy, determination and intelligence — qualities which are always most valuable
factors in the attainment of success in any undertaking. He is now concentrating his entire
attention upon the publication of the paper, which is given to the dissemination of local and
general news. It is independent in politics and during the period in which he has had charge
its circulation has been more than doubled.
On the S2d of April, 1903, Mr. Jackson was united in marriage to Miss Estella Forney,
who was born in Iowa in 187S, a daughter of Uriah and Laura Forney, early residents of
Nebraska but natives of Iowa. The father died July 2, 1915, while the mother is living in
Egeland, North Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have become parents of three children:
Laura Enid, born in 1906; Benjamin I., in 1908; and Walter L., in 1914.
Mr. Jackson votes with the republican party and keeps well informed concerning the
questions and issues of the day but has not made his paper a partisan sheet. Fraternally
he is connected with the Masons as a member of the lodge at McClusky and also with the
Eastern Star. He has never been an office seeker but for seven years, while residing in
Sheridan county, was chairman of the board of education in the district in which he lived.
He has never been neglectful of the duties of citizenship but cooperates in many plans and
measures for the general good and his worth is widely acknowledged by his fellow townsmen.
MICHAEL BAUMGAKTNER.
Michael Baumgartner, banker, lumberman and one of the leading business men of
Strasburg, is prominently identified with the financial and commercial interests of Emmons
county as vice president of the Security State Bank, vice president of the German State
Bank, president of the Strasburg Lumber Company and president of the Northwestern
Motor Company. He was born in Strasburg, Russia, on the 15th of September, 1874, a son
of Johannes and Margaretha (Braunagel) Baumgartner, who are mentioned elsewhere in
this work in the sketch of John J. Baumgartner. Michael Baumgartner was a youth of fifteen
years when he left his native country and accompanied his parents to the new world. His
education was largely acquired in German schools of Russia, for the school system of North
Dakota had been developed to only a slight degree when the family home was established in
this state. He continued to assist in the arduous task of developing and improving a new
farm up to the time of his marriage, which was celebrated on the 29th of April, 1892, the
lady of his choice being Miss Odilia Wolf, a native of Russia, who came tq| America about
a week later than her future husband.
Following his marriage Michael Baumgartner filed on a homestead on section 10, Stras-
burg township, Emmons county, four miles north of the town of Strasburg, and thereon took
up his abode, continuing his residence there until 1909, when he removed to the town in
order to look after his business interests there. He had become one of the founders of the
Strasburg Bazaar, in which enterprise he was connected with his brother John and with
Jacob Feist and E. Keller. They founded the business in 1903, it becoming the first mercan-
tile enterprise of Strasburg. In 1913, in connection with his brother and others he bought
out the North Star Lumber Company and reorganized and incorporated the business under
the name of the Strasburg Lumber Company, of which he became the president. In 1914,
associated with others, he purchased the German State Bank, of which he was elected
vice president, and in 1906 he became one of the large stockholders of the Security State
Bank, of which he was chosen cashier, acting in that capacity until 1912, when he was
elected vice president of the institution, being succeeded in the cashiership by J. P. Henn.
In 1913 the Northwestern Motor Company was organized and Mr. Baumgarten was elected
its president. This company is doing a flourishing business, handling the Ford, Overland and
Dodge cars, their annual sales having now reached a most substantial and gratifying figure.
Mr. Baumgartner is likewise prominently identified with the cattle business and with real
estate dealing, buying and selling farm lands, of which his present holdings now amount
to fourteen hundred and eighty acres in Emmons county.
To Mr. and Mrs. Baumgartner have been born ten children and the family circle yet
614 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
remains unbroken by the hand of death. These are: Eva, the wife of Anton Wichenheiser,
who cultivates the homestead of his father-in-law; Michael, assistant casliier of the Secur-
ity State Bank at Strasburg; and Barbara, Margaret, Frank, John, Mary, Phillipina, Agnes
and Odilia, all at home.
The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church and Mr. Baumgartncr
is also a member of the German Roman Catholic Association of Minnesota. His political
endorsement is given to the democratic party and in 1908 he was its nominee for the oflice
of county treasurer. While at that time the normal republican vote was three to one,
such was the personal popularity of Mr. Baumgartner and the confidence reposed in him
that he was defeated by only eighty votes, receiving every vote cast in his precinct, which
indicates the high regard entertained for liim by those who know him best. His career is
one which should serve to inspire and encourage others, showing what may be accomplished
through individual effort. Notably prompt, energetic and reliable, he seems to have a genius
for devising and executing the right thing at the right time joined to everyday common
sense, and he has never allowed obstacles nor difficulties to brook his path if they could be
overcome by persistent, earnest and indefatigable effort.
GEORGE L. GOULD.
North Dakota has been signally favored in the class of men who have promoted her
banking interests and someone has aptly said that: "Banking interests are the heart of
the commercial body, indicating the hcalthfulness of trade." Active in this field is George
L. Gould, who is now cashier of the Glenburn State Bank at Glenburn, Renville county. He
was born in Byron, Illinois, January 1, 1860, a son of John W. and Maria (Smith) Gould,
natives of New York and Pennsylvania respectively. They were married in Illinois, to
which state Mr. Gould had removed in young manhood, while his wife had gone thitlier
with her parents wlien a young lady. He devoted his time and energies to farming throiigh-
out his entire business career and passed away in 1884. His widow survived him for
thirty years, dying in 1914.
George L. Gould acquired his education in the ]iublic schools of Chatfield, Minnesota,
and after his textbooks were put aside secured a clerkship in the mercantile establishment
there. Nine years later, feeling that his practical experience as well as his capital justified
him in embarking in business on his own account, he opened a store in Chatfield and
remained for eighteen years a leading, influential, progressive and successful merchant of
that city and it was with deep regret that his fellow townsmen learned of his intention
to remove elsewhere. In June, 1904, he became a resident of Glenburn, Nortli Dakota, which
town had but recently been laid out, and since that period he has been identified with its
banking interests. In connection with A. L. Ober, of Chatfield, Minnesota, he established the
Glenburn State Bank and on the 34th of September. 1904, it opened its door for business
with Mr. Gould as the cashier and directing head of the institution. He has presided over
the financial policy of the bank since its organization and its continued growth and success
are attributable to his sound business judgment, keen sagacity and unfaltering energy. He
is a man of resource and ability and in 1913 he extended his efforts by entering the grain
trade in partnership with Mrs. Lanige, establishing the Gould & Lanigo elevator, with whicli
he was connected for three years. From time to tinu? he has bought and sold farm himls
and in that way has added not a little to his prosperity.
In 1890 Mr. (Jould was united in marriage to Miss Klizabeth Nichols, of Chatfield,
Minnesota, and they have become the parents of three daughters: Gertrude, who is attend-
ing Oberlin College at Oberlin, Ohio; Evelyn, at home; and Mildred, a pupil in the Chatfield
high school.
Mr. Gould gives his political allegiance to the republican party but is not an aspirant
for office. Fraternally he is connected with Glenburn Ixidge, No. 79, A. F. & A. M., with North
Star Chapter, No. 10, R. A. M.. of Chatfield. Minnesota, De Molay Commandery, K. T.. of
Afinot, and Kem Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., of Grand Forks. He is a valued representative of
the craft, loyal to its teachings concerning the brolherliood of numkind and the obligations
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 615
thereby incurred. His business career has been characterized by unfaltering activity and
actuated by laudable ambition. His judgment is sound and his discrimination keen and in
his vocabulary there is no such word as fail.
GEORGE W. LYNN.
George W. Lynn, a member of the Emmons county bar practicing at Linton, was born
in Montieello, Green county, Wisconsin, May 12, 1863, a son of James and Nancy (Moore)
Lynn, who were natives of Ireland and of Scotch-Irish descent. The father was a farmer
and in early life came to the new world, after which he took up his abode upon a home-
stead farm in Green county, Wisconsin, his remaining days being devoted to the further
development and improvement of that property. He was killed by a runaway team in 1866,
while his widow survived until 1892.
George W. Lynn, was' reared and educated in Wisconsin and in early manhood took up
the profession of teaching, which he followed for three years. In 1885 he removed to
Yankton, South Dakota, and for a year was a law student in the office and under the
direction of Gamble Brothers, well known attorneys, while later he continued his reading
in the office of Alexander Hughes at Bismarck. In 1889 he was admitted to the bar at
Bismarck and entered upon active practice at Linton, where he had established his home
in 1886. For more than a quarter of a century, therefore, he has practiced at this point and
his ability has kept him prominently at the front in professional relations. He occupied
the position of states attorney for fourteen years, being called to that office in 1891. He
has one of the largest law libraries in the state and is regarded as a strong advocate and
safe counselor. He prepares his eases with great thoroughness and care, is diligent in
research and is seldom, if ever, at fault in the application of a legal principle, so that he
has won many verdicts favorable to the interests of his clients. He owns the office building
which he occupies.
In the spring of 1892 Mi-. Lynn was united in marriage to Mrs. Marjr Fish and they
have one child, Klonda M., at home, while a stepson, Harry C., is now states attorney and
is practicing in partnership with Mr. Lynn. The latter is a republican in his political views
and is tlioroughly informed concerning the issues and questions of the day, but the honors
and emolujnents of office have no attraction for him, as he regards the pursuits of private
life as in themselves abundantly worthy of his best efforts and prefers to concentrate his
energies upon his professional duties. He now has a large and distinctively representative
clientage and his devotion to the interests of those whom he represents is proverbial.
ENGEBRET 0. THORMODSGARD.
Engebret 0. Thormodsgard, who follows farming on section 35, township 147, range 73,
in Wells county, was born in Norway in October, 1849, a son of Ole and Engeborg Erickson
(Sando) Thormodsgfird, who were also natives of that country, where they spent their
entire lives, the father devoting his attention to general farming.
Engebret O. Thormodsgard was the sixth in order of birth in a family of nine children,
seven of whom are yet living. His education was largely acquired in the schools of Norway
and in 1869, when twenty years of age, he came to the United States, settling in Lincoln
county, South Dakota. There he homesteaded and remained upon his place for a period of
three years. He afterward attended a Lutheran school in Wisconsin and was graduated
with the class of 1878, thus preparing for the work of the ministry. He received a call
from a church in Emmet county, Iowa, and remained as pastor there for six years, during
which period he had charge of four Iowa congregations and three in Minnesota. In 1884
he went to Idaho, where he entered upon missionary work, his first service being the
organization of a congregation in Genesee valley. About the same time he also organized
a church at Rockford, Washington, and later went to Spokane, Washington, where he
616 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
organized a Sunday scliuol but did not reside tliere. In 1894 he returned to Lincoln county,
South Dakota, wliere he resumed pastoral labors and also engaged in farming, cultivating
the homestead property. His identification with that locality continued until 1909, at which
time he came to North Dakota, making his way to Wells county, where he purchased section
35, township 147, range 72, and the west half of section 33, township 14G, range 71. Up to
within the last three years he has personally engaged in the cultivation of his land, com-
prising nine hundi'ed and sixty acres, bringing the entire tract to a high state of cultivation,
but he is now renting the half section to his son Nels. Mr. Thormodsgird is engaged both
in general farming and stock raising and he has thirty head of horses and forty or more
head of high grade cattle upon his place, specializing in shorthorns. His agricultural interests
have been most carefully and wisely conducted and have brought him a substantial measure
of success.
Not only has he given his attention to the task of improving his land but has also
continued an active factor in the work of the church. He organized a Lutheran church in
Bowdon, of which he had charge until the last three years, when on account of impaired
health he gave up the work of the ministry save that he substitutes now and then in the
absence of the regular pastor. He concentrates his activity mostly upon his farm but he
is also a stockholder in the Chaseley Farmers Elevator and a stockholder in the Farmers
Elevator at Fairview, South Dakota. He also owns a section of land in Texas. He has
never ceased to feel the deepest interest in the church and to the extent of his powers gives
active cooperation in its work. He also had two brothers in the ministry: Ole, who is now
deceased; and Halvor, who at this writing is a minister of Spokane, Washington.
In Iowa, in 1881, Mr. Thormodsgard was married to Miss Trina A. Olson, who was born
in Norway, a daughter of Nels and Sophie Olson, who spent their entire lives in Norway,
where the father had followed the tailor's trade. Mr. and Mrs. Thormodsgird have become
parents of twelve children, namely: Olaf; Nels; Sophia; Emma; Josephina; Albert; Louisa;
Engebret, who is deceased; Kmid Helmar; Halvor; Engebret and Viola.
Politically Mr. Thormodsgard is an earnest republican and has always kept well informed
concerning the questions and issues of the day. While living in South Dakota he served
as justice of the peace in Lincoln county for two terms but has never been an aspirant for
odice, preferring to concentrate his undivided attention upon his business affairs and his
ministerial duties. Along both lines he has accomplished much and his influence has ever
been a potent power for moral progress.
PROFESSOR H. C. PIEHL.
Professor H. C. Piehl, superintendent of schools at Inkster, was born in Seymour,
Wisconsin, June 2, 1886, a son of William and Wilhelmina (Parman) Piehl, the former
a native of Germany and the latter of Wisconsin. In his boyhood days the father came
to the new world, settling in Wisconsin, where he was afterward married. Later he engaged
in farming and he is still living in that state at the age of seventy years, while his wife
has reached the age of fifty-nine years. They had a family of six children.
Professor Piehl, who was the fourth in order of birth, attended public schools and later
continued his education in Ripon College of Wisconsin, from which \\e was graduated in
1911. The following year he removed to North Dakota, settling in Jamestown, where he
became assistant principal in the high school, remaining in that connection for three years.
In 1914 he accepted the position of superintendent of the schools of Inkster and is regarded
as one of the best qualified superintendents that the town has ever had. He is most enthusi-
astic in his work and has the faculty of inspiring teachers and pupils with much of his own
zeal and interest.
In A\igu8t, 1914, in Martinsville, Indiana, Professor Piehl was married to Miss Barbara
Finney, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. G. E. Finney, and they now have one child, Alice Fin-
ney, who was born in Inkster in December, 1915. Mrs. Piehl is a graduate in piano of the
College of Musical Art at Indianapolis, Indiana, and was for several years supervisor of
music in the Jamestown, North Dakota, public schools.
PROFESSOR H. C. PIEHL
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 619
In his political views Mr. Piehl has been an earnest democrat since age conferred upon
him the right of franchise. Fraternally he is connected with the Masonic order and his
religious faith is that of the Presbyterian church, to which he loyally adheres. He is actuated
in life by high principles and worthy motives and his efforts have been an element for the
betterment of mankind in the communities where he has lived.
SEVART N. MILLER.
Sevart N. Miller, the efficient and popular young cashier of the First State Bank of
Benedict, was born at Blair, Nebraska, in 1883, a son of Nels P. and Stina (Hanson) Miller,
both natives of Denmark. When in middle life they removed to the United States and after
living in Nebraska for a time located in Iowa, where the father followed diversified farm-
ing. They are now living at Lake Benton, Minnesota. To them have been born seven chil-
dren, of whom all survive and of whom Sevart N. Miller is the youngest.
The last named was educated in the Minnesota schools and remained upon the home
farm until he attained his majority. Later he entered the State Bank of Shelly, Minnesota,
as assistant cashier and for about four years was connected with that institution but in
1910 removed to Benedict, North Dakota. He has since resided here and is well known in
financial circles, being cashier of the First State Bank, which was organized in 1908. The
following purchased the bank in 1910: J. S. Tucker, of Minneapolis; Ben Bear, of Decorah,
Iowa ; J. W. G. Anderson, of Shelly ; S. N. Miller and F. O. Miller, of Benedict. The present
officers are: J. W. G. Anderson, president; F. O. Miller, vice president; and S. N. Miller,
cashier. The bank is capitalized at ten thousand dollars and has a surpflus of five thousand
dollars. Its affairs are well managed and its business has shown a steady and normal
growth. S. N. Miller is likewise interested in farming, owning land in McLean countj', whicli
he rents.
In 1908 Mr. Miller was united in marriage to Miss Frida 0. Rognlie, a native of Cale-
donia, North Dakota, and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. S. B. Rognlie, pioneers of this state.
The father is deceased but the mother is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are the parents
of three children, Vivian. Wayne and Sevart.
Ml-. Miller is a republican and is now serving as a member of the town board. For
the past four years he has also been on the school board and his interest in educational
affairs is marked. He was one of the first members of the Odd Fellows lodge at Benedict,
in which he has filled all of the chairs, and he has also held all of the offices in the Wood-
men lodge at Shelly, Minnesota. He holds membership in the Congregational church at
Benedict, of which he is a trustee, and is influential in furthering the work of that
organization.
HON. LUTHER H. BRATTON.
Hon. Luther H. Bratton, publisher of the Pierce County Tribune at Rugby and owner
of one of tlie best equipped country printing offices in the state, has left the impress of his
individuality upon public interests in a considerable measure through newspaper publication
and legislative service. His life record had its beginning near the town of Palmyra. Missouri,
on the Tth of October, 1874, his parents being Robert R. and Margaret E. (Smith) Bratton,
the former of Scotch lineage and the latter of English descent. The father was born in
Washington county, Indiana, in 1841 and at the time of the Civil war responded to the
country's call for troops, enlisting in the Twenty-seventh Indiana Volunteer Infantry, with
which lie served for four years and three months. In 1881 he removed from Missouri to
Slinnesota, making the trip on one of the old packet steamers from Hannibal to St. Paul.
After spending about two years in Minnesota he became a resident of Ramsey county, North
Dakota, where in the fall of 1882 he entered a claim from the government and built a
"shack" three miles south of Crary and at that time twelve miles beyond the terminus of the
railroad. He arrived in that locality in February and was taken to his claim in a sleigh by
620 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
his neighbor, James Orchard. He suffered financial reverses in this state owing to the three
total crop failures in the latter '80s. Since 1898 he has been a resident of Portland, Oregon.
His wife, who was born in Missouri in 1851, is also yet living.
Luther H. Bratton acquired a common school education in Missouri and Minnesota
and started out in business life on his own account when a youth of fifteen as "devil" in
the print shop of the old Dunseith Herald under C. I. F. Wagner. He continued to work
at the printing trade in Devils Lake, Leeds and Rugby until April, 1898, and in the mean-
time also spent two or three years in Minneapolis — from 1891 until 1894.
While at Devils Lake Mr. Bratton became a member of Company D of the National
Guard and with the outbreak of the war with Spain, in April, 1898, left Rugby to join the
army. With his command he went to the Philippines and served with his regiment through-
out tlie period of hostilities there. After returning to the United States he worked on
the Leeds News for a short time and then began business on his own account at Knox,
North Dakota, publishing the Knox Advocate, but, realizing the limitations of the town,
he sought a broader field of labor and purchased the Rugby Optimist from A. M. Young
in December, 1904. He built up that paper, purchased the building in which his office is
now located and in February, 1916, bought a rival paper called the Pierce County Tribune,
which was established in 1887. He then consolidated the two papers under the name of
the Pierce County Tribune and now has one of the best equipped country printing offices
in the state. His paper has secured a good circulation and has an excellent advertising
patronage. Mr. Bratton is fearless in the expression of his honest convictions and through
the columns of his paper seeks to promote public interests in every possible way.
At Devils Lake, in 1900, Mr. Bratton was united in marriage to M. Estella Ritznian.
eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jackson Ritzman, of Juniata county, Pennsylvania. They
emigrated to eastern Pierce county in 1899. but the father passed away soon after locating
in this state, leaving a large family of children. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Bratton are
as follows: Marjorie, who is fifteen years of age; Robert, who was born in 1905 and passed
away three years later; Catherine, whose birth occurred in 1910; and Walter, who was
adopted at the age of si.x and is now ten years old.
In polities Mr. Bratton is independent with republican jiroclivities. In 1913 he became
a member of the thirteenth legislative assembly and in 1915 was reelected to the fifteenth
assembly as representative from the forty-second district, comprising Pierce county, in
which connection he gave thoughtful and earnest consideration to vital questions which came
up for settlement. No one questions the integrity of his position, for he is fearless in
defense of his opinions, standing loyally at all times for what he believes to be right.
OLAF II. RYSTAD, M. D.
Dr. Olaf H. Rystad, a prominent citizen of Landa, where he is successfully engaged in
the practice of medicine, was born in Norway, September 13, 1876, his parents being Halvard
and Inger (Rystad) Rystad, also natives of that country. The father, who was a jeweler
and watch maker by trade, brought his family to America in 1888 and located in Fisher.
Minnesota, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying there in .Tune, 1915. Tlie mother
is still living.
Dr. Rystad began Ms education in the schools of Norway, being twelve years of age
at the time of the emigration of the family to the new world. He attended the public
schools of Minnesota and subsequently taught in that state and in North Dakota for six
years. He had charge of a school in Minneapolis for one year. In 1904 he was graduated
from the State University of North Dakota and later entered the medical department of
that institution, from which he received the degree of M. D. on his graduation in 1913.
It will thus be seen that he is thoroughly fitted by education and training for the profession
which he has chosen as a life work. He commenced the practice of medicine at Reynolds,
North Dakota, and after spending one year at that place took a post graduate course in a
Chicago medical college. In December, 1915, he removed to Landa, Bottineau county, and
although he has resided there but a short time he has already built up a good practice which
is constantly increasing as his skill and efficiency become more widely known.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 621
In January, 1914, Dr. Kystad married Miss Clara H. Olson, a daugliter of Lars and
Martha Olson, who were born in Norway but came to America in early life. Mr. Olson took
up a homestead in Traill county, North Dakota, where he followed farming until called from
this life in 1907. His widow is still living. Dr. Rystad is affiliated with the Masonic order
and is a member of the Lutheran church. His political support is given the men and measures
of the republican party and he takes a commendable interest in public affairs, supporting
every enterprise which he believes w-ill prove of benefit to the community in which he lives,
as well as to his state and nation.
C. J. BIEBER.
C. .J. Bieber, an implement dealer and manager of the Farmers elevator at Temvik, was
born in Russia on the 26th of November, 1881, a son of Jacob and Christiana (Ritter) Bieber,
who were also natives of that country, whence they came to the LTnited States in 1884,
settling in McPherson county, South Dakota. There the father secured a homestead claim
and with characteristic energy began the arduous task of developing a new farm, continuing
his residence thereon for many years, during which time his labors wrought a marked
transformation in the appearance of the place. In 1910 he retired from active business
life and removed to Eureka, where he and his wife now make their home.
C. J. Bieber acquired his education in the district schools of McPherson county and in
1902 engaged in teaching for one term. Prior to this, however, he had taken up the occupa-
tion of farming in McPherson county, where he lived until 1905, when he removed to Emmons
county. North Dakota, devoting the succeeding five years to general agricultural pursuits. In
1910 he became a resident of Temvik, where he engaged in the grain business, purchasing the
William Gross elevator. In 1911 he incorporated the Farmers' Friend Milling Company, of
wliich he was president during the year following its incorporation. In 1912 he sold his
elevator but continued to manage it for his successors until the summer of 1915, when
he accepted the management of the Farmers elevator at Temvik. The statement of the
business in June, 1916, showed a profit of thirteen thousand seven hundred and eighteen
dollars to the stockholders since he assumed control, a fact which indicates the marked
business ability, close application and enterprising methods of Mr. Bieber. In the spring of
1913 he engaged in the implement business and has developed his store until it is one
of the important commercial undertakings of Emmons county. He also has the agency for
the Saxon automobile and in all that he undertakes displays a spirit of imdaunted enter-
prise and sound business judgment.
In 1902 Mr. Bieber was married to Miss Margaretta Huber, of Hosmer, South Dakota,
and they became the parents of four children, of whom three are living, Julius G., Agnes H.
and Ewald A. The parents are members of the Lutheran church and Mr. Bieber is a democrat
in his political views, doing all in his power to promote the growth and ensure the success
of his party, of which he is now the candidate for the office of county treasurer. He has
never been very ambitious in the way of office holding, however, feeling that the pursuits of
private life are in themselves abundantly worthy of his best efforts, and as the years have
gone on he has won success in substantial measure, his holdings including not only his
commercial interests but also one hundred and sixty acres of Emmons county land.
JAMES McINTOSH.
James Mcintosh, United States collector of customs at Antler, is a native of Scotland,
born September 18, 1849, of the marriage of James and Sarah (Smith) Mcintosh. They,
too, were natives of the land of hills and heather, of forest, crag and glen, the land of poetry
and song — the land that has furnished to the United States many of its valued citizens. The
father followed farming in that country until 1866, when he crossed the Atlantic to Canada,
622 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
and two years later he was accidentally killed. His widow long snrvived him, jiassing away
in 1U13.
James Mcintosh sijont much of his j'outh in his native country, being seventeen years
of age when his parents made the voyage to the new world. When liis father died the burden
of supporting the family devolved upon him and for several years he worked out as a farm
hand. In 1870 he went to Michigan, where for eight years he was employed in the iron
mines. On the expiration of that period he returned to Canada, where he again lived for
two years, and in 1883 he established his home in Cavalier county. North Dakota, where he
took up a homestead and preemption claim. He then began improving and cultivating his
land, devoting twenty years to general agricultural pursuits there. He saw many of the
hardships and met many of the dilliculties incident to frontier life at a period when all
around him was unbroken and undeveloped prairie land and when the work of progress seemed
scarcely begun. It was upon his farm that he reared his family of eight children. In 1902
lie removed to St. John, Rolette count}'. North Dakota, where he entered the government
service, filling the position of customs collector for eight years at that point, after which
he was transferred to Antler and still continues in the service. He yet owns his farm in
Cavalier county, comprising three hundred and twenty acres of land, which he has rented.
On the 37th of November, 1873, Mr. Mcintosh was united in marriage to Miss Catherine
McRae and they have become the parents of eight children. James, Christina, John. George,
Barah, Minnie, William and Emma. Five of the number are living on homesteads near Barr,
Montana, two in Canada, and the other owns a farm near the old homestead in Cavalier
count}'.
Politically Mr. Mcintosh is a republican, giving stalwart support to the p^irty and its
principles. He belongs to the Masonic lodge at Langdon and he and his wife are consistent
and faithful members of the Presbyterian church. He is most loyal to the trust reposed in
him in public office and his record as an official is highly commendable.
FREDERICK C. WALTHER.
Frederick C. Walther, who has gained gratifying success as a general merchant of Ber-
thold, was born in Germany on the 23d of January, 1843, a son of Carl and Louise (Meir)
Walther, also natives of the fatherland. In 1844 they removed with their family to America
and located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where for a year the father engaged in the tanning
business, in which he continued after his removal to Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He passed
away there about 1875 at an advanced age, his birth having occurred in 1802. He served in
the army in Germany and at all times discharged his duties as a good citizen but was not
an aspirant for public ofTice. The mother, who died in 1884, was about seventy-nine years of
age at the time of her demise.
Frederick C. W^alther attended school in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, until fourteen years of
age, when he began working for others. At length he learned the cabinetmaker's trade,
which he followed until 1860. The succeeding year he enlisted in Company (J, Fifty-sixth
Illinois Volunteer Infantry, as a private and after serving with that command for three
months was honorably discharged. He became a member of Company E, Twenty-seventh
Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, was promoted to commissary sergeant, in all was at the front
for three years and was on duty the whole time as he was never wounded nor ill. After
being mustered out at Madison, WHsconsin, he returned to Sheboygan and a year later engaged
in the furniture business there. In 1880 he went to St. Paul and was employed on coach
work for the Great Northern Railroad for two years. However, in January, 1883 he removed
to Minto, North Dakota, and for fourteen years conducted a hardware store there. In Jan-
uary, 1896, he removed to Pomona, California, and he operated a ranch in that vicinity for
three years but at the end of that time returned to Minto, North Dakota, to look after his
business interests. In 1900 he took up his residence in Berthold and engaged in the general
merchandising business, in which he continued active until 1D08, when he again went to
California. After spending three years there he returned to Berthold and again became con-
nected with merchandising here. His general store is well stocked and is conducted along
FRKDERICK C. WALTHER
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 625
modern lines and his patronage is large and profitable. He owns town property here and
also holds title to valuable land in the state.
Mr. Walther was married November 11, 1S67, to Miss Emily B. Wolf, a native of Mil-
waukee, Wisconsin. Her parents both resided in New York state in their early lives but
passed their later years in Milwaukee, where both died. Mrs. Walther passed away in St.
Paul, Minnesota, in 1881. She was the mother of five children, namely: Alice, the wife of
James R. Gerard, who is engaged in the printing and binding business in St. Cloud, Minne-
sota; Hattie, the wife of G. F. Peterson, a druggist of Missoula, Montana; Emily, who is a
deaconess and resides at Helena, Montana; Georgia, deceased; and Lorraine, the wife of
Dr. E. A. Hillis, a physician and surgeon of La Moure. In May, 1893, Mr. Walther was again
married, Mrs. Rose Hines becoming his wife. She was born in Vermont and bj' her previous
marriage has a son, Harry W. Hines, a locomotive fireman residing at Los Angeles, California.
By her second marriage she has a daughter, Frances A., who is attending the Grand Forks
University.
Mr. Walther is a stanch adherent of the republican party and has held the office of
postmaster for eleven years, four years at Minto and seven at Berthold, and while living at
Minto he also served as justice of the peace for two years. He was the first president of the
village of Berthold, holding that ofiice in 1904. He has always given the most careful atten-
tion to his official duties and his record as a public servant is highly creditable alike to his
ability and his conscientiousness. He has belonged to the Masonic order since 1867 and is
identified with the blue lodge at Berthold and with the chapter, council, commandery and
Eastern Star chapter at Pomona, California. He has always conformed his life to the high
teachings of the organization and his excellent qualities have gained him the respect and
warm regard of those wlio have been associated with him. In business he has been successful,
carrying his plans forward to completion, and he is one of the substantial men of his
community.
HENRY J. LINDE.
Henry J. Linde, attorney general of North Dakota, entered upon the discharge of the
duties of this office in January, 1915, at which time he removed to Bismarck. His previous
experience as a lawyer and lawmaker well prepared him for the onerous and responsible
duties that devolved upon him in this connection. He was admitted to the bar in 1906 and
throughout the period of his practice followed his profession in this state. However, he is
a native of Ridgeway, Iowa, born December 31, 1879. His parents, John 0. and Martha
(Brenno) Linde, are still residents of that place. Both are natives of Norwaj-, the former
born in 1836. Coming to America in 1858, he established his home in Chicago, where in
1860 he was married. Not long afterward he removed with his bride to Ridgeway, Iowa,
where he has now continued to make his home for many years.
In the schools of that city Henry J. Linde pursued his early education, supplemented
by study in Luther College at Decorah, Iowa, from which he was graduated in the class of
1901, winning the Bachelor of Arts degree. He then entered the educational field as a
teacher, becoming one of the faculty of Park Region Lutheran College at Fergus Falls, IMinne-
sota, occupying the chair of EngUsli and science. He spent two years in that institution,
after which he entered the University of Minnesota as a law student, completing his course
in 1906. Immediately afterward he located for practice at Plaza, North Dakota, where
he remained for three years, when he became a member of the bar at Stanley. He was in
active practice in that city until January, 1915, when he entered upon the duties of his
present position. The success which he has attained is due to his own efforts and merits.
The possession of advantages is no guarantee whatever of professional advancement, which
comes not of itself nor can it be secured without integrity, ability and industry. These
qualities Mr. Linde possesses in an eminent degree and is faithful to every interest com-
mitted to his charge. An excellent presence, an earnest manner, marked strength of char-
acter, a thorough grasp of the law and the ability to accurately apply its principles made
him an effective and successful advocate and are so characterizing his official service that
626 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
public opinion names him as one of the foremost men who liave ever occupied the position
of attorney general.
On the 27th of November, 1907, in Jlinneapolis, Minnesota, Jlr. Linde was xinited in
marriage to Miss Julia Martin, a daughter of Ole Martin. His religious faith is that of the
Lutheran cliurch and fraternally he is identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of
Elks. Mr. Linde has always voted the republican ticket and is a firm believer in the prin-
ciples and purposes of the party. In 1908 he was elected a member of the state legislature
and in 1910 was chosen for the ofRce of state senator for a term of four years. This was
followed by his candidacy for the position of attorney general and popular suffrage called
him to the office. He manifests marked strength whether in the interpretation of the law
as an attorney or in framing laws as a legislator, and his public record has won the high
indorsement of his fellow citizens.
HENRY W. ELLINGSON.
Henry W. Ellingson, a hardware merchant of Kugby, was born in Adams county, Wis-
consin, August 23, 1871, a son of Elling and Mina (Knudson) Ellingson, who were natives
of Norway but prior to the Civil war came to the new world and settled in Wisconsin,
where the father purchased land and carried on farming until 1883. In that year he became
a resident of Traill county, North Dakota, where he engaged in farming for five years. He
next removed to Pierce county and took up a homestead, devoting his energies to its de-
velopment and cultivation throughout his remaining days. He passed away in 1896, while
his wife died in January, 1915.
Henry W. Ellingson spent the first twelve years of his life in his native state and then
accompanied his parents to North Dakota, after which he assisted in the work of the home
farm until 1894. In that year he established his home in Rugby and was elected register
of deeds, which office he continuously and acceptably filled for six years. Upon retiring
from the position he embarked in the hardware business and has since managed his store,
which is now accorded a liberal patronage. He carries a large and well selected line of
shelf and heavy hardware and his business methods and enterprise have brought to him
a good trade. He is also interested in a general merchandise establishment in Barton,
North Dakota.
On the 6th of December, 1892, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Ellingson and Miss
Annie Melhouse and to them were born five children, Nettie, Hattie, Minnie, Arthur and
Alice. Fraternally Mr. Ellingson is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America and
with the Sons of Norway and he and his family are members of the Lutheran church. His
political allegiance is given to the republican party and his fellow townsmen, appreciative
of his worth and ability, have called him to fill several local offices. He has served as a
member of the town council and for eight years was postmaster of Rugby as well as
register of deeds, his duties in every connection having been promptly and faithfully dis-
charged. He is ever loyal to the trusts reposed in him and his life exemplifies high
standards of manhood and citizenship.
ROBERT A. BROWN.
Robert A. Brown, engaged in the implement business at .\ntler. was born in Ontario.
Canada, July 29, 1869, a son of David and Christina (McDougal) Brown, who were also
natives of Ontario. There the father was reared and educated, after which he took up the
occupation of farming, which he followed for many years, but is now living retired although
he still owns his land. He has reached the age of seventy-two years and now makes his
home with his children, his wife having passed away November 26, 1883.
Robert A. Brown was reared and educated in Ontario and made his home with his
grandfather until he reached the age of sixteen years, when he went to London, Ontario, and
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 627
learned the brass finishing business, which he followed for two years and three months.
In 1895 he crossed the border into the United States and established his home at Leeds,
Benson county, North Dakota, where he purchased land and carried on farming until 1900.
He then sold out and made his way to Bottineau county, where he filed on land which he
developed, operated and improved for five years. He then again sold, at which time he
removed to Westhope, where he worked for a year. He afterward came to Antler and engaged
in the implement business, which he has now conducted for ten years, enjoying a liberal
patronage that has made his undertaking a profitable one. He keeps all kinds of farm
machinery and agricultural implements and his enterprise has brought good results.
In July, 1898, Mr. Brown wedded Miss Sarah E. Rock and they have become the
parents of seven children: Jennetta, the wife of Guj- Ballance, of Saco, Montana; and Kose
A., Mary Christina, Rachel E., Robert D., Sarah G. and Margaret E., all yet at home.
The religious faith of the family is that of the Presbyterian church, in which the
parents hold membership. Mr. Brown votes with the republican party and while he has never
been a politician in the sense of office seeking he has served for three years as a member
of the school board. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Rebekah
lodge and is also connected with the Royal Neighbors. His life record will bear close investi-
gation and scrutiny, for at all times it has measured up to high standards of manhood,
while in citizenship he manifests a loyal and progressive spirit.
JACOB F. JABERG.
Thirtj'-five years have come and gone since Jacob F. Jaberg arrived in Barnes county,
establishing his home at Sanborn, where he opened one of the pioneer mercantile enterprises
of his part of the state. Through all the intervening period to the present time he has been
identified with the development and progress of the district as merchant or farmer and is
now concentrating his efforts upon agricultural pursuits. He was born at Canal Dover, Ohio,
December 11, 1855, a son of Daniel .Jaberg, whose birth occurred in Bern, Switzerland, and
who came to the United States in 1837, settling at Canal Dover. He was a tailor and fol-
lowed his trade after coming to America, passing away when he had reached the advanced
age of seventy-seven years. His wife died when their son Jacob was but two years of age,
leaving a family of eight children. The eldest son, Daniel Jaberg, Jr., enlisted in the Civil
war as a member of an Indiana regiment and being under age ran away from home in order
to join the army. He was one of the first to enlist and served throughout the war. He died
of fever at Memphis, Tennessee. Another son of the family, Samuel, lives in Decatur, Indiana.
About 1864 the family removed to Indiana and in that state Jacob F. .Jaberg attended
school to the age of seventeen years, when he removed to Minnesota, living in Norwood and
Glencoe, that state. For a time he attended school in Minnesota but in the school of experi-
ence he has also learned many valuable lessons. When his textbooks were put aside he mas-
tered the drug trade and afterward engaged in business in partnership with Dr. R. S. Miles
at Norwood. After a year and a half he purchased his partner's interest and then continued
the business alone for six years, but sold out in 1880. With several others he then made a
trip into Dakota territory in order to learn something of the district and its resources. He
returned to Minnesota and the following year made his way to Sanborn, where he established
a hardware business in partnership with E. E. Elliott, who joined him in the active manage-
ment and conduct of the undertaking in March, 1882. They were thus associated in business
until 1895, when Mr. Jaberg purchased Mr. Elliott's interest and remained alone until 1902,
at which time he sold the store to his former partner. In the meantime he had purchased his
farm of one hundred and sixty acres situated just a half mile north of the town and after
disposing of his store he concentrated his energies upon stock raising but is now carrying on
general farming, while for the past eight years he has devoted twenty acres of his land to
a demonstration farm. He has always taken a most active Interest in the work of develop-
ing the county and investigating its possibilities and resources and has taken an advanced
stand upon many questions of importance to the agricultural community.
On the 17th of October, 187S, Mr. Jaberg was united in marriage to Miss Angeline Packer,
62S HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
a native of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, and a daughter of John S. and Ellen Packer, who were
also natives of the Keystone state. Her grandfather was Edward Packer, of the famous
soap manufacturing family of England, and the grandmother, who bore the maiden name of
Ellen Fulton, was a native of Scotland and a near relative of Robert Fulton, tlie inventor
of the steamboat. Mr. and Mrs. Jabcrg have become the parents of four children: Stella
Grace, who is a graduate of Fargo College and is now the wife of F. 0. Olson, of that city;
Clilford E., who for three years attended the State Agricultural College and is now conducting
a garage in Sanborn; KoUin E., who is a member of Company G, First North Dakota Infantry,
and has responded to the president's call for service on the Mexican border; and Margaret,
who died in infancy.
Mr. Jaberg has always been deeply interested in public affairs and in 188S was elected
county commissioner, which position he acceptably filled for three years, when he declined to
again become a candidate. He has served on the village board of Sanborn as a member of the
board of education. In 1904 he was again elected county commissioner and was reelected in
1908, so that he has served altogether for eleven years in that position. He was elected for
three successive years as president of the state commissioners association and was made an
honorary life member at the close of his service. For a quarter of a century he has been
clerk of the school district and since 1903 has been clerk of the township board. He considers
no question of minor interest if it has to do with the welfare of his community and is thor-
oughly informed concerning the grave and vital political problems which confront the country.
He has always voted with his party and gives to it his stalwart allegiance. He is the oldest
past master of Sanborn Lodge, No. 14, F. & A. M., and is still active in that organization and
is an exemplary representative of Masonry, believing firmly in its basic principles con-
cerning mutual helpfulness and brotherly kindness.
.JUDGE HORACE BAGLEY.
Judge Horace Bagley, who without invidious distinction may be termed one of the
foremost citizens of McHenry county, his home being at Towner, was born in Melbourne,
Iowa, May 28, 1873, his parents being James H. and Harriett (Easton) Bagley, the former a
native of New York and the latter of Pennsylvania. In early manhood the father removed
to Delavan, Wisconsin, and there he wedded Miss Easton, who had become a resident of that
pl;up in her childhood days. He devoted his life to farming and in 1S05 went to Marshall
county, Iowa, where he purchased land and thereon engaged in general agricultural ]]ursuits
throughout his remaining days, passing away in 1904. His widow survives and now resides
with a sister at Pipestone, Minnesota.
Judge Bagley spent his youthful days in his parents' home and completed his public
school education by study in the Owatonna (Minn.) high school. He afterward attended
the University of Minnesota and was graduated from the academic department with the
class of 1894, winning the Bachelor of Literature degree. He then took up educational work
and was superintendent of schools at Maploton, ^Minnesota, for four years but regarded this
merely as an initial step to other professional labor, for at the end of that period he entered
the law department of the LTnivcrsity of j\linnesota in 1898 and was graduated with the
class of 1900. Removing to Adrian, Minnesota, he spent but a brief period at that place
and then located at Thief River Falls. In the autumn of 1901 he came to North Dakota and
in February, 1902, established his home in Towner, where he purchased an interest in the
Mouse River Bank, of which he was chosen president. In 1908 that institution was merged
into the First National Bank and .Judge Bagley became vice president of the latter institu-
tion but at the present time he is serving only as a member of the board of directors.
In 1908 he was elected county judge of McHenry county with increased jurisdiction
and served for si.x years upon the bench, his course being characterized by the utmost fidelity
to duty, his decisions being strictly fair and impartial, based upon the law, the evidence
and the equity in the case. In December, 1912, he entered into a law partnership with John
Thorpe under the firm name of Bagley & Thorpe and they rank high as legal practitioners
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 629
at the bar of McHenry county. During the period of his residence in this state Judge
Bagley has embraced his opportunity for investment in land and now has extensive holdings.
In 1902 Judge Bagley was married to Miss Belle Cornell, of Mapleton, Minnesota, and
they have become parents of two children, Jeannette and Mary. Fraternally Judge Bagley
is connected with Granville Lodge, I. 0. O. F., and Grand Forks Lodge, >)^o. 255, B. P. 0. E.,
while he and his wife are members of the Episcopal church. In politics he is a progressive
republican and at all times he has placed the public welfare before partisanship. His busi-
ness and professional interests and his judicial service have given him high rank among the
leading citizens of McHenry county.
F. O. FREEBERG.
F. 0. Freeberg, cashier of the Mercer State Bank, of Mercer, North Dakota, was born
on the 17th of December, 1882, in Cannon Falls, Goodhue county, Minnesota, in which city
lie passed the days of his boyhood and youth. He graduated from high school and later
engaged in teaching near Cannon Falls for two years in 1905 and 1906, after which he took
a commercial course at the Minneapolis Business College, graduating therefrom in 1907.
Mr. Freeberg's banking experience was begun as bookkeeper and stenographer in the
Farmers & Merchants National Bank of Cannon Falls, Minnesota, in 1907, and he remained
there until the fall of 1909, when he went to Kenmare, North Dakota, and accepted a similar
position in the First National Bank of that place, serving as such for four months. He then
assumed the duties of cashier of the Mercer State Bank, with which he is still affiliated.
This bank was organized in the faU of 1909 with a capital stock of ten thousand dollars and
its other officers are: T. L. Beiseker, president; Ole S. Hedahl, vice president; and Robert F.
Boehm, assistant cashier.
On the 15th of June, 1910, Mr. Freeberg was united in marriage to Miss Minnie C. Swen-
son, also a native of Cannon Falls, SBnnesota, and to them have been born three children,
namely: Cyrus Merwyn, Conrad W. and Phyllis G., all living. The parents are members of
the Swedish Lutheran church in Spring Garden, and Mr. Freeberg is also connected with th?
Modern Samaritans of Duluth, Minnesota. In politics he is a republican, taking the interest
of a public-spirited citizen in the welfare of his town, state and. nation. He was born and
grew to manhood on the farm, and although engaged in the banking business is still very
much interested in and is making a study of the agricultural pursuits of the country, as
he realizes that if this great state of North Dakota is to become the greatest state in the
Union this must be brought about through diversified farming and the development of the
agricultural interests.
WILLIAM T. MUNN.
William T. Munn, engaged in the banking business at Westhope, is numbered among
the native sons of New York, his birth having occurred at Walton, Delaware county, on the
13th of November, 1879. His parents, Hugh C. and Mary (Thomson) Munn, were also natives
of the Empire state. His father was a farmer by occupation and in Delaware county. New
York, he established a little town called Munndale, where he engaged in general mercliandis-
ing for a time. Later, however, he retired to a farm, iipon which he lived until 1907, when
he became a resident of Westhope, North Dakota. Afterward he removed to Williams county,
this state, and filed on land which he occupied and cultivated for three years. At the present
time he is making his home in Waterloo, Iowa, while his wife passed away September 13,
1903.
William T. Munn was reared and educated in New York, completing a course in the high
school at Walton, that state, by graduation with the class of 1897, after which he entered
Monmouth College at Monmouth, Illinois, and was there graduated in 1901. He next went
to Eagle Grove, Iowa, where he secured the position of assistant cashier in the State Bank,
630 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
serving in that capacity for a year. In 1902 he became a resident of C!oopeistown, North
Dakota, where he engaged in the real estate business for three j'ears, and in 1905 he estab-
lished his home at Westhope, Bottineau county, where he engaged in the land business. The
following year he and others organized the Peoples State Bank at Westhope, which they
have since conducted, Mr. Munn being the president, with K. M. Trimble as vice president,
G. H. Kalbdeisch cashier and Don E. Trimble assistant cashier. The bank is capitalized for
thirty thousand dollars and has a surplus of twenty thousand dollars, while the deposits
amount to one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. The business of the bank is care-
fully and successfully conducted and energy, enterprise, sound judgment and keen discrimina-
tion constitute the underlying principles in the prosperity which Mr. JIunn has attained for
that institution. He is also a large landowner, his realty possessions embracing about sixteen
hundred acres.
In June, 1906, Mr. Munn was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude M. McConnell and
they have one son, William Thomson, born in March, 1911. Mr. Munn is a republican in his
political views. He has served as a member of the city council of Westhope and whether in
office or out of it is always loyal to the best public interests and is willing to give of his time
and efl'orts for the benefit of his community. He was appointed a member of the game and
fiish board but declined to serve. He was committeeman for Bottineau county for the Belgian
relief fund and Westhope sent a carload of flour, being the only town of its size in the United
States to give so much. Business activity and public spirit are in him evenly balanced
qualities and his efforts along both public and private lines are resultant.
WALTER S. SHAW.
Walter S. Sliaw, president of the city council of Minot and also well known in biisiness
circles as president and general manager of the Ward Countj' Land Company, Incorporated,
was born in Montgomery county, Missouri, near Marling, May 2, 1875, a son of James K.
and Henrietta (Hellyer) Shaw. The mother was also a native of Montgomery county, Mis-
souri, while the father was born in Belmont county, Ohio. He devoted his life to agricultural
pursuits and for more than fifty years resided on the same farm in Missouri. He enlisted for
service in the Civil war at Moscow, Missouri, and for tliree years did duty as a private of
Company T), in an Ohio regiment. He was twice wounded in battle and met all the experi-
ences of military life. After the close of the war he returned to Missouri and in 1SG5 pur-
chased the farm which he still owns and occupies. He is now seventy years of age. his birth
having occurred March 10, 1840. His wife died wlun tlieir son Walter S. was an infant of
but eleven months.
Walter S. Shaw attended school in Missouri, pursuing the high school course at OIney,
and later continued his education at Vandalia, Missouri. Following his mother's death he
resided with his maternal grandmother until ten years of age, after which he worked for
others and attended school until he reached the age of twenty-two years. He then began
farming, to whidi occupation he devoted about two years and subsequently lie removed to
. Missouri, where lie was employed by the street car company for about three years, spending
a part of that time in the foundry. He afterward went lo Oklahoma and to Kansas, spend-
ing some time on the Taylor ranch near Salt Plains in the employ of James Taylor. On the
5th of November, 1901, he arrived at Minot and filed on a homestead forty-five miles north
of Minot, where he resided for about three years, during which period he secured title to the
property. Since that time he has been engaged in the real estate business, handling town
property and farm lands, and is now president and general manager of the Ward County
Land Company, Incorporated. He is also an independent land owner, having both business
and residence property in Minot. Ho operates a part of his farm land with the assistance
of hired help and otlier farms he rents to tenants. His life is a busy and active one and
success in considerable measure is attending his efforts.
On the 14th of December, 1907, Mr. Shaw was united in marriage to Miss Louise
Sehwitzer, who was born in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, a daughter of Phillip Schwitzer. Mr.
and Mrs. Shaw have one child, James Walter, four years of age.
WALTER S. SHAW
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 633
In his political views Mr. Shaw is a republican, stalwart in his support of the party
principles and active in eiTorts to promote party success. He is now serving as president of
the city council of Minot and previously he had been a member of the board of commis-
sioners. He was the only commissioner elected for a four yeai's' term and served out the
full term. He also served as police and fire commissioner during that period. He has ever
fully recognized his obligations as well as his privileges of citizenship and has discharged
every public duty in a capable manner, actuated by a progressive spirit and marked devotion
to the general good. He holds membership with the Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the
Ancient Order of United Workmen and the United Commercial Travelers. In business
circles, too, he has made a creditable record, his career being actuated by laudable ambition.
He is ever painstaking and thorough in all that he undertakes and his persistent, earnest
and intelligently directed efforts have brought him prosperity.
G. O. KANTRUD.
G. 0. Kantrud, who is meeting with gratifying success as a farmer, resides upon his
well developed place on section 25, Noble township, Cass county. He was born in Norway
on the 11th of December, 1864, a sou of Ole and Ingebord (Veslum) Kantrud, who came with
their family to the United States in 1875. Making their way to the middle west, the father
took up a homestead in Ottertail county, Minnesota, and there he still lives. His wife died
about 1906.
G. 0. Kantrud, who was a child of ten years on the removal of the family to this
country, received the greater part of his education in the district schools of Minnesota and
grew to manhood under the parental roof. In 1888, the year following his marriage, he came
with his bride to North Dakota and located in Cass county, where for a considerable period
he operated rented land. He carefully saved his money to the end of becoming a landowner
and at length was able to buy eighty acres, to the cultivation of which he devoted his
energies. In the intervening years that followed he made a number of changes, but in 1908
he bought his present home farm of one hundred and ten acres in Noble township, where
he has since made his home. He also rents additional land and is operating in all two hun-
dred and forty acres, from which he derives a good income. He is a stockholder in the Coop-
erative Creamery Company of Perley, Slinncsota.
In 1S87 Mr. Kantrud married Miss Carrie .Johnson, a native of Norway, who was
brought to this country by her parents when but two years old. To this marriage have
been born live children: Oscar, Josie, Minnie, Gena and Mary, all at home.
The political belief of Mr. Kantrud is that of the republican party, and he is serving as
a member of the school board. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Norwegian
Lutheran church, and their lives are guided by high standards of ethics. They are widely
and favorably known and those who have been intimately associated with them are their
sincere friends.
WILLIAM H. CHAPEK.
Commercial enterprise in Anamoose linds a worthy representative in William H. Chapek,
a general merchant who carries a large stock of goods and enjoj's a liberal patronage. He
was born in Wauzeka, Crawford county, Wisconsin, December 29, 1876, his parents l)eing
Frank and Mary (Stuckey) Chapek, the latter also a native of Wauzeka. The father, who
was born in Bohemia, was a musician in the old country, depending upon his art for a live-
lihood, but after coming to America he took up the occupation of farming in Crawford
county, Wisconsin, where he remained active in general agricultural pursuits until 1906.
He then disposed of his property there and removed to McHenry county. North Dakota,
where he purchased land which he still cultivates, although he resides in the town of Ana-
moose, where he and his wife are widely and favorably known.
Vol. 11—34
634 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
William H. Chapek was reared and educated in Wisconsin and remained with his parents
until he attained his majority, when he started out in the business world as an employe in
a dry goods store owned by his cousin. He was thus employed for four years and then "went
to Anamoose in 1901 to take charge of a general merchandise store which his father had
established. He remained in control of the business until July, 1907, when the s-tore was
destroyed by fire. The following year he embarked in general merchandising on his own
account and today owns a fine business block on which he is carrying a large and well selected
stock of goods such as meets the general demand. His business methods are thoroughly
reliable and his energy is enabling him to overcome all the difliculties and obstacles that
bar the path to success, so that already he is numbered among the substantial residents
of his adopted town.
On the 10th of September, 1904, Mr. Chapek was married to Miss Mary N. Hublow and
they have become parents of four children: Margaret, who was born July 16, 1905; F. A. il.
Milton, whose birth occurred June 27, 1906; William Maurice, whose natal day was' December
15, 1909; and Norman Richard, born September 21, 1912.
The family are adherents of the Catholic faith and Mr. Chapek belongs to the Modern
Woodmen camp. Politically he is a republican and has served as a member of the town
board. He is an active and helpful member of the Commercial Club, in which he was formerly
vice president, and he is a stockholder in the Anamoose Road Drag. Persistency of purpose
has ever been one of his marked characteristics and in the commercial field he has found the
path which for him leads to success.
Hox. PAUL T. kretsch:viar.
Prominent among the public-spirited citizens and representative business men of Mcintosh
county is Paul T. Krctschmar, president of the First State Bank of Venturia. He comes from
the east, being born in New York city, March 10, 1868, and is a son of Carl and Mary (Leh-
man) Kretschmar, natives of Saxony, Germany, where they were reared and educated. In
early life they came to the United States, however, and were married in New York city,
where they resided for a time. They removed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1870, and
there the father died. The mother is still living and now makes her home with her son Bruno
in Bottinea\i county, North Dakota.
During his boyhood and youth Paul T. Kretschmar attended the public schools of Phila-
delphia. In 1884 he accompanied his mother and the other members of the family on their
removal to Yankton, South Dakota. It was in April, 1889, that he came to Mcintosh county,
North Dakota, and filed on a homestead in Albrights Valley township, on which he resided
until 1898, when he was elected clerk of the courts of that county and removed to the countv
seat — Ashley. He filled that office for six years, following which, in the fall of 1904. he was
elected county auditor and served in that capacity for four years. His official duties were
always most faithfully and satisfactorily performed and he left office, as he had entered
it, with the entire confidence of the public. In August, 1909, Mr. Kretschmar was made
president of the First State Bank of Venturia. He had previously become familiar with the
banking business, having been identified with the Union State Bank of Ashley, of which
he was one of the organizers and stockholders and of which he served as vice president until
he became president of the Fiist State Bank of Venturia. He has since given much of his
attention to the management of its affairs, though he has other business interests, being a
member of the firm of Stienecker-Kretschmar Company, grain buyers, operating an elevator
in Venturia and another in Ashley. He owns a farm of one Inindred and sixty acres three
miles north of Ashley besides his city property.
In 1896 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Kretschmar and Miss Catherine Mattis,
of Mcintosh county, who was born in Russia, and they have become the parents of four
children: Otto I!., engaged in the lumber business in Venturia; and Mary B, William E.
and Paul 0., all at home.
Mr. Kretschmar is a Lutheran in religious belief, while his wife is a member of the
Baptist church. The republican party has always found in him a stanch supporter of its
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 635
principles, and his fellow citizens recognizing his worth and abilitj' have called him to
positions of honor and trust. In 1910 he was elected to represent his district in the state
senate and so ably did he fill that ollice that he was reelected in 1914, being the present
incumbent. He is public-spirited and progressive, always foremost in any movement for
the betterment of his community, and no trust reposed in him has ever been betrayed,
whether public or private. Fraternally he is a member of Ashley Lodge, No. 115, I. 0. 0. F.
OTTO PAULSON.
Otto Paulson, manager at Antler for the International Elevator Company and thus
closely associated with the grain trade in the northern part of the state, was born in
Sweden on the 21st of April, 1881. After attaining a common school education there he
came to the United States in 1900, settling first at Osnabrock, North Dakota, where he
worked for three years as a farm hand. In 1903 he began buying grain as manager of the
elevator at Argyle, Minnesota, for the Jlinneapolis & Northern Elevator Company, which
he there represented for two years. He next came to North Dakota and for a year bought
grain for the National Elevator Company at Roth. He afterward went to Maxbass, where
he was manager of the National Elevator for two j'ears and of the Farmers Elevator for
live years. In 1913 he arrived in Antler as manager of the elevator belonging to the Inter-
national Elevator Company, in which capacity he is now serving. Long experience in con-
nection with the grain trade has well qualified him for the duties and responsibilities that
now devolve upon him and he is making the business at this point a source of profit to the
co)-poration which he represents.
In 1914 Mr. Paulson was united in marriage to Miss Evelyn Habich, of Maxbass, North
Dakota. He gives his political allegiance to the republican party, while fraternally he is
identified with the folowing organizations: Antler Lodge, No. 80, A. F. & A. M. ; Phoenicia
Chapter, No. 17, E. A. M. ; and Antler Lodge. I. 0. O. F. While his residence in Antler
covers but three years, his enterprise and his notably progressive spirit have made him
one of the foremost citizens of the town and a leading factor in the upbuilding of its trade
connections.
WILLIAil T. MARTIN.
William T. Martin, president of tlie First National Bank of Edgeley, was born in
England on the 14th of May, 1869, a son of William M. and Harriett (Beard) Martin, both
of whom lived and died in Essex county, England, where the father was a horticulturist and
merchant. Reared in that county, their son, William T. Martin attended the public schools
and afterward had the benefit of a course in the Cedar Rapids (la.) Business College follow-
ing his emigration to the new world. He arrived in the United States in 1884, prior to
attaining his sixteenth year. After completing his business course he went to work for
an uncle, a prominent farmer of Cerro Gordo county, Iowa, and since 1891 he has been
continuously connected with Noith Dakota, having arrived here in the month of June,
after which he took up his abode on a homestead comprising the southeast quarter of
section 8, Glen township, Lamoure county. That place is the present site of the town
of Alfred. After taking up his abode there Mr. Martin made a specialty of the sheep
industry, in which he was very successful, running six thousand head at the time of his
retirement from the business in 1896. He then came to Edgeley and engaged in the real
estate and loan business, while in 1900 he became actively interested in hanking as the
successor of A. E. Gardner in the office of president of the State Bank of Edgeley, which
institution was nationalized as the First National Bank in 1905. At that date the capital
stock was increased from ten to twenty-five thousand dollars and a progressive spirit has
been infused into the institution that has made it one of the reliable financial concerns of
the county, enjoying a growing business. In .January, 1910, the capital stock was again
636 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
increased niul now stands at lifty tliousand dollars, making tills one of the Icailing and
most stable financial institutions of the county. Mr. Martin has invested largely in land,
having extensive holdings in Lamoure, Stutsman and Dickey counties.
In November, 1897, Mr. Martin was united in marriage to Miss Jeddah Raney, of
Colfax, Iowa, by whom he has four children, two sons and two daughters, namely : Glenn W.,
who is in the sophomore year in high school; Merle H., a freshman in the high school;
Neva L. ; and Wayne A. In politics Mr. Martin is a republican and fraternally is con-
nected with Maple Kiver Lodge, No. 41, F. & A. M. He and his wife are consistent mem-
bers of tlie Methodist Episcopal church and he is serving on the ollicial board and as
treasurer of the church. l'"or several years he was treasurer of the board of education and
is much interested in the success and development of the school system. A review of
his life points to many things that are commendable and worthy of emulation. He
arrived in New York city a lad of fifteen years, with ten dollars in his pocket. On leaving
Iowa he drove to North Dakota with horse and buggy and his fortune has wholly been
made in Lamoure county, showing the wonderful possibilities offered by this section of
the state to the man who finds opportunity his incentive and who has the ability to grasp
the situation.
HARRY G. HIGGINS.
The financial interests of Burleigh county have a worthy representative in Harry G.
Higgins, the present cashier of the Baldwin .State Bank and also identified with other
business interests in Baldwin, North Dakota. He is a native of Minnesota, his birth having
occurred in Lakeland in 18S3. His father, .John C. Higgins, was born in Ohio and when a
young man removed to Minnesota, making his home first in St. Paul, but in the early '60s
he removed to Stillwater and later to Lakeland, where he engaged in the grain business
for eighteen years. At the end of that time he became a resident of Minneapolis and there
he is still living. For a short time he was interested in the real estate business in that
city but is now serving as superintendent for the Peavy Company, grain dealers. He
married Miss Emma A. Getehel, who had removed from Michigan to Minnesota with her
parents in pioneer days, the family locating near Stillwater.
Harry G. Higgins is the oldest in a family of si.x children, four of whom are still
living. He was educated in the ^Minneapolis schools, completing a course in the Minnesota
University, from which he received the degree of L. 11. in Inne, 1908. Following his
graduation he went to Ryder, North Dakota, and entered the law office of B. A. Dickinson,
an attorney of that place, with whom he remained for eight months. He then served as
assistant cashier of the Citizens State Bank of Ryder until March, 1910, at which time he
became a resident of Baldwin. In connection with August E. Johnson, Karl Klein and
F. E. Funk, all of Washburn, Minnesota, he organized the Baldwin State Bank and has
since filled the office of cashier in a most creditable and satisfactory manner. The bank
has a capital of ten thousand dollars and a surplus of fifteen hundred dollars. It is one of
the most reliable moneyed institutions of that part of the state and does a general banking
business. Mr. Higgins is also interested in the real estate business on his own account
and as a representative for the firm of Klein & Johnson, land dealers of Washburn, and he
is a member of a company of three having the agency for automobiles at Baldwin. He is
one of the mo.st energetic and progressive business men of Burleigh county and usually
carries forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes.
In November, 1911, Mr. Higgins married Miss Alice B. Bacon, a resident of Jlin-
neapolis and a daughter of A. A. Bacon, who has been a member and lieutenant of the
Minneapolis ])olice force for the past twentv-four years. Mr. and Mrs. Higgins have two
children: .lohn and Harrv. ,
Mr. and Mrs. Higgins arc members of the Presbyterian church, and the republican
part.v finds in him a stanch supporter of its principles. He has served as school treasurer
but has never taken a very active ])art in [lolitieal alTairs aside from voting. He is iden-
. HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 637
tified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Woodmen of the World and is
serving as secretary' of both lodges in Baldwin at the present time. As a business man and
citizen he commands the respect and esteem of all who know him, and he well merits the
success that he has achieved in life.
HON. OLE GILBERTSON.
Hon. Ole Gilbertson. a pioneer settler of the Mouse River valley now engaged in farming
on land adjoining the city limits of Towner, has been a prominent factor in molding public
thought and action in his part of the state and his influence has always been on the side
of progress, improvement and development. He was born in Norway, October 18, 1854,
but no citizen of American birth is more loj'al to the best interests of city and state or
more thoroughly imbued with the spirit of American democracy. He is a son of Gilbert
and Anna (Anderson) Gilbertson, who in the spring of 1861 came to the United States
and spent a year at Beloit, Wisconsin, after which they located in Houston county, Minne-
sota, where the father purchased land and engaged in farming. He died in that county in
1878 and in the early '90s Mrs. Gilbertson came to North Dakota, making her home there-
after with her sons Ole and Andrew to the time of her death, which occurred in 1914, when
she was in tlie ninety-first year of her age.
Ole Gilbertson was a little lad of but seven summers when his parents crossed the
Atlantic and in the public schools of pioneer localities he pursued his education, his oppor-
tunities, however, being somewhat limited. Reading, experience and observation, however,
have added largely to his knowledge and he is today one of the well Informed men of his
community. As early as his twentieth year he began farming on his own account in
Houston county, Minnesota, and in 1880 he completed his arrangements for having a home
of his own by his marriage to Miss Anna Lohn, of Mitchell, Iowa, who was a native of
Norway but was brought to the United States by her parents in her infancy. In 1881
the young couple removed to northern Minnesota, spending three years in Polk county.
Mr. Gilbertson had previously made a trip to that section, and had purchased two hundred and
forty acres of railroad land in Polk county on which he lived for three years. In the
spring of 1884 he removed to the Mou.se River valley in North Dakota, then a part of
Dakota territory, and homesteaded twelve miles north of the present site of Towner, in
McHenry county. Taking up his abode upon that place, he continued to further develop
and improve the property until 1893, when he was elected county treasurer and took up
his abode in Towner. He capably served for two terms in that office, his first term's
service being endorsed by his reelection. In 1896, following his retirement from office, he
engaged in the lumber and hardware business in Towner and in the fall of 1898 he was
again called to a position of public honor and trust, being elected a member of the state
legislature, in which he served for one term. He conducted his business at Towner until
1901, when he disposed of his store and lumberyard and now concentrates his energies upon
general agricultural pursuits and the sale of farm lands. He has extensive holdings in
farm property, owning sixteen hundred and eighty acres in McHenry county and four
hundred and sixty acres in Montana. He is now actively engaged in farming, cultivating six
hundred acres of land, while the remainder he rents. His place is splendidly improved
according to the high standards of scientific farming of the twentieth century and his
work is carried on along the most progressive lines.
To Mr. and Mrs. Gilbertson have been born six children: Carl G., a farmer of Montana;
Alice G., who is a court stenographer for Judge A. M. Christensen and for five years was
postmistress of Towner; Clarence M., cashier of the Bantry State Bank; and Effie A.,
Owen Raymond and I. Sherman, all at home.
The family are members of the Lutheran church, to which Mr. Gilbertson is a generous
contributor, and they have always been active in furthering those interests which lead to
the material, social and moral uplift of the community. He has served as a member of the
school board of Towner for six years. In politics he has ever been a stalwart republican
■and was a member of the first board of county commissioners in McHenry county, filling
638 HISTORY OF jk^ORTH DAKOTA
that olFice for seven years, lie lias been a delegate to county and state conventions for
several years and has been a dominant factor in republican political circles in North
Dakota. His opinions carry weight in the councils of his party, for his colleagues and con-
temporaries recognize the soundness of his judgment and his public-spirited citizenship,
which linds expression in a marked devotion to the general good.
CECIL H. TAYLOR.
Cecil H. Taylor, a pioneer of Garrison, where he established the first ge?ieral store,
organized the postofKce and served as the first postmaster, is still engaged in business there
and is accounted one of its representative citizens. A native of ilar3-land, he was born in
1879 and is a son of Job and Georgiana Taylor, both natives of Pennsylvania. In 1880 they
removed to North Dakota and located at Bismarck. They are now living upon a ranch of
six hundred acres in Burleigh county, near Bismarck, upon which the father is raising high
grade horses.
Cecil H. Ta}ior, the youngest of a family of three children, all of whom survive, was
but a year old when brought to North Dakota and received his education in the Bismarck
schools, completing a high school course. His first business connection was as clerk in a
general store conducted bj' a Mr. Hoskins at Bismarck, in whose employ he remained for
three years. During that time, however, he devoted part of his attention to assisting his
father with the management of the ranch. In 1903 he organized a postoffice on the Missouri
river, six miles south of what later became Garrison, and in connection with the office
established a general store and lumberyard. In 1905 what is now a part of the Soo line
was built through that section and the town site of Garrison was laid out. He at once
removed his store and lumberyard to the new town, becoming its first merchant, and also
organized the postodice there and took up the duties of postmaster. He has since sold the
lumber business but is still conducting the store under the firm name of Taylor, Baldwin &
Company. A complete stock is carried and the growth of the business has necessitated
enlargement of the floor space from twenty by forty to fifty by eighty feet. Four clerks
are employed and the volume of trade is still showing a steady increase. Mr. Taylor acted
as postmaster in addition to looking after his store until December, 1913, and performed
the work of the office with marked efficiency and dispatch. He ow-ns an interest in the
ranch in Burleigh county anil derives a gratifying addition to his income therefrom.
In 1907 Mr. Taylor was married to Miss .Julie Dale, a resident of Cyrus, Minnesota, and
to this union three children have been born, nanudy: Dale, Paul and Margaret.
Mr. Taylor is an adherent of the republican party an<l is faithful to all of his obligations
as a citizen. He is a member of the Masonic lodge at Garrison, in which he has held all
of the offices, and likewise belongs to the Yeomen at Garrison. He contributes to the support
of the Congregational church and cooperates with all forces seeking advanceuient of his com-
munity along moral as well as material lines.
GEORGE J. PAGEL.
George J. Pagel is a leading business man of ChafTee and has many interests there but
gives the greater part of his time to his duties as cashier of the Farmers Security Bank,
A native of Cass count)', he was born (m the 8th of November, 1880, of the marriage of
Frederick and Catherine (Holzworth) Pagel. The father was born in Germany but when a
boy came to the Ignited States and located in Minnesota, where his marriage subsequently
occurred, his wife having removed to that state from Ohio, where she was born. Both are
now deceased and arc buried in the Zion cemetery. All of their six children are still living.
George J. Pagel was reared under the parental roof and in the acquirement of his educa-
tion attended the common schools and llir i'argo Business College. Subsequently he taught
GEORGE J. PAGEL
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 641
school for several years but at length determined to turn his attention to business and in
1907 aided in organizing the Farmers Security Bank of Chafiee, of which he has served as
cashier. He has wisely directed the affairs of the institution, which holds the confidence of
the community, and its business has shown a steady and gratifying growth. He is one of
the large landowners of the county, owning individually nine hundred acres of land and
having also an interest in an eighteen hundred acre tract, all in Cass county and all under
cultivation and well improved. He is likewise a stockholder and director in the Farmers
Elevator and is serving as secretary of a general store in Cliaffee. He possesses great energy
and is very efficient in his work and is thus able to look after all of his extensive interests.
Mr. Pagel gives his political allegiance to the republican party and for ten years has
served as township clerk, while at the present time he is a member of the village board and
the sch'ool board. Fraternally he belongs to the Modern Woodmen of America and both
within and without that organization he has many warm friends. He can be counted upon
to cooperate heartily in all movements seeking the advancement of his community whether it
be along material, moral or civic lines and is recognized as one of the foremost citizens of
Chaffee.
JOHN EMIL JACOBSON.
John Emil .Jacobson, president of the Dazey State Bank, has spent the greater part of
his life in the northwest, having been but five years of age when he was brought to the
United States by his parents from Norway, his native country. His birth occurred at
Kongsvinger on the 26th of April, 1863, and his first five years were spent in that city,
where his father. Christian Jacobson was engaged in the furrier business. In 1868 the latter
brought his family to the new world, making his way to Minneapolis. Times were dull and
as he was unable to find anything to do in the manufacturing line, he entered the employ
of Folds & Griffith, the leading carpet dealers of the city at that time, with whom he
remained for several years. Later he began the manufacture of bufl"alo coats on his own
account and afterward engaged in the grocery business, which he followed until his death
in 1898, when he was sixty-three years of age. His family numbered nine children, of
whom four are yet living.
John E. Jacobson, the eldest, entered the public schools of Minneapolis and passed
through consecutive grades to the senior class of the high school, while further training
for life's practical and responsible duties was received in the Curtiss Business College, so
that he thus became well qualified for a place in the workaday world. He attended the
business college in the evening, while aiding his father in the store through the daytime.
Later he pursued a course of study in Archibald Business College and devoted a further
year to study in the Minneapolis Academy, after which he became bookkeeper for the mill-
ing film of Crocker, Fisk & Company, with whom he continued for three months. He then
took charge of the books for Morse & Sammis, millers, whose interests were later merged
with the Minneapolis Flour Mills Company, a corporation capitalized for six hundred thou-
sand dollars. With the latter he became cashier and so continued until the company became
a part of the Northwestern Consolidated ililling Company in 189S. He remained with the
last named corporation for six months and in the fall of 1899 removed to Dazey, where he
organized the Dazey State Bank with a capital of five thousand dollars. He became its
president, with his brother, George Jacobson, as vice president and cashier. They erected a
one-story frame building eighteen by twenty-four feet, continuing the business therein until
1905, when they built their present brick building, erected along lines especially adapted
for their purpose. The success of the bank is indicated in the fact that the capital has
been increased to fifteen thousand dollars and there is a surplus and undivided profits of
seventeen thousand dollars. J. E. Jacobson remains the president, with George J. Jacobson
as vice president and C. 0. .Jacobson, assistant cashier. In 1906 J. E. .lacobson, associated
with his brother George, promoted the Farmers State Bank at Walum, Griggs county, which
has also proven a profitable undertaking and is capitalized for fifteen thousand dollars, while
the total assets amount to about a quarter of a million.
642 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
On the 17th of October, 1888, was celebrated the marriage of J. E. Jacobson and Miss
Emma Lee, of Beloit, Wisconsin, a daughter of Bernt Lee. They have become parents of
eleven children. Beatta, the eldest, is deceased. Stella, who was educated at the Univer-
sity of North Dakota, is the wife of C. O. Stee, a mining engineer now manager of the
mines at Cerro de Pasco, eighty miles from Lima, their home being ut an altitude of sixteen
thousand feet. Estrid was educated in Jlinneapolis and in the University of Nortli Dakota,
pursuing an art course. Beatta giaduated from the Academy of St. Olof College and from
the Minneapolis Kindergarten School and is now teaching. Harold, who won a scliolarship
from the high school at Daze^', is now attending tlie Jamestown College of North Dakota.
Rudolph is in school. Harriet is deceased. Helen is a twin to Harriet. Elsie, Dorotiiy and
Eunice are the younger members of the family.
The family attend the Lutheran church, of wliich Mr. Jacobson is a trustee, and fra-
ternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and witli the Sons of
Norway. He has served as a member of the village board and of the school board of Dazey
and he is interested in all that pertains to progress and ini])rovement in town, county and
state, lending generous aid and support to many measures and movements which he deems
of public wortli.
WALTER W. LEE.
Walter W. Lee, tlie well known postmaster of Sykeston, North Dakota, claims Eng-
land as his native land, his birth occurring not far from London. There he was reared and
educated, but believing that better opportunities were afforded young men in tlie new
world, he and his brotlier, Seymour Lee, crossed tlie Atlantic in 1883, their parents remain-
ing in England.
Proceeding to Wells county. North Dakota, Walter W. Lee took uji land tlure and
after proving up on his claim continued to engage in its operation for several years. Uo
made many improvements upon his land and met with success as a farmer. In 1900, how-
ever, he left the farm and removed to Sykeston, of which town he was appointed postmaster
three years later and is still holding tliat office to the entire satisfaction of all concerned.
He has also filled the position of justice of the peace and by liis ballot he supports the
republican party.
ROBERT R. ZIRIvLE.
Robert R. Zirkle, postmaster of Westhope, dates his residence in Bottineau county
from 1899. being numbered among tliose wlio took up land from tlie government and
reclaimed the region for tlie purposes of civilization. He was born at Mount .Tackson,
Slienandoali county, Virginia, January 28, 187.5, a son of Silone and Virginia (Ilenkel)
Zirkle, who were also natives of the Old Dominion. The father was a farmer and merchant
and spent his entire life in Virginia. At the time of the Civil war he enlisted in 1865,
although but si.xteen years of age, in a Virginia infantry regiment with which he served
until the close of hostilities. He passed away March 8, 1909, having for about fifteen years
survived his wife, whose death occurred August 1, 1894.
The common school system of Virginia afTordcd Robert R. Zirkle his educational
privileges. He remained with his parents until he reached the age of twenty-three years
and in 1899 he came to North Dakota, filing on land near Westhope, in Bottineau county,
where he began the development of a farm, continuing its cultivation for eight years. He
then took up his abode in the town of Westhope, where he engaged in the implement busi-
ness for two years, and later he spent a year in the grocery trade. He then sold his store
and in 1914 was appointed to the position of postmaster of Westhope, in which capacity
he has since served, discharging his duties with promptness and fidelity. He has also held
other public oflTices, having for three years been a member of the town council, in which
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 643
connection he has done important work for local public progress. His political allegiance
has always been given to the democratic party since age conferred upon him the right of
franchise. While discharging the duties of his present position he is also giving supervision
to his landed interests and to his original holdings has added until he is now the owner
of about eight hundred acres of land.
In December, 1897, Mr. Zirkle was married to Miss Anna E. Garber and they have
become the parents of four children, Silone, Doyle, Virginia and Annabel. Mr. Zirkle is in
sympatliy with the purposes of tlie various fraternal organizations in which he holds mem-
bership, including the Masons, the Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. He
and his wife belong to the Presbyterian church and are active in promoting those interests
which work for the moral progress of the community.
ISADORE E. GIEDT.
Tliroughout his business career Isadore E. Giedt has been identified with banking and
is now serving as cashier of the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Lebr. He is one of the
most alert and progressive young business men of his county. He was born on the 22d of
June, 1889, in Mcintosh county, his parents being John P. and Elizabeth (Giedd) Giedt,
natives of Eussia, though of German parentage. In 1886 they came to the United States
and OH' reaching the shores of this country proceeded at once to Mcintosh county. North
Dakota. The father filed on a homestead ten miles south of Wishek, where he lived up to
the time of his death, which occurred in 1914. At that time he was the owner of four hun-
dred acres of well improved and valuable land. The mother is still living and now resides
with a daughter in Bismarck.
Isadore E. Giedt was reared under tlie parental roof and received his early education
in the district schools of the neighborhood and the high seliool at Ashlej', North Dakota.
Later he attended the Dakota Business College at Fargo, from which he was graduated
in 1907. Immediately following his graduation he came to Lehr and has since been identified
with the banking business as assistant cashier and cashier of the Farmers & Merchants
Bank. He is now serving in the latter capacity and has assisted in making the bank one
of the substantial financial institutions of Logan county. Its present officers are J. M. Ham-
mond, president: John J. Giedt, vice president; .lohn Bisehof, second vice president; I. E.
Giedt, cashier.
In 1913 Mr. Giedt was united in marriage to Miss Mary Nagel, of Lehr, and to them
lias been born a daughter, Viola Lillian. Eeligiously they are identified with the Baptist
church, and fraternally Mr. Giedt is affiliated with Edgeley Lodge, No. 41, A. F. & A. M.,
and the Brotherhood of American Yeomen. His jiolitical support is given the men and
measures of the republican party and for several years he has filled the office of city audi-
tor. He likewise served as postmaster at Lebr for fo.ur years and was for one term mayor
of the town and no trust reposed in him has ever been betrayed, whether of a public or
private nature. He is an energetic, wide-awake business man and is regarded as one of the
leading citizens of Lehr.
HENRY H. BEEGH.
Henry H. Bergh, cashier for the First National Bank at Towner, was born in Allamakee
county, Iowa, April 1, 1878, a son of Hans and Annie (Olson) Bergh, who are natives of
Norway. In the year 1872 the father came to America, establishing his home in Allamakee
county, Iowa, where he purchased land and has since carried on farming, he and his wife
having long been respected and valued residents of that locality.
Henry H. Bergh spent his youthful days on the old homestead farm and completed
his education by a course in the Valder Business College at Decorah, Iowa. On attaining his
644 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
majority he took up the profession of teaching, wliieh lie followed for tliree years in his
native state, and in 1902 he came to North Dakota, settling at Fessenden, where he accepted
the position of bookkeeper in the Wells County State Bank. There he remained until 1903,
when he was transferred to the German State Bank at Harvey as assistant cashier^ so remain-
ing until 1905. In that year he became identilicd with the business interests of Ananioose,
opening a real estate and loan office. He was active along that line until 1906, when he
entered politics and was elected register of deeds of McHenry county. So excellent was the
record that he made that he was five times elected to the office, which he continued to accept-
ably fill until January 1, 1916, when he resigned and entered the First National Bank of
Towner as cashier, also becoming one of the stockholders and directors of this institution,
of which T. L. Beiseker is the president, Robert Gorman vice president and P. A. Hanson
assistant cashier. The bank is capitalized for twenty-five thousand dollars and has deposits
amounting to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. It is a state depositary and is the
oldest national bank in JMIenry county as well as one of the> most substantial, having
ever followed a policy in which conservatism and progressiveness are evenly balanced. It
is recognized as a very strong institution and its officers are among the leading business
men of their part of the state. Mr. Bergh is also a member of the Towner Motor Company,
which handles Dodge and Paige ears.
On the 31st of June, 1905, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Bergh and Jliss Lillian
Nelson, by whom he has two children: Marguerite, born June 26, 1906; and Eileen, born
November 20, 1908. The parents are members of the Presbyterian church and Mr. Bergh
is a well known representative of the Masonic fraternity and of the Vcomen. His political
endorsement is unfalteringly given to the republican party and aside from his long service
in the position of recorder of deeds he has for two terms been mayor of Towner, giving
to the city a businesslike administration characterized by reform, progress and high civic
standards.
DAVID PROYER BATES.
David Proyer Bates, who is engaged in law practice in Larimore, was born in Polk
county, Minnesota, March 21, 1884, and his birthplace was a little log cabin on the farm
of his father, David Bates, four miles from Grand Forks. The father, a native of England,
came with his wife to the new world about 1880 and fii"st settled at Halifax, Canada, while
later they became residents of Winnipeg. In the winter of 1883 they drove in a wagon
from Winnipeg to a point near Fergus in quest of land and at length Mr. Bates located a
homestead in Logan Center township. Grand Forks county. However, he had in the mean-
time resided for a brief period in Minnesota, where occurred the birth of his son, David
Proyer. After securing his homestead Jlr. Bates engaged in farming thereon until the fall
of 1886, when through misfortune caused by fire he lost everything. He then removed
to Larimore with his family and resided in that place until 1906, when he began farming
in Grace township, Grand Forks county, where he still makes his home. His wife, who bore
the maiden name of Harriet Oliver, is a native of England, and by their marriage they
became the parents of two children, who are yet living, the younger being William Parnell,
now a student in the State University of Grand Forks.
David P. Bates acquired his education in the public and high schools of Larimore, being
there gradiiated with the class of 1903. He next entered the State University for the
study of law and on the completion of the regular course was graduated in 1907 with the
LL. B. degree. His life up to that point had been spent upon the home farm but following
his graduation he entered upon the practice of law at McClusky and since 1911 he has lived
continuously in Larimore. Here he is now active in the general practice of law and has
obtained a very satisfactory clientage that connects him with much of the important litiga-
tion tried in the courts of his district. He prepares his cases with great thoroughness and
presents his cause with strength, his deductions being at all times most logical.
In his political views Mr. Bates is an earnest republican and since 1913 he has occupied
the position of city attorney, which he is now filling for the second term. His religious
faith is that of the Episcopal dnirch. while in his fraternal relations be is a Mason, having
DAVID P. BATES
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 647
teen initiated into the order at McClusky. He belongs to tlie Commercial Club and is
much interested in its efforts to promote the public welfare and extend the business rela-
tions of his city. Nature has endowed him with keen intellectual force and his ability
has been wisely directed along professional lines, wherein success has come to him by
reason of the comprehensive knowledge of law which he has gained and as the result
of his thorough preparation of his cases.
J. FRANK TIBBS.
J. Frank Tibbs, postmaster of Rugby, was born in Decorah, Iowa, August 9, 1868, a
son of Michael and Mary (Quenette) Tibbs, who were natives of New York and became
pioneers of Winneshiek county, Iowa. The father was both a miller and millwright and
for several years operated the old Addington mills of Decorah. He died in Egan, Soutli
Dakota, where he established his home about 1876, after which he built a mill on Rock
river and operated it for a time but subsequently filed on a homestead and tree claim
and engaged in farming up to the time of his demise.
After attending the public schools J. Frank Tibbs continued his education in the Breck-
enridge Normal School at Decorah, Iowa, and later he devoted two years to the profession
of teaching in Hancock county, that state. In the fall of 1890 he removed to Minneapolis
and was employed in the freight department of the Milwaukee Railroad. Subsequently he
was with the wholesale dry goods house of Wyman & Partridge and afterward was con-
nected with the William Donaldson Glass block. In 1895 he entered the service of the
Chicago & Milwaukee Railroad Company at Mason City, Iowa, and his next change of
position took him to the employ of the City Street Railway Company of Mason City, with
which corporation he remained for three years. He then returned to Minneapolis and
was employed by the Great Western Bicycle Works, now the C. W. Fauwkes Auto Com-
pany. Later at Ceylon, Iowa, he engaged in the restaurant business for a year and a half
and then, once more going to Minneapolis, he began representing the Grinnell-Collins Fruit
Company on the road, his territory covering North Dakota. After spending a year and a
half with that house he engaged in the restaurant business at Blue Earth, Minnesota, and
in the spring of 1904 he went to California for the benefit of his wife's health, returning
in the fall of that year, at which time he went to Grand Forks, where he closed up some
bankrupt stocks for a combination of wholesale houses. In 1906 he became a resident of
Rugby, where he opened a confectionery store which he conducted until the fall of 1911.
He then turned his attention to the real estate business, in which he has since been engaged,
and on the 29th of March, 1914. he was appointed postmaster of Rugby and has since
occupied that position.
In 1906 Ml-. Tibbs was united in marriage to Miss Amanda Schow, of Ashby, Minne-
sota. By a former marriage he had four children: Leo E., Wayne D., Max E. and Clara H.
In politics Mr. Tibbs is a democrat and fraternally is connected with Blue Earth City
Lodge, F. & A. M.; Dakota Consistory, No. 1, A. A. S. R.; and Kem Temple, A. A. 0. N.
M. S., of Grand Forks. His has been an active life in which there have been few leisure
hours, and whatever success he has achieved in a business way is attributable entirely to
liis own enterprise and close application.
K. 0. KNUDSON, M. D.
Dr. K. 0. Knudson, physician and surgeon and one of the pioneers of Glenburn, estab-
lished his home in that town two months in advance of the building of the railroad and
throughout the intervening period has been closely associated with its interests along the
lines of material, political and social development. He was born in Benson, Minnesota, on
the 7th of May, 1879, his parents being Thomas and Mary (Thorson) Knudson, tlie former
a native of Norway, while the latter was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and in her child-
648 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
liood journeyed with her parents in a prairie schooner drawn by a team of oxen to lienson,
Minnesota. The father left the land of the midnight sun wlicn a young man and eame to
the United States, also establishing bis home in Benson, where for several years he was
iMiaaj^ed in merchandising. Subsequently he entered polities and served as county treasurer
and as sheriff of the county and was very prominent and intlucntial in political circles
there for eighteen years. He died in 1910 and is still survived by his widow, who yet makes
her home in Benson.
Dr. Knudson completed his more specifically literary education by graduation from the
Benson high school with the class of 1896. In the fall of that year he entered the medical
department of the University of Minnesota but in the following year became a student in
the Keokuk Medical College at Keokuk, Iowa, from which institution he was graduated with
the class of 1903, his professional degree being at that time conferred upon him. Immediately
afterward he opened an office in Glenburn, where he has been successfully engaged in prac-
tice for the past thirteen years. Experience and further study have added to his knowledge
and efficiency and he has won the reputation of being most careful in tlie diagnosis of his
cases and conscientious in the performance of his professional duties.
In 1910 Dr. Knudson was married to Miss Marie Asplund, of Lake City, Minnesota.
She is a member of the Lutheran church and during the period of her residence in Glen-
burn has won many friends.
In politics Di-. Knudson is a stalwart democrat and is now serving as coroner of Ren-
ville county. Fraternally he is connected with Glenburn Lodge, No. 153, I. 0. 0. F., while
along strictly professional lines he has membership in the Northwestern Medical Society
and tlie Nortli Dakota State Medical Society and is a fellow of the American Jledical Asso-
ciation, through the proceedings of which he keeps in close touch with the advanced thought
and professional interests of the day. and anything which tends to bring to man the key
to the complex mystery which we call life is of deep interest to him.
G. S. OGREN.
(!. S. Ogren, cashier of the State Bank of Souris and vice ])resi(lent of the State Bank
of Roth, was born in Sweden in .June, 1S64, his parents being .John and .Johanna Ogren.
The mother died in Sweden when her son was eighteen years of age and the father came
to the United States in 1888. This was five years subsequent to the arrival of his son,
G. S. Ogren. He afterward made his home witli his son Emil in New London. :\[innesota,
there passing away in A|iril, liiDl.
G. S. Ogren was educated in tlie common schools of Sweden and at the Willmar (Minn.)
higli school. He came to the United States in 188,1, settling first at New London, ilinncsota,
and during the first two years he spent the summer months in work as a farm hand,
whil<' through the winter seasons he attended school. Later he was employed for three
years in a lumberyard in New London and then removed to Blue Earth. ^Minnesota, where
he engaged in the lumber business on his own account, having carefully and persistently
saved his earnings until his capital was sufficient to enable him to embark in business for
himself. He was afterward prominently identified with the business interests of the
town until 1892. He then returned to New London to close up some mercantile interests,
which had become financially involved. This required about a year and while thus engaged
in this business adjustment he drifted into tlie collection business as a result of the reputa-
tion which he had won in his prior connection. In .January, 1893, he removed to Willmar,
Minnesota, where he was associated with one of the mercantile houses in the capacity
of collector and bookkeeper from 1893 until 1899. In the latter year he removed to
Glenwood, Minnesota, where he purchased a lumberyard which he operated until the
spring of 1901. He then sold that business and removed to Bottineau, at which time the
Great Northern Railroad Company was extending its line to Souris. Accordingly Jfr.
Ogren took up his abode in that town in advance of the railroad, believing that with the
building of the line it would enter >ipon a period of growth and progress. He purchased
a corner lot and erected his present modern brick bank building, after which be organized
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 649
tlie State Bank of Souris. The doors of the new institution were opened for business
on tlie 2d of December, 1901, with Mr. Ogren as cashier of the bank, and he has been the
manager of its financial policy from that time to the present, in which connection he
has built up a business that now shows deposits amounting to one hundred and seventy-
five thousand dollars. He is also the vice president of the State Bank of Roth and in
all his aff'airs he shows marked discrimination and unfaltering enterprise. It was in 1907
that lie organized the Roth institution, which is also a profitable and growing concern.
He owns three finely improved farms of three hundred and twenty acres each situated
near Roth, besides otiier land, and he lias vmder his management twelve other farm prop-
erties of nonresident owners.
In 1903 Mr. Ogren was united in marriage to Miss Randine Soland, of Norway Lake,
Minnesota, by whom he has two daughters, Ruth Juliette and Stella Lucille.
In politics Mr. Ogren is a republican but has never been an office seeker. He has
served, however, as scliool treasurer for several years and at this writing, in 1916, is one
of the city aldermen, in which connection he is exercising his official prerogatives in sup-
port of many well defined plans and measures for the general good. He recognizes that
his town and state have before them splendid opportunities and he is putting forth every
eff'ort to bring about a substantial growth and improvement.
FRANlv E. WRIGHT.
Among the leading citizens of Max, McLean county, is Frank E. Wright, a practicing
attorney and also the publisher of the Max Enterprise. He was born in Appleton, Minne-
sota, November 7, 1884, and is a son of Joseph W. and .Jennie B. Wright, natives respectively
of Rochester, New York, and of Wisconsin. However, they spent the greater part of their
lives in Minnesota.
Frank E. Wright graduated from the Appleton high school and subsequently entered
the University of Minnesota, which conferred upon him the Bachelor of Laws degree on the
completion of his course in 1907. He began the practice of law in Appleton, being connected
for about a year with the firm of Young & McElligott, but in 1908 he located in Max,
North Dakota, where he has since remained. He at once opened an office and in a compara-
tively short time had gained recognition as an attorney of ability. He has built up a good
practice but since June 1, 1913. has devoted much of his time and energy to the publica-
tion of the Max Enterprise, which he bought on that date. He has likewise met with
success in his journalistic venture both from a financial and a professional viewpoint. The
leliability, enterprise and progressiveness of the paper is recognized throughout the county
and its circulation has shown a gratifying growth.
Mr. Wright was married on the 18th of November, 1909, to Miss Lina Pudwell, a native
of Mcintosh county. North Dakota, and to this union has been born a son, Joseph Wells.
Mr. Wright is a republican and takes an active interest in political and civic afi'airs. He
has thoroughly identified his interests with those of his community and is confident of a
splendid future awaiting the state of North Dakota.
•JAJS'IES D. McDON,y:.D.
James D. McDonald, who is living in honorable retirement from the cares of active life
in Bismarck, was born in Ontario, Canada, on the 22d of November, 1852. a son of Donald
and Margaret (Falconer) McDonald. The father engaged in farming and was also post-
master for a considerable period. Both parents have passed away. To them were born
five sons and nine daughters, all of whom are still living.
James D. McDonald was educated in the public schools of the Dominion and during
his youth also learned the blacksmith's trade. He remained in his native country imtil
1876, when he came to the States, arriving in Bismarck, North Dakota, on the 16th of
650 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
March. For four years lie was in the employ of the Northwestern Transportation Company^
after which he established a blacksmith's shop of his own, which he conducted for twenty-
five years. He invested his earnings in land and at Icngtli took up his residence on his
farm in Burleigh county. He personally operated the place for thirteen years and proved
very successful as an agriculturist, harvesting large crops, the sale of which yielded him a
good income. At length, feeling that he had accumulated a sufficient capital to provide
him with the comforts of life during his remaining days, he retired and removed to Bis-
marck, where he still resides.
In 1881 occurred the marriage of Mr. McDonald and iliss Catherine McCormac, who
died in 1891, leaving two sons: Dr. J. A., who is practicing at Cando, North Dakota; and
Donald, residing in Wyoming. In 1894 Mr. JtcDonald was again married, ^liss Catherine
Brady becoming his wife.
Mr. McDonald is a stalwart republican and has served as a member of the city council
for thirteen years and as a member of the school board for nine years. Fraternally he
belongs to the Yeomen and to the Modern Woodmen of America, and in religion he is a
Roman Catholic. During the forty years of his residence in North Dakota he has seen the
greater part of its development and believes firmly that still greater prosperity is in store
for the commonwealth. He has a wide acquaintance in Bismarck, and his worth is indi-
cated by the fact that those who have been most closely associated with him hold him
in the highest esteem.
E. G. BORGEN.
E. (i. Borgen. register of deeds in Pierce county, was born in Norway in August, 18~:i,
a son of G. E. and Ingeborg Borgen, who were also natives of that country, where the
father followed farming until 1882, when h(> brought liis family to the new world. He
settled first in Traill county. North Dakota, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits
for many years, but is now living retired, residing in Northwood, this state.
E. G. Borgen began his education in the scho(ds of Norway and comi)leted his studies
in North Dakota. He remained witli his parents until he attained his majority and after-
ward purchased land in Polk county. Minnesota, wliere he developed and improved a farm,
devoting a number of years to its cultivation. In IDOfi lie became a resident of Pierce county,
where he purchased hind wliich lie tilleil for nine years. Since elected to ofTice he has
rented his farm, which comprises three liundicd and twenty acres of rich prairie soil live and
a half miles from Knox. In 1914 he was elected register of. deeds and is making an
excellent record in office by the ])romptn(ss and systematic manner in which he discharges
liis duties.
In December, 1895, j\Ir. Hoigeii was united in marriage to Miss Ida Sanodcn and to
them have been born three children: Rimer, born in 1897; Clarence, born in 1898: and
(Jrace. born in 1900. The parents hold membership in the Lutheran church and Mr. Borgen
is also identified with the Sons of Norway. His political endorsement is given to the
republican party and while in Minnesota he filled the office of justice of the peace and
was also assessor there. His fellow townsmen recognize in him one in whom to have trust
and confidence, for it is well known that no trust reposed in him is ever betrayed in tlie
slightest degree.
P. N. LANGBELL.
Among the important factors in the development of McLean count}' is the Podhola-
Langbell Land & I./oan Company, of which P. N. Langbell is the president. He is unusually
well qualified for work of this nature as he is thoroughly acquainted with conditions in
the county and with the possibilities of this section as he has resided here since 1883,
or during practically his entire life. His birth occurred in Denmark, .Tune 27, 1878, and
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 651
he is a son of Jacob Thomas and Mary Langbell, the latter of whom died during his
infancy. Jacob T. Langbell engaged in carpentering and contracting in Denmark and
following his removal to Henning, Minnesota, in 1880 continued in the same line of work
there until 1883. In that year he located in Bismarck, North Dakota, where he followed
the carpenter's trade for a time. In April, 1883, he homesteaded land near Cole Harbor and
later purchased a ranch in that vicinity, taking up his abode on that place. In 1890 he
removed to his homestead and filed on a tree claim three miles east of old Coal Harbor.
In 1902 he sold his holdings there and removed to Alberta, Canada, where he is now
farming.
P. N". Langbell received his education in the Cole Harbor schools and after putting
aside his textbooks assisted his father until 1903, when he removed to Cole Harbor and
turned his attention to the business of locating new settlers. The following year he went
to Underwood, where he established a real estate and loan business, at the same time
filing on a homestead adjoining the town site. He soon, however, disposed of that property
but remained in Underwood until March, 1908, when he came to Max. He at once opened
an office here and for several years dealt in real estate and loans independently but in
1913 became president of the Podhola-Langbell Land & Loan Company, organized in that
year. The other officers are: P. D. Podhola, secretarj'-treasurer; and M. H. Podhola,
vice president; and the concern is incorporated with a capital of twenty-five thousand
dollars. The company places first mortgage farm loans, manages farms for nonresidents
and buys and sells farm lands. It owns and controls several thousand acres of improved
and unimproved land in the vicinity of Max and as its prices are reasonable and its
terms liberal it has done much to promote the settlement of the county.
Mr. Langbell was married August 13, 1910, to Miss Helen Duotski, a native of Buffalo,
New York, who, however, has resided in Max since childhood. They have three children,
namely: Delmer, Kenneth arid La Vonne.
Mr. Langbell is a strong republican and for the past eight years has served as county
justice, making an excellent record in that oflice. He has served as clerk of the school board
for two years, is a member of the Baptist church and belongs to and is secretary of the
Modern Brotherhood of xlmerica. As a business man he is energetic, farsighted and
progressive, as a citizen he is public-spirited and as a friend he is loyal and sincere, thus
manifesting qualities which never fail to win respect and warm regard.
ADAJI CRANSTON.
North Dakota derives its wealth in large mcasiu-e from its grain interests, and prominent
among its business men are those who are buying grain and managing its elevators, thus
shipping the products of its fields into all parts of the country and thus bringing North
Dakota into close business relations with every section of the Union. Active in the grain
trade is Adam Cranston, now manager of the Farmers Elevator at Antler and also one of
the pioneer settlers of the town. He was born in the province of Ontario, Canada, September
7, 1883, a son of Adam and Euphemia (Ferguson) Q-anston, the former a native of Scotland
and the latter of Ontario. The father on leaving his 7iative land became a resident of
Ontario and in less than a year he lost his eyesight, since which time he has been blind.
It was after this that he married and he has never seen his wife nor children. In 1900 he
came to North Dakota and took up a homestead four miles east of Antler, on which he
has since resided.
Adam Cranston of this review is indebted to the public school system of Ontario for the
educational privileges which he enjoyed and which prepared him for life's practical and
responsible duties. He came with his father and the family to North Dakota in 1900 and
when he attained his majority in 1904 he, too, homesteaded about four miles west of Antler
and during the succeeding eleven years was actively engaged in farming. As early as 1905
he identified himself with the grain business and during the years 1906 and 1907 bought
grain on his own account, buying on the track at Kuroki and Antler. Subsequently, however,
he concentrated his entire attention upon his farming interests, so continuing until August,
652 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
]'.)14, wlu'ii he was imulc iiiaiiai;!'!- of tlie Farnicrs KU'vator at Antler ami lias since been
in control of that undertaking. His work in this connection is thorouf;lily satisfactory to
those whom he reinescnts, for he watches the market closely and makes judicious purchases
resulting in i)rofitable sales for the oom])an}-. He still owns his homestead property but has
recently sold a quarter section which he had in the meantime acquired.
In I'.il.") -Mr. Cranston was united in marriage to Miss Grace E. Johnston, of South
Dakota, by \\ hom he has a son, James L. Mr. Cianston votes with the republican party and
labors untiringly to promote its success because of his firm belief in its principles. He is
now chairman of the board of township supervisors, in which official capacity he has served
for the past twelve years, his long continuance in the office being proof of his marked
fidelity and capability. He has also recently been appointed justice of the peace of his
town. Fraternally he is identified with the following organizations: Antler Lodge, No. 80,
A. F. & A. if.; Antler Lodge, No. 109, I. O. 0. F.; the Modern Woodmen of America; and
the Modern Brotherhood of America. Both Mr. and Mrs. Cranston hold membership in
the Presbyterian church, in the work of which they are actively and helpfully interested,
Mr. Cranston npw serving as one of the church trustees. His is a busy and useful life
fraught with substantial results, his success being the merited reward of his persistency of
purpose and untiring industry.
A. \X. EYNON.
A. W. E^-non, president of the Farmers & ilerchants State Bank of Bowdon, North
Dakota, is one of the representative business men of Wells county. He is a native of the
neighboring state of Minnesota, his birth occurring in Stewart, March 22, 1879, and he is a
son of Andrew and Luella Eynon, who were descended from a long line of American
ancestry. He began his education in the pjiblic scliools of Stewa-rt and after graduating
from the high school attended the Jlinnesota School of Business at Minneapolis.
Having thus secured a good practical education, Mr. Eynon began his business career
and at once became connected with banking, being employed for about a year in the Hector
State Bank of Hector, Minnesota. He then went to Carrington, North Dakota, where he
was in the service of the First National Bank for a short time, and from there removed
to Courtenay, being first assistant cashier and later cashier of the First National Bank of
that place, with which he was connected for three years.
It was in 1905 that Mr. Eynon became a resident of Bowdon and the same year organized
the Farmers & Merchants Bank, with a capital of ten thousand dollars, its first officers
being: G. E. Schlechter, president; Frank Sugen, vice president; and A. W. Eynon, cashier.
A change was made in 1910, when A. W. Eynon became president; L. B. Eynon,
vice president; and T. H. McEntee. cashier; and five years later E. G. Brundide
became cashier and Tutman Fortney, assistant, the other officers remaining the
same up to the present time. The bank now has a surplus equal to its capital
of ten tliousand dollars and is in a flourishing condition, its officers being wide-awake business
men, sagacious and farsighted. Mr. Eynon is heavily interested in farm land in Wells county,
and is a stockholder and treasurer of the Bowdon Telephone Company and a stockholder of the
Farmers elevator of Bnwdon. He has met with well nu'rited success in business alfairs and
occupies an eiiviiililc position in fhuiiiciiil circles of his ])art of the state. In politics he is
a republican.
.TOirN S. HOCKING.
John S. Hocking, who passed away November 29, 1915. was a highly prosperous and
up-to-date agriculturist residing in ICmpire township, Cass county. He was born in Cornwall,
England, on the 24th of June, 1846. and was a son of Edmund and Tabitha (Bennett)
Hocking, who passed their entire lives in England, where the father was employed as a tiimer
JOHN S. HOCIvING
ISIRS. JOHN S. HOCKING
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 657
and miner. His wife died in 1896. Tlie grandfather of our subject was a soldier under
Wellington at the battle of Waterloo and was awarded several medals for bravery.
John S. Hocking was reared in England and there received a good education. In 1866,
whon about twenty years of age, he crossed the Atlantic to the United States and for a time
was employed as mining engineer and expert in the mines of Connecticut, after which he
was employed in the copper mines of North Carolina for a short time. He then returned
to Connecticut, where he remained until the fall of 1867, when he removed to Upper Mich-
igan. He was employed in the copper mines there until 1878, in which year he came to
North Dakota and located on a farm in Empire township, Cass county. He took up a home-
stead, to Avhich he subsequently added by purchase and at his death he owned in all eleven
quarter sections in a body. He erected substantial and commodious buildings and also
planted a ten acre grove, which is one of the best in the county, always taking a justifiable
pride in the fine appearance of his place. His home was situated on section 34. He divided
his attention between the growing of grain and the raising of stock, and found that the two
branches of farming coordinate well and that general farming is more profitable than special-
izing in the raising of eitlier grain or stock.
Mr. Hocking was united in marriage in 1870 to Miss Mary J. Matters, who was born
in Devonshire, England, but was brought to this country by her parents when but five years
of age. To Mr. and Mrs. Hocking were born eleven children : Ella, who is the wife of Robert
Smith, now a resident of Yelm, Washington ; Jane, who married A. A. Walker, of Casselton,
this state; Edmund; Samuel, deceased; Richard; John; William; Thomas; Harry; Newton;
and Cliarles, deceased.
Mr. Hocking was a republican and held all of the township offices, while he served on
the school board for years. He always performed his official duties with an eye single to
the public good and made a highly creditable record in office. He held membership in the
Masonic blue lodge and in the Scottish Rite bodies and had conferred upon him all of the
degrees up to the thirty-second. He was also identified with the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, which he joined in 1868. Both ho and his wife affiliated with the Methodist Episco-
pal church and their influence could be counted upon in tlie furtherance of worthy causes.
Mr. Hocking made all that he had himself after coming to America and earned the title of a
self-made man.
DARBY O'MALLEY.
The success which crowns persistent, lionorable effort and judicious investment has
come to Darby O'ilallcy, now numbered among the capitalists of Valley City and since
1881 a resident of Barnes county. He was born in County Mayo, Ireland, in June. 1852,
a son of James and Catherine (McNamara) O'Malley. wlio were also natives of that county
and spent their entire lives on the Emerald isle.
Darby O'Malley vi'as a youtli of eighteen years wlien he bade adieu to friends and
native land and sailed for America, becoming a resident of Cliicago immediately after the
big fire of October, 1871. There he remained until 1879 and for two years was a resident
of St. Paul, after which he came to Valley City in 1881. He purcliased land on Getchell
Prairie and is still the owner of farm land in that locality. Tliroughout much of the period
of his residence in Barnes county, however, he has made his home in Valley City, where
he has engaged in the real estate and insurance business and through the careful conduct
of his interests he has won a substantial measure of success, negotiating many important
realty transfers. He is also identified with financial affairs as vice president and one of
the directors of the First National Bank and has banking interests in Montana. He was
one of the organizers and promoters of the Middle West Fire Insurance Companj", whicli
has won a substantial measure of success during its existence, and he is interested in the
Northwestern Nursery Company and the Western Realty Company, of Fargo, of which
he is a director and second vice president. Moreover he owns fifteen hundred acres of
land in North Dakota and Canada.
In 1881 Mr. O'Malley was married to Miss Annie Stevens, a native of Ireland, who
Vol. 11—3 5
658 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
settled in JJanios county in luoiucr times. They have a daughter, Kntli. :Mr. O'Malley
gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has been somewhat prominent in
public afi'airs, serving for several terms as alderman of his city and for one term as
mayor. He was also county commissioner for seven years and from 1S9G until 1900 was
postmaster. His interest in the cause of education has been shown tluough his active
service as a member of the school board. He belongs to the Catholic churcli. to the Knights
of Columbus and is a charter member of the Elks lodge at Valley City and the United
Workmen lodge. He was a delegate to the national convention of Elks at Los Angeles in
1912 and at Atlantic City two years later. He and his wife usually travel during the
winter and have toured both Europe and America. He intends to visit the South American
countries soon. He has proven himself a citizen of substantial worth to his community
in instituting and promoting successful business enterprises which have advanced the
material development and also by his loyalty and allegiance in public office, where he
has stood for high standards of citizenship wliile faithfully performing his olhcial duties.
CHRISTIAN T. ANDERSON.
Christian T. Anderson, a well known merchant of Bowdon and one of the leading
citizens of Wells county, was born on the 23d of July, 1S69, in Freeborn county. Minnesota,
and is a son of Tollif and Cecil Anderson, both natives of Norway. On their emigration to
the United States about 1862 they settled in Wisconsin but later removed to Minnesota,
the father becoming the owner of a good farm in Freeborn county, on which our subject
was born. Tollif Anderson was very successful in his farming operations, which he con-
tinued to carry on until 1910, when he retired from active life and removed to Glenville,
Minnesota, which is still his home. In his family were ten children, of whom Christian T.
is the oldest and all are still living with the exception of one daughter, the others being
Rena, the wife of A. T. Tyrrell, a resident of Sacramento, California; Ingwald, living at
Wildrose, North Dakota; Sina, the wife of 0. A. Perkins, of Silver Lake, Iowa; Theodore,
who lives at Wildrose; Sophia, the wife of Jack La Binne, of Larimore, North Dakota;
Mrs. Julia Palmer, of Wisconsin; Laura, the wife of Arnold Esse, of Albert Lea, Minnesota;
and Alfred. The father manifested his loyalty to his adopted country during the Civil
war by enlisting in 1861 as a member of Company K, Fifteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infan-
try, with which he served for three years and three months.
Christian T. Anderson began his education in the district schools of Freeman tow-nship,
Freeborn county. Minnesota. He also pursued a commercial course at Hruflat Academy in
Portland, North Dakota. He remained under the parental roof until nineteen years of
age and on leaving home in 1888 went to Blanchard, North Dakota, where he worked on
a large farm for four years, and in 1892 began clerking in a store in Portland, where he
spent two years. At the end of that time he embarked in the confectionery business at
Oummings but at the end of one year sold out and rented a farm near Hillsboro. on which
he spent the succeeding three years. lie ne.\t purchased a farm of one hundred acres in
Traill county but after operating it for two years returned to Hillsboro and entered the
employ of P. S. Peterson. In 1903 he took up a homestead near Lansford in Bottineau
county, on which he lived off and on for several years. In the meantime, however, he
became interested in merchandising, as he became an employe in P. 8. Peterson's
store in Bowdon in the fall of 1903 and removed to that village in the spring of 1904. In
January, 1907, he became a partner of J. C. Little, which connection lasted until 1912,
since which time Mr. Anderson has been alone in business. He carries a complete line of
general merchandise except hardware and his store is neat and attractive in appearance,
in fact is one of the best establishments of the kind in Wells county. Mr. Anderson was
one of the incorporators of the Bowdon Telephone Company, of which he is still a stock-
holder, and is also actively interested in agricultural pursuits, owning and operating a good
farm near the village.
In 1894 Mr. Anderson married Miss Mollie Kaldor, a native of Minnesota, born near
her husband's birthplace. Tliey are faithful members of the Lutheran church and he is
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 659
also connected with the local order of the Sons of Norway of which he is now financial
secretary. He is also serving his ninth year as school director and takes a very active
and inlluential part in the public affairs of the village in which he lives. His political
support is given tlie republican party. He is regarded as one of the most prominent men
of the community and is preeminently public-spirited and enterprising.
VAVh JIORTENSEN.
Among the valued residents of Cass county of Norwegian birth is Paul Mortenscn, who
for a long period was actively identified with farming interests but is now living retired,
enjoying a period of rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves. He was born in
Norway, January 3, 1839, a son of Morten and Kari Mortensen, who always remained resi-
dents of their native country. It was there that Paul Mortensen was reared and educated.
At length the opportunities of the new world proved an irresistible attraction for him and
in 1870 he crossed the Atlantic, making his way first to Douglas county, Minnesota, where
he remained for about three months. On the 8th of October, 1870, he arrived in Cass county,
North Dakota, and settled on the farm which he now owns and occupies, its location being
on section 12, Harwood township. He then built a log cabin with bark and sod roof and
puncheon floor. From the door hung the latchstring. which was always out for the welcome
of their friends. In that primitive home ilr. Mortensen remained for thirteen years, but as
he prospered in his undertakings he added fine improvements to his farm and there are now
excellent buildings upon the place. He has two hundred and fifty-one acres of land located
on the bank of the Red river and constituting one of the best farms of the county. At the
present time, however, he is renting his land and is living retired, for he has now well
advanced in years and it is meet that he should have a period of rest.
Mr. Mortensen has been married twice. In 1865, in Norway, lie wedded Miss Maren
Petersen, a native of that country, by whom he had seven children, as follows: Emil,
now a resident of Montana; Otto, living in Moorhead, Minnesota; Karen, who gave her hand
in marriage to Rev. L. H. Bueide; Maria, who is the wife of John Soberg and resides in
Montana; Minnie, the wife of Rev. 0. J. Overbo, of Aneta, North Dakota; and two who are
deceased. The wife and mother passed away in 1881 and in 1882 Mr. Mortensen was again
married, his second union being with Miss Martha Petersen, by whom he had three children,
namely: Peter, at home; Matilda, who is the wife of Nicholas Petersen, of Hunter, Cass
county; and one who is deceased.
Mr. Mortensen and his wife are members of the Lutheran church and in politics he is a
republican. He has served as township supervisor and as justice of the peace and is most
conscientious in the discharge of his official duties. He has also been school director for
a number of years. His life has been well spent and he deserves much credit for what he
has accomplished, for when he came to the new world he was empty handed and all that he
possesses lias been acquired through his industry and determination. By well directed labor
he has obtained a handsome competence that now enables him to live retired, although he
still occupies the old homestead farm whereon he has continued for forty-six years. He
has witnessed many wonderful changes in the county and rejoices in what has been accom-
plished as the work of develojwnent and improvement has been carried steadily forward.
ROBERT E. BARRON.
A messenger boy at the age of thirteen years and dependent since upon his own resources
for a living, Robert E. Barron now occupies a position of honor and influence in business
circles of Minot as the president of the Second National Bank, and investigation into his
career shows a strict adherence to^ the rules which govern unswerving integrity and inde-
fatigable industry. He was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, November 19, 1873, a son of
Patrick D. and Josephine (Morris) Barron, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of
660 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Virginia. With five brothers Patrick D. Barron came to the new world, at which time he
was about twenty-one years of age, and all of the brothers located in the city of Baltimore,
but after a brief period Patrick D. Barron went to Washington, D. C, where he occupied the
position of chief clerk in the bureau of statistics, there remaining until the brothers went to
Minnesota about the year 1S72. He settled in St. Paul, where he engaged in contract work
and with a partner conducted a machine shop until his health became impaired, after which
he lived retired until called to his final rest in the year 1S87. He served in the commissary
department during the Ovil war with the rank of lieutenant as a member of the ITnion
army, while his brothers were in the Confederate service. His widow is still a resident of
St. Paul.
Robert E. Barron was the fourth in a family of five children. He attended the common
schools and also the Cathedral school of St. Paul, Minnesota, but at the age of thirteen
started out to earn his own way in the world, being employed as a messenger in the German-
American National Bank of St. Paul. That he was faithful, reliable and efficient is indicated
in the fact that he was continued in that institution for thirteen years, being promoted from
one position to another of larger responsibility until, having passed through intermediate
grades, he was advanced to the position of receiving teller. There he continued until 1901,
when he resigned to become the cashier of the Great Northern Bank of Jlinot. The following
year this bank was nationalized and the name changed to the Second National Bank.
Mr. Barron continued as cashier until after the accidental death of the president. .Joseph
Roach, in October, 1913. In the following January Mr. Barron was elected to the office and
is now the chief executive of the bank, directing its activities and controlling its policy, his
administrative control being a most important element in the continued success and develop-
ment of the bank. While be manifests a progressive spirit in all that he undertakes,
it is tempered by a wise conservatism in financial matters that results in a careful safeguard-
ing of the interests of all depositors. He is a director of the First State Banks of Surrey and
Burlington, North Dakota. He is also a North Dakota landowner and gives personal
supervision to his investments, although he devotes the greater part of his attention to
banking.
On the 20th of January, 1904, Mr. Barron was united in marriage to Miss Sadie L.
Thompson, a native of Britt, Iowa, and a daughter of James W. and Kate E. Thompson,
who were born in Iowa and Nebraska respectively. In early life Mr. Thompson engaged
in the hardware and machine business and in 1902 came to North Dakota, turning his atten-
tion to farming about eighteen miles southeast of Minot, where he resided until his death,
which occurred in 1911. He was a man of splendid physique, large and well proportioned,
standing six feet and three inches in height. Ilis sterling characteristics were in harmony
with his splendid physical manhood and he enjoyed the warm regard of all. His widow
still survives and is now living in Minot. Mr. and !Mrs. Barr.on have two children: Meredith,
attending school; and Robert E.
Mr. Barron is a member of the Roman Catholic church and is connected with the
Knights of Columbus. He also belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and in
politics is a republican but does not seek nor desire oflSce. He has ever concentrated his
attention upon his business affairs and his wise direction of his interests has brought him
to the present enviable position which ho occupies.
JOSEPH G. FORBES.
Joseph G. Forbes, of Wahpeton, has built up a large and remunerative private practice
but is now devoting the greater part of his time and attention to the discharge of his
duties as states attorney of Richland county. His birth occurred in Huron county, Ontario,
on the 19th of March, 1868, and he is a son of Alexander and Margaret (Dundas) Forbe.*,
both natives of Ireland. The maternal grandfather, Andrew Dundas. who was a weaver
by occupation, emigrated to Huron county. Ontario, Canada, where his demise occurred.
The parents of our subject were nmrried in the province of Quebec, to which they had removed
as young man and young woman. The father followed the profession of teaching there for
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 661
thirty-five years, a record of honorable service to the community that is not often equaled.
The value of his work was recognized and during his later years he received a pension from
the Canadian government. He was a member of the conservative party and in religion
was affiliated with the English church. To him and his wife were born thirteen children,
of whom our subject is the twelfth in order of birth and of whom nine are still living.
Joseph G. Forbes supplemented his common school education by attending the high school
in Minneapolis and following his graduation there took a year's course of study in Hamline
University. Having determined upon the practice of law as a life work, he then entered a
law office, where he pursued his legal studies. In 1893 he passed the required examination
and was admitted to the Minnesota bar, but the following year taught school at Morton,
that state. During that time he engaged in practice to a small extent and in 1894 he opened
an office in Lake Benton, Minnesota, where he practiced for five years. He next located at
Wahpeton, becoming associated with Senator P. J. McCumber, under the firm name of
JlcCumber, Bobert & Forbes. This connection was maintained until 1912, when Mr. Forbes
became a member of the firm of Forbes & Thorps, which is now Forbes & Lounsberry.
Tliey are recognized among the most able members of the Richland county bar and have
a large and representative general practice. Mr. Forbes not only has a thorough knowledge
of the underlying principles of jurisprudence and of statute and precedent, but also has the
faculty of going unerringly to the most essential piont in a matter and of presenting his
cause in a convincing manner. His ability' has been recognized by his fellow citizens and
he has served in several offices in the line of his profession. While living at Lake Benton,
Jlinnesota, he served as county attorney of Lincoln county and since arriving in Wahpeton
has been eit}' attorney and assistant states attorney, and in 1915 was elected states
attorney, which office he is now ably filling. He is zealous in safeguarding the public
interests and is aggressive in prosecuting wrongdoers.
On the 25th of October, 1893, Mr. Forbes was united in marriage to Miss Mary C.
Watson, who was born in Marshall, Minnesota, and is a daughter of J. P. Watson, a hard-
ware merchant of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Forbes have three children : Arnold C, Stanley W.
and Vernon D., all at home.
Mr. Forbes casts his ballot in support of the republican party and keeps well informed
on all questions and issues of the day, taking a keen interest in civic conditions and
problems. He is now serving as president of the board of education and is constantly
seeking to make the schools more efficient. His fraternal relations are with the Masons
and he holds his church membership in the First Congregational church. His record is
])roof of the fact that in order to succeed it is not necessarj- to have capital or influential
friends in starting out in life, as he was compelled to meet the expenses of his education
himself and thro\ighout his career has depended solely upon his own merit anil abilit.y for
advancement.
JOSEPH ALLEN SIHTH, M. D.
Dr. .Joseph Allen Smith, practicing at Xoonan, Divide county, was born at EUendale,
Dickey county, March 27, 1884. His father, Ed A. Smith, is a native of Chatfield, Minne-
sota, and after attaining his majority there engaged in- the newspaper and printing business.
In 1882 he became a resident of EUendale, where he was made cashier of a bank, and in
connection with Fred S. Goddard he purchased the Dickey County Leader, a newspaper
which he edited and published at EUendale for many years. It had a large circulation,
being the leading paper of Dickey county. He afterward became proprietor of the Oakes
Republican at Oakes, North Dakota, now the Oakes Times. He became quite interested
and active in politics and his opinions have carried weight in the local councils of the
republican party, while his fellow townsmen, appreciative of his worth and ability as a
citizen and business man, have elected him to the position of county clerk of Dickey county,
which position he is now filling. In early manhood he married Katie M. Clark, who was
born in Lowell, Massachusetts, but was reared and educated in South Dakota, where she
arrived at the age of seven years, spending her girlhood on a farm near Brookings. She
662 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
afterward taught seliool in South Dakota, and was married in Kllendale, wliere she and her
husband arc now living. Sir. Smith is one of the pioneer journalists of the state and a
man whose efl'orts have been an etfective force in promoting the public welfare and advanc-
ing the interests of the republican party. He has long been accjuainted with the state in
its various stages of development and improvement and his inlluence has ever been on the
side of ])rogress.
Dr. Smith, after advancing through consecutive grades to the high school in Ellendale,
there completing his more specifically literary education, became a medical student in
George Washington University at Washington, D. C, and was graduated therefrom in 1907
with the M. D. degree. He became interne in Columbia Hospital at the national capital
and also spent a year in the Children's Hospital at Washington, thus gaining the broad
and valuable practical experience which is acquired in no other way as readily as in the
varied duties of hospital w'ork. He located for the private practice of medicine at York,
North Dakota, where he remained for three years, when in March, 1912, he removed to
Noonan, where he has since resided.
On the 16th of October, 1913, Dr. Smith was united in marriage to Sliss Lora Aird,
of Minot, w-ho was born in Lansing, Iowa, a daugliter of Charles and Belle (Williams) Aird,
now residents of Wecota, South Dakota. Mrs. Smith attended the public schools of
Lansing and pursued a university course at Hopkinton, Iowa. She afterward
began tcacliing in tliat state and for four years was a teacher at York, North Dakota.
Dr. and Mrs. Smith have become the parents of a son, Larry Allen, born at Noonan, August
28, 1913.
In politics Dr. Smith is an earnest republican whose mature judgment has sanctioned
the political belief which was instilled into him in his boyhood days. In March, 1916, he
was elected mayor of Noonan, which position he is now filling, and his administration is
characterized by public-spirited devotion to the general good. He is also city health olficer
and a member of the school board. Fraternally he is connected with the ilasonic lodge
at Crosby, has taken the Scottish Rite degrees at Grand Forks and is a member of Kem
Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Grand Forks. He is also identified with tlie Elks lodge at
Minot, while along strictly jnofessional lines he has connection with the Medical Society of
the District of Columbia and the American Medical Association. His professional training
was thorough and his ability has been further advanced through wide reading and study
as well as by the valuable lessons that one continually learns in the school of experience.
AMBKOSE H. HARDY.
Ambrose II. Ihudy, engaged in general merchandising at Catliay. \\ells county, is a
native son of Illinois, his birth having occurred at Perry, Pike county, January 26, 1862. His
father, John P. Hardy, a native of Indiana, spent the greater part of his life in Illinois,
wliere he carried on general farming and raised and dealt in live stock. He wedded Mary
Allen, a native of New Y'ork. and they had a family of four children, two of whom are now
living, Ambrose H. having been the second in order of birth. Tlie father died in 1890, while
the motlicr survived until 1897.
Through the period of his boyhood and ynulli .Ambmsf H. Hardy largely devoted his
attention to the aciiuircment of an education in the schools of Missouri and when his text-
books were put aside he eoncmtrated his efforts upon the work of assisting liis father on
the home place and thus continued until his death. He remained in Missouri for a period
of abo\it twelve years and was there engaged in farming and in raising and selling cattle.
In 1893 he arrived in Nortli Dakota and homesteaded a (piarter section about five miles north
of Sykeston, remaining thereon until November, 1897. He also possessed a ranch about
thirty miles southwest of Cathay, on which he made a specialty of raising cattle in addition
to raising grain. He developed and managed that property until November. 1897. Leaving
the farm, he removed to Cathay, where he established a general store, carrying a good line
and having the assistance of two clerks in the conduct and care of the business. He started
his store with a capital of about two thousand dollars but has gradually increased his in-
AJUBROSE H. HARDY
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 665
vestment until tlie store represents an outlay of about ten thousand dollars, the business
thus growing steadily and becoming one of the extensive and profitable commercial enterprises
of Wells county. lie is also a stockholder in a timber company of British Columbia, known
as the International Timber Company, Limited, and he also has a timber claim in Minnesota
of one hundred and twenty acres.
Mr. Hardy e.xercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the
republican party and from 1897 to 1909 was postmaster of Cathay. He has also served as
village treasurer, as school treasurer and as school clerk. He holds membership in the Knights
of Pythias lodge at Cathay, in whicli he has passed through all the chairs. His fellow towns-
men speak of him in terms of warm regard, while his business success indicates the strength
of Iiis character, his keen sagacity and his unfaltering enterprise.
ELICK 0. KLEVE.
Klick O. Kleve, who is now serving for the second term as superintendent of schools
in Sheridan county, has always been identified with educational endeavor and is a suc-
cessful worker in this field. He makes his home in the town of McClusky and also gives
personal supervision to the operation of a farm tliree and one-half miles east of Mercer.
His birth occurred in Willmar, :Minnesota, on the 22d of January, 1887, his parents being
Lars and Guro (Balo) Kleve, both of whom are natives of Norway, whence they emigrated
to the United States. They still reside at Willmar, Minnesota.
Elick O. Kleve obtained his early education in a district school near Willmar, Minne-
sota, and continued his studies at the State Normal School at St. Cloud, that state, com-
pleting the elementary course in 1906 and an advanced course by graduation in 1908. He
is continuing his studies at .Jamestown College, North Dakota, and is at present a member
of the senior class of that institution, being listed for graduation in June, 1917. He took
up tlie profession of teaching, spending a year each in the town schools of Deerwood and
Alpha, Minnesota. He then made his way to Balfour, North Dakota, where he acted as
principal of the city schools for two years and on the expiration of that period filed on a
homestead in Sheridan county, this state, three and one-half miles east of Mercer. While
proving up on his claim he also taught and acted as school principal at Mercer. In 1913
he was elected superintendent of schools in Sheridan county and made such an excellent
record in this connection that he won the reelection in 1914 and also in 1916, so that he is
now serving in that important capacity. He proved up on his land in 1914 and still cul-
tivates the farm, which returns to him a gratifying annual income.
In August, 1916, Mr. Kleve was united in marriage to Miss Dorothy R. Ployhar, a
native of Wahpeton, North Dakota, who was for several years a teacher in the public
schools and is now deputy county superintendent of schools of Sheridan county. Her par-
ents, Martin and Kathrine Ployhar were both born in Iowa and came to Sheridan county.
North Dakota, in pioneer times. Mr. Kleve gives his political allegiance to the republican
party and fraternally is identified with the Masons, joining the blue lodge at Balfour,
North Dakota, and demitting to become a member of the organization at McClusky. His
life has been upright and honorable in every relation and he enjoys the confidence, high
regard and goodwill of all who know liim.
0. A. THOMPSON.
(). A. Thompson, superintendent of the state experimental farm at Edgeley, is in this
connection doing a work that is of far-reaching importance and benefit. He was born in
New Vienna, Ohio, December 21, 1873, and is a son of William D. and Florence E. (Hiatt)
Thompson, the former born March 25, 1850, and the latter January 23, 1854. They were
married on tlie 1st of January, 1873, and on the 29th of December of the same year Mrs.
Thompson passed away. Some time afterward Mr. Tliompson married again and removed
666 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
to Minnesota, where he resided for ten or twelve years and then went to Oregon, wliere he
lias lived for the jiast two decades, being engaged there in fruit growing and stock raising.
Following his mother's death 0. A. Thomj)Son was taken to the home of his maternal
grandparents, bj- whom he was reared to manhood. He was educated in the country
schools of Minnesota, to which state his grandparents removed in his childhood days, and
in 1893 he went to Fargo, where for one year he worked at the agricultural college. In
the fall of 1894 he entered the college as a student, devoting the succeeding seven years
to study, and in the meantime he worked in the creamery connected with the college, thus
paying his way through the institution and gaining practical experience along a valuable
line. After his graduation in 1901 he spent a short period in the Minnesota
pineries and subsequently was employed on a shorthorn cattle ranch in ilinncsota
for one year. In 1903 he was chosen superintendent of the experimental form at Edgeley,
over which he has since presided. This farm of one hundred and sixty acres was purchased
in 1893 with an appropriation made by the state legislature, but lay dormant, nothing
being done with it until ten years later. In 1903 another appropriation was made for the
erection of farm buildings and Mr. Thompson was placed in charge of the scientific dcvel-
■ opment of the farm, in the work of which he has been very successful. He thoroughly
understands scientific farming and all of the practical phases of the work and the results
which he has achieved at the experiment station are most gratifying. He is also a stock-
holder in the First National Bank of Edgeley, is secretary and treasurer of the Pomona
Valley Telei)hone Company and individually owns one hundred and sixty acres six miles
east of the town.
In 1907 Mr. Thompson was united in marriage to Miss Anna Oakley, of Lamoure
county, by whom he has a son, Richard H. Mrs. Thompson is a member of the Presbyterian
church, while Mr. Thompson is of the Quaker faith. His political endorsement is given
to the republican party and in Masonic circles he has attained high rank, belonging to Maple
River Lodge, Ko. 41, A. F. & A. M.; Edgeley Chapter, No. 22, R. A. M.; Wihaha Commandery,
No. 4, K. T.. of Jamestown; Adoniram Council, E. & S." M.; and El Zagal Temple,
A. A. O. N. M. S., of Fargo. He is likewise identified with Maple River Chapter, No. 27,
O. E. S., to which his wife also belongs, and with Pomona Vallej- Lodge, No. Of), K. P.
CONRAD KRAFT.
Conrad Kraft, manager for the Strasburg Lumber Company, which he aided in organ-
izing and which is one of the foremost business concerns of Strasburg, Emmons county,
was born on the 20tli of !May, 1885, in Strasburg, in South Russia, his parents being Con-
rad and Mary Kraft, who are also natives of that country. The father was a carpeiitcr
by trade and in March, 1898, came to America, settling at Eureka, South Dakota, where he
secured a homestead claim which he occupied and cultivated for six years. He then
removed to Zeeland, North Dakota, where he has since resided. He has now reached the
age of seventy-eight years, while his wife is seventy-six years of age.
Conrad Kraft, Jr., was a youth of thirteen when with his parents he came to the
United States and his education, begun in the schools of Russia, was continued at Eureka
and at Bowdle, South Dakota. He remained with his parents until he reached mature
years and after removing to Zeeland, North Dakota, was employed in a lumberyard there
until 1904. In that year he settled at Strasburg and entered the service of the North
Star Lumber Company, with which he continued until 1909, when in association with sev-
eral others he bought out the North Star Lumber Company, reorganizing the business
under the name of the Strasburg Lumber Company. Mr. Kraft has since been the man-
ager, with Michael Baumgartner as the president and M. A. Klein as vice president. In
the years in which they have been in control the business has been characterized by steady
and substantial growth and returns to the stockholders a good income on their investment.
In November, 190G, Mr. Kraft was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Baumgartner,
a daughter of John and Margaret Baumgartner, who were pioneers of Strasburg, arriving
there in 1889 on coming from Russia. Mrs. Kraft was there born on the 12lli of June of
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 667
that year. By her marriage she has become the mother of four children, as follows:
Martha, who was born February 9, 1909; Leo, whose birth occurred in December, 1910;
Catherine, born in December, 1913; and Eugene, who was born in August, 1915. The
parents are communicants of the Catholic church and Mr. Kraft is a member of the
German Catholic Society. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party and
he served as town trustee for a number of years. He has also been town clerk for two
terms and assessor for three years and his public duties have ever been discharged in a
manner creditable to himself and satisfactory to his constituents.
SWAIN J. SVEESrSON.
Swain J. Sveinson, cashier of the Security State Bank of Benedict, is recognized as
a man of business insight, unquestioned integrity and enterprise. He is a native of North
Dakota, having been born at Cavalier, and is a son of B. and Christine Sveinson, natives
of Iceland. They became residents of North Dakota in their youth and were among the
first settlers of Cavalier. They learned by experience all of the conditions of the frontier
and endured the hardships inseparable from pioneer life. The father has devoted his time
to general farming and his well directed efforts have been rewarded by a competence.
Both he and his wife are still living at Cavalier. All o£ their four children, of whom Swain
J. is the second in order of birth, survive.
Swain .J. Sveinson was educated in the Cavalier schools and in the State Agricultui'al
College at Fargo, which he entered in 1910. After leaving that institution he entered the
employ of the First National Bank of Cavalier, in which he served as assistant cashier until
1914, when he became connected with the Security State Bank of Benedict, which had
been organized two years previously by Tofflemire Brothers. It is capitalized at ten
thousand dollar.? and has a surplus of one thousand dollars. The first care of the officers is
to safeguard the funds of depositors. Mr. Sveinson is not only thoroughly familiar with
the details of banking practice but also imderstands those principles of finance upon which
the conduct of a bank is necessarily based. He owns stock in the Security State Bank
and also in the First National Bank of Cavalier and likewise has valuable real estate in-
terests.
Mr. Sveinson is a strong advocate of the principles of the democratic party but has
never had time to take an active part in politics. He is identified with the Odd Fellows at
Benedict and holds membership in the Lutheran church, the teachings of which guide his
life. He has a large number of warm friends and all who have come in contact with him
acknowledge his ability and probity.
GEORGE WATSON.
George Watson, clerk of tlie district court of Pierce county and secretary and treasurer
of the Pierce County Abstract Company, makes his home in Rugby and his recognition
of the possibilities for development in this part of the state has led him to give earnest
cooperation to many well devised plans for the public good. He has been a resident of
Pierce county since the 4th of March, 1898. Virginia claims him as a native son, his birth
having occurred in Gordonsville on the 8th of February, 1881, his parents being George
W. and Carrie (Keisier) Watson, who were also natives of the Old Dominion. The father,
who was a shoemaker by trade, spent his entire life there, passing away in 1882, after
which the mother removed to Girard, Illinois, where her death occurred in April, 1899.
George Watson was largely reared in Illinois and pursued his education in the common
schools of 'Macoupin county but at a very early age became a wage earner, working as
chore boy or at whatever he could get to do on farms as early as his eighth year. He was
employed at farm labor until his sixteenth year in Macoupin county, Ilinois, and then
removed to the northwest, arriving in Pierce county, North Dakota. March 4, 1898. Being
668 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
then the liead of the family, his mother being a widow, he filed on a homestead in what is
now Tofti precinct, securing the north half of the northwest quarter and tlie west half
of the northeast quarter of section 28. Even at this time he had been inured to hard labor,
and although but a boy in his teens, he assumed the responsibility of developing and
imi)roving tlie farm, upon which he continued to make his home until I'JOC. On his arrival
he bought live horses and farm machinery on time, giving notes in payment. He practiced
the utmost economy as well as diligence in order to discharge his indebtedness and to continue
the work of improving his property, and on leaving his farm in 1900 he was the owner
of six hundred and forty acres of valuable land, of which he still has four hundred and forty
acres. He is also the owner of an eighty-acre tract in McHenry county and his property
interests are the visible evidence of a life of well directed energy and thrift.
It was following his election to the office of clerk of the district court that Mr. Watson
removed to Rugby and in the fall of that year erected a residence. On the 1st of January,
1907, he assumed the duties of the office to which he had been chosen and he has served in
that position continuously since, having been elected live times, while at the primary held
in June, 1916, he became for the si.xth time the nominee of the republican party, of which
he has always been a loyal supporter, working untiringlj' and efl'ectively to promote its
interests. Aside from his duties as public official he is active as secretary and treasurer of
tlie Pierce County Abstract Company, in which he owns a controlling interest.
In November, 1914, Mr. Watson was united in marriage to Miss Hannah Lee, a former
teacher in the Rugby schools. She is a native daughter of North Dakota, having been
born in Valley Cit5-, and is a graduate of the Valley City Normal School. Mr. Watson
has four sons by a former marriage, namely: Leonard B., Lester D., Lyle A. and Lawrence E.
Mr. Watson's fraternal relations connect him with Devils Lake Lodge, No. 1216, B. P.
0. E., with the Modern Woodmen of America, with the United Order of Foresters and with
the American Yeomen. His wife is a member of the Norwegian Lutheran church. They
are numbered among the prominent residents of Pierce county and the life record of Mr.
Watson indicates what may be accomplished through determination and energy, through
laudable ambition and intelligently directed effort. His work speaks for itself and his
record should serve to inspire and encourage others, his example certainly being one worthy
of enmlation.
i:i,lAS H. 8TENVICK.
IClias H. Stenvick is the popular and efficient postmaster at Minot, and moreover, has the
distinction of being the only postmaster appointed and conlirmed in one day. For the office
he had the endorsement of the great majority of citizens in Ward county and the record he
has made justifies the conlidence and trust reposed in him. He was born in Harmony, Min-
nesota, June 22, 1881, a son of Foster O. and Aslaug (Howe) Stenvick, both of whom were
natives of Norway. They were married, however, in America. The father came to the new
world when a young man. settling at Harmony, Minnesota, where he lirst worked as a car-
penter and afterward conducted business as a contractor and builder. He continued his
residence in that state until his death, which occurred in 190-"), and the mother, still surviving,
yet makes her home in Harmony.
Elias H. Stenvick attended the schools of llannuny and when abciut sixti'cn years of age
began learning the carpenter's trade, which he followed in his native town for three or four
years. In 1902 he came to Minot and after working at carpentering for two weeks turned
his attention to the land business, continuing for about three or four years in the real estate
eommissicjn business. He then became chairman of the democratic central committee and
has since been an active factor in political circles of his part of the state. In 1911 he was
appointed to the position of state game warden and occupied that position for three years.
On the 1st of June, 1914, he assumed the duties of postmaster at Minot. Four days after
announcing his candidacy for the office he had secured the support of seventy-one of the
seventy-two precincts, also the endorsement of every prominent democrat in Ward county
and every man who had been a candidate on tiie democratic state ticket since the county was
organized. He also had the siipport of every president and cashier of every bank in Minot
ELIAS H. STEl\mCIC
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 671
and tlie president and the ex-presidents of the Commercial Club and he has the distinction
of being the lirst postmaster who was ever appointed and confirmed on the same day. He
left Washington in thirty-six hours after his arrival there with his commission, signed by
the president, in his pocket. All this indicates his personal popularity and the confidence
reposed in him and in office he is making an excellent record, discharging his duties with
promptness, system and fidelity.
On the 2d of November, 1904, Mr. Stenviek was married to Miss Lizzie Eazee, who
was born in Shelby county, Iowa, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Eazee, who are still
living in that county. Mr. and Mrs. Stenviek have become parents of two children: Luther,
born November 23, 1906; and Ruth, born February 13, 1914. The family are well known in
Minot and have an e.\tensive circle of warm friends there. Mr. Stenviek devotes his entire
attention to the postoflice and is associated with no clubs or lodges. He has the true civic
spirit, however, and cooperates in all plans and measures for the public good.
CARL A. KIRKEBY.
The business interests of Souris have a worthy representative in Carl A. Kirkeby, who
owns and operates an elevator at that place, also deals in farm machinery of all kinds and is
interested in banking. He is a native of Iowa, born near Decorah in Winneshiek county,
September 9, 1879, and is a son of Anton H. and Tilda (Evenrud) Kirkeby, by whom more
extended mention is made in the sketch of George W. Kirkeby on another page of this
work.
In the count}' of his nativity Carl A. Kirkeby grew to manhood, receiving the usual
•educational advantages and when not in school assisting in the work of the home farm.
At the age of fifteen years he started out in life for himself and was employed as a farm
hand for several years. In 1903 he came to North Dakota and the following year became
a resident of Bottineau county, where he took up a homestead and devoted three years to
its improvement and cultivation. At the end of that time he removed to Souris, where he
was employed in a hardware store for two years, and then turned his attention to the
grain business, serving as manager for the St. Anthony Elevator Company for four years
and for the Farmers Elevator Company for three j'ears. Since that time he has
■engaged in the grain business on his own account, now owning and operating a
modern elevator. He is also engaged in the implement business, handling all kinds of farm
machinery, wagons, buggies, etc., and is vice president of the Mouse River Valley Bank at
Souris.
On the Sth of August, 1906, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Kirkeby and Miss
Pearl Monkman, and they have one child, Doris, born March 19, 1912. In religious faith
they are Lutherans, and in politics Mr. Kirkeby is an ardent republican, taking an active
and commendable interest in public affairs. He is now efliciently serving as chief of the
lire department and as a member of the city council. Fraternally he belongs to the Sons
of Norway. Although his interests are varied, he has made a success of business affairs
and besides the property already mentioned he is the owner of a farm of one hundred and
sixty acres in Bottineau count}'.
B. L. SHUMAN.
B. L. Shuman, attorney at law practicing at Rugby, was born on the 34th of October,
1860, in Juniata county, Pennsylvania, a son of .John and Eliza (Wolf) Shuman, who were
both natives of that county. There the father spent his entire life, his death occurring in
1863. The mother came to North Dakota in April, 1898, and has since made her home
with her son, B. L. Shuman, who during his boyhood days was a pupil in the public schools
of his native state and in the Airy View Academy at Port Royal, Pennsylvania. He took
up the profession of teaching in connection with the common schools of Juniata county
672 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
and later became a tcaclier in the liigli school of Mifllintown, Pennsylvania, but regardeil
this merely as an initial step to other professional labor and when opportunity offered
began reading law in 18S9 under the direction of Congiessman L. E. Atkinson, of MilHin-
town. In 1893 he was admitted to practice at the Pennsylvania state bar and for a year
was an active representative of the profession in MiiUintown. During the succeeding four
years he gave his attention largely to farming and in April, 1898, he removed to Rugby,
North Dakota, and was admitted to practice at the state bar. He has since followed his
profession in Rugby and is now accorded a large and distinctively representative clientage.
During the intervening period he has argued many cases and lost but few. His handling
of his case is always full, comprehensive and accurate and his analysis of the facts clear
and exhaustive. He sees without effort the relation and interdependence of the facts and
so groups them as to enable him to throAV their combined force upon the point they tend
to prove.
In 1886 Mr. Shuman was united in marriage to Miss Margaret M. Perkins, of Lancaster
county, Pennsylvania, by whom he had three children, two of whom survive, namely:
George A., who was graduated from the University of Colorado with the degree of Bachelor
of Arts and is now employed by the Bemis Manufacturing Company of Minneapolis; and
Esther A., a senior in Macalester College of St. Paul, Minnesota.
In his political views ilr. Shuman is a republican and for six years tilled the office
of states attorney of Pierce county, making a most creditable record in that position.
He belongs to Rugby Lodge, No. 65, F. &, A. M., and to the Woodmen of the World. He
and his wife are consistent and active members of the Presbyterian church, in which Mr.
Shuman has been an elder for nine years, and he never fails to do his part in the work of
the church or in support of any movement that tends to advance the moral development
or raise the ethical standards of his city. His interests have always been centered and
directed in those channels through which flow the greatest good to the greatest number
and his influence perhaps has been all the more potent from the fact that it is moral rather
than political.
J. E. IIOLMAX.
J. E. Holman, a general merchant and one of the most progressive business men of
Antler, has made his home in the town since 1908 and opened his store in the .spring of
1909. He was born at Pelican Rapids. Minnesota, September 26, 187C, and is a son of .lohn
H. and Beret (Hanson) Holman, both of whom were natives of Norway, where they were
reared and married. They became the parents of one child ere tliey emigrated to the new
world in 1867. For two years they resided ni'ar Fail Claire. Wisconsin, and then removed
to Ottertail county, Minnesota, where the father filed on a homestead which he occupied to
the time of his death on the 11th of May, 1912. His widow survives and now makes her
home with her son, J. E. Holman.
But limited educational o])portunities were accorded J. F. Holman, who attended school
only three months, but in the school of experience he has learned many valuable lessons and,
possessing an observing eye and retentive memory, he is today a well informed man,
displaying sound judgment as well as enterprise in his business affairs. In 1892, at the
age of sixteen years, he went to Pelican Rapids and took his initial step in mercantile
circles. After working as a clerk in two stores of that place, covering a period of five
years, he removed to Fargo, North Dakota, and secured a clerkship in the store of Isaac
Herbst, with whom he remained for a year. He next went to Ada, Minnesota, as manager
for the firm of C. R. Andrews & Company, general merchants, and continued in that
important position for seven years. While there he was marrii'd in 1899 to Miss Christina
Olson, a native of Wisconsin.
In the year 1904 Mr. Holman removed to .lessie, Williams eo\mty. North Dakota, and
for three years filled tlie position of manager of the mercantile interests of lljort Thingelstad
& Company but on the expiraticm of that [leriod turned his attention to agricultural i)ursuits,
filing on a homestead in Williams county in 1907. Complying with the laws regarding
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 673
occupancy and im[iiovoment, he secured title to his claim in 1908 and in the fall of that year
took up his abode in Antler, where in the spring of 1909 he founded his present business.
His previous training along mercantile lines had been thorough and comprehensive, so
that he had broad experience to serve as the foundation upon which to build his present
success, which seemed assured from the beginning. He has prospered as the^^ years have
gone on and is today one of the leading business men in Bottineau county. He closely
studies trade conditions and in the conduct of his business afifairs displays marked per-
sistency of purpose, indefatigable enterprise and thorough reliability.
Mr. and Mrs. Holman have a son and three daughters, namely; Bernard Chester,
Lillian Florence, Alice Ruby and Ida Blanche Evelyn. Fraternally Mi'. Holman is identified
with the following organizations: Antler Lodge, No. 80, A. F. & A. M.; Phoenicia Chapter,
No. IT, R. A. M.; Antler Lodge, L 0. O. F.; and the Modern Brotherhood of America. In
his political views Mr. Holman is a socialist. His fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth
and ability, have called him to the office of city treasurer, in which capacity he has served
for eight years, and his record in office is in harmony with his record as a business man
and citizen, characterized by fidelity to duty and by a ready recognition of the responsibility
that devolves upon him.
SARA C. GUSS.
Sara C. Guss, who is making an excellent record as county superintendent of schools
in Pierce county, her efforts being a resultant element in raising the standard of education
there, w'as born in Juniata county, Pennsylvania, her parents being George W. and Anna
B. (McNeen) Guss, both of whom were natives of the Keystone state. Her father was
descended from ancestors who came from Germany to America in 1750, while her mother
was of Scotch and Irish lineage.
She devoted several years to teaching in the country schools of Pierce county and in
the fall of 1913 was appointed deputy county superintendent, which position she filled until
1914, when she was elected county superintendent, in which capacity she is now serving.
ALBERT WEBER.
Alliert Weber, who is successfully engaged in the practice of law in Towner, North
Dakota, and is regarded as one of the leading attorneys of McHenry county, claims Iowa
as his native state, his birth occurring in Dubuque, September 15, 1875. His parents were
Peter and Elizabeth (Weber) Weber, the former a native of Germany and the latter
of Illinois. The father came to America late in the '60s and first located in
California, where he engaged in prospecting for a short time. He next made his home in
Jlubuque, Iowa, and while there engaged in the livery business, but his last days were spent
in the Black Hills, where his death occurred. The mother of our subject died in 1877.
Albert Weber was less than two j'ears of age when his mother passed away and he
was reared and educated in Minneapolis. His literary education was supplemented by a
law course in the State University of Minnesota, from which he was graduated in 1899.
For a year and a half thereafter he engaged in the practice of his chosen profession in
ilinneapolis but in December, 1901, located in Rugby, North Dakota, remaining there only a
short time, however. In February, 1903, he located in Towner, McHenry coimty, where he has
since made his home. His practice has gradually increased in size and importance as his
skill and ability have become recognized and he now ranks as one of the foremost lawyers
of that part of the state.
In January, 1908, Mr. Weber married Miss Catherine Boon and they have become the
parents of five children, namely: Neal, born in December, 1908; Catherine Elizabeth, born
in August, 1910; Amy Louise, born in November, 1913; Ruth Edith, born in August, 1914,
and Karl Hansel, born in 1916,
674 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
-Mr. WebiT is an Episcopalian in religious faith iuid ii] politics is a republican. He is
a Mason of high standing, having taken all of (lie ilcgroos in the York Kite. From 1905
until 1908 lie served as states attorney and is nuw lilling the office of city attorney of
Towner and is a member of the Towner school board. He is a public-s])iritcd and progressive
citizen and is a man in whom the community places the utmost confidence.
CHAELES GRADY.
Charles Grady was for many years engaged in farming in Elm Kiver township, Traill
county, and at the time of his death was the owner of a large tract of valuable land there.
He was born in England on the 10th of January, 1831, of the marriage of Charles and Mary
Grady, both of whom passed their entire lives in that country. They were the parents of
eight children, of whom five have passed away.
Charles Grad.y remained in England until he was fourteen years of age, when he
went to Canada, where he continued to live until 1880. He was a farmer by occupation
and, becoming convinced that better opportunities awaited the agriculturist in North
Dakota, removed to Traill county, this state, and took up a homestead on section 22,
Elm River township. He built a log cabin, which remained the family residence for a time,
and the conditions of life were in general those of a frontier district. As the years passed,
however, the county advanced in development, his land increased in value and he secured
the comforts and conveniences of life. He continued to operate his farm until his demise,
which occurred in 1907, and his well directed labor yielded him a good income.
Jfr. Grady was married in Canada in 1870 to Miss Isabella Gemmell, a native of Scotland.
She is one of a family of six children born to William and Elizabeth (Wilson) Gemmell,
who passed their entire lives in the land of hills and heather. To Mr. and Mrs. Grady were
born seven children: James, a resident of Valley City, North Dakota; Mary, the wife of
Robert Robertson; W. J.; Albert, who is residing in Tower City; George H., who is farming
the homestead; Frank L.; and Charles.
Mr. Grady was not remiss in any of the duties of a good citizen but did not take an
active part in public affairs, his farm interests requiring his undivided attention. He held
membership in the Presbyterian church, whose work he furthered and whose teachings W'ere
the guiding principle of his life. He was well known throughout the countj', and his demise
was recognized as a loss to his community. He was laid to rest in the Elm River cemetery.
His wife still holds title to the homestead, which comprises three hundred and twenty
acres of fine land and is well improved and from which she derives a gratifying financial
return. She is also a member of the rresbyterian church, and her many excellent (pialities
of character have gained her the warm regard of those with whom she has come in contact.
HERMAN A. ZIEGLER.
Among those whose activities are not only contributing to their individual prosperity
but are also aiding in the commercial advancement of their community is Herman A,
Ziegler, manager of the Monarch Elevator at Alice, Cass county. He was born in Monroe
county, Michigan, on the 4th of November, 1868, a son of Albert and Fredericka (Heiss)
Ziegler, natives of Germany, whence they came to the United States in childhood with
their respective parents. Both families located in Michigan, where the father and mother
of our subject grew to maturity and where their marriage occuiTed. About 18G5 the
father purchased a farm in Monroe county, that state, which remained his home throughout
his life. He died in 1908 and subsequently the old homestead was sold, the mother now mak-
ing her home with her children.
Herman A. Ziegler passed the days of his boyhood and youth under the parental roof
and acquired his education in the district schools. On reaching manhood he purchased a
small farm adjoining the homestead and began his independent career. However, prices
HISTORi" OF NORTH DAKOTA 675
for farm products were at that time unusually low and he found farming unprofitable and
in 1897 sold out and came west, making his way to Edgeley, Lamoure county, North Dakota.
For seven months he worked as a farm hand, after which he returned to Jlichigan, but he
could not be satisfied there, having experienced the fascination of the western plains country,
and*in the following spring he came again to this state, arriving in Edgeley in March. For a
short time he conducted a meat market and was subsequently for a brief period employed
by an implement and grain dealer but in 1901 he removed to Alice and identified himself
with the Andrews Grain Company, being manager of their elevator at Alice for seven
years. For the past seven years he has held a similar position in the Monarch Elerator
at Alice and his long experience in grain dealing enables him to so manage the affairs of
the elevator as to return a gratifying profit to its owners, at the same time paj'ing the
farmers good prices. He has firm faith in the future of North Dakota as a great agri-
cultural state and owns four hundred and eighty acres of farm land in Clifton township,
Cass county, and a quarter section in Hill township.
In 1900 occurred the marriage of Mr. Ziegler and Miss Emma Schulz, of Edgeley,
North Dakota, and they have become the parents of six children, five of whom are living,
Stanley, Ivj', Minnie, Arthur and Leroy.
Mr. Ziegler casts an independent ballot, voting according to the dictates of his own
judgment rather than following the commands of a party leader. He belongs to the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and for twenty-six years was a member of the lodge of
that order at Carleton, Michigan. He is also identified with the American Yeomen at
Alice, and both he and his Avife are members of the Lutheran church, whose teachings they
strive to exemplify in their lives. They are well known and have gained many friends,
who hold tlicm in warm personal regard.
WILLIAil R. PITTS.
William R. Pitts, an honored early settler of McHenry county and one of the liighly
esteemed citizens of Towner, was born in Eecdsburg, Sauk county, Wisconsin, on the 9th
of October, 1851. His parents, William and Ann (Fischer) Pitts, were both natives of New
York, the former born in Saratoga county and the latter in Tompkins county. The father
who was a farmer by occupation, removed to Reedsburg, Wisconsin, about 1839 and there
purchased land, which he operated until 1862. In that year he went to Sibley county,
Minnesota, and settled northwest of Henderson but remained there only a short time,
however. The country was then engaged in civil war and, returning to Wisconsin, he
enlisted in Company A, Nineteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, with which he served
until hostilities ceased. He also had two sons in the Union army, one of whom died in a
southern prison, while the other was killed in battle. After the war the father made his
home In Monroe county, Wisconsin, until 18T0, when he removed to Barron county, that
state, where he took up a homestead. He was not long permitted to enjoy his new home,
however, as he died in 1871. His wife survived him for several years, passing away in
1888.
In the public schools of Wisconsin William R. Pitts acquired his education and he
remained with his parents until his father's death. In 1871 he was employed by Moll &
Avery in running a trading post in Monroe county, Wisconsin, and so continued until
January, 1872, when he was employed by the government as interpreter, acting in that
capacity during the removal of the Winnebago Indians from the State of Wisconsin to
Nebraska. At length he purchased a tract of railroad land adjoining the home farm,
which he operated for his mother as well as his own farm. In 1877 he came to Dakota
territory and located on Big Salt river, now Forest river, in Grand Forks county, where
he preempted land and improved the same, following farming there until 1881. The
following year he settled on Mouse river in McHenry county but subsequently removed to
Ramsey county, where he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres. To the improvement
and cultivation of that place he devoted his energies for some time and then returned to
McHenry county and engaged in farming and stock raising there until 1904, when he
676 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
deeded his land to his son. In 189G he had removed to Towner, where he still makes his
home and is engaged in practice as a veterinarian. In fact he has devoted the greater
part of his time to that profes.'sion for the past thirty years and has met with good success.
On the 31st of October, 1873, Mr. Pitts married Miss Marissa Blyton, by whom he has
seven children: Thomas William, Xellie G., Ann E., Charles N., George M., Marissa .T. an* De
Forrest F.
Mr. Pitts is a member of the Masonic order and by his ballot supports the men and
measures of the republican party. In 18S6 he was elected sherifT of McHenry county
and so capably did he fill that office that he was reelected, serving in all for twelve years
with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. He also served as
city assessor of Towner for the same length of time and no trust reposed in him has
ever been betrayed.
INGRAM .T. i[OE.
Ingram .J. Moe, mayor of Valley City, popular as an oflicial and recognized as a man of
notable energy and ability,, was born in Faribault, Minnesota, September 1, 1872, a son of
Ole J. and Johanna (Sussag) Moe, both of whom were natives of Norway, the former born
in Romsdal and the latter at Steinjar. The maternal grandfather, Johan H. Sussag, was a
talented musician and in the summer months was leader of one of the king's army bands and
had the personal friendship of the reigning monarch. During the winter months he gave
his attention to training young men for band work. Paying a visit to the northwest, he
remained for a few years but ultimately returned to his native country, where he passed
away at the age of seventy-six years. His wife survived him for two decades and died at
the notable old age of ninety-six, while her mother lived to be one hundred and two years of
age. The paternal grandfather and grandmother of Mr. Moe each lived to be about ninety
years of age and thus the family is noted for longevity. Some of the father's brothers fol-
lowed a seafaring life.
In 1S69 Ole J. Moe came with his wife and two children to the United States, making his
way to Faribault, Minnesota, where he engaged in coopering. Later he built a factory of
his own and employed a large number of men, his product supplying the Hour mills with
barrels. When the mills changed their methods by putting the flour up in sacks he closed
out his business in 1878 and bought land a half mile cast of Sanborn. In the spring of 1880
he removed to Barnes county and took up a homestead, a preemption and a tree claim
adjoining his original tract and he also purchased Jiis father-in-law's preemption, becoming
the owner of twelve hundred and eighty acres. Thereon he engaged in farming and stock
raising but afterward leased his land until 1886, when he again took up farming. As his
family reached mature years and his children left home he at length sold section 13 and
afterward another half section. His wife died in 1880 and later the father married again
and his widow and the family now reside on the half section of land which he retained.
Of a family of four sons and four daughters Ingram J. Moe was the third. His school
days were spent at Faribault, Minnesota, at Sanborn, where he attended both the public and
high schools, and at Valley City, North Dakota, where he was for a year a student in the
State Normal School. From the spring of 1892 until 1893 he was employed by the firm of
Booth & Belden at Sanborn, North Dakota, and on the 9th of Jlay, 1893, he entered the
employ of General A. P. Peake in the real estate and collection business, so contin\iing until
the fall of 1894. He then entered into partnership with General Peake and opened a branch
office at Fingal, Xorth Dakota, which partnership was eontiiiucil until May, 1896. Their busi-
ness relations were then discontinueil ami Mr. Moe opened a real estate office on liis own
account in Valley Citj'.
In 1894 he was called to public office, being elected justice of the peace in Fingal, and in
the fall of 1896 he was elected county justice of the peace, which offiec he has filled continu-
ously to the present time. During the legislative session of 1899 he was assistant chief
enrolling and engrossing clerk in the general assemblj' and during the legislative sessions of
1901 and 1903 he was assistant secretarv of the seiuite. Mr. Moe received high comnienda-
INGRAM J. MOE
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 679
tion fi-om the clerks who served under him in tlie legislature and from all who knew aught of
his service in those connections. In 1914 and 1915 he was elected and served as police mag-
istrate of Valley City and in April, 191G, he was elected mayor and is thus the present chief
executive, giving the city a businesslike and progressive administration. He is a man of
pronounced ability and in his present office is thoroughly studying questions of municipal
government, seeking in every way to advance the interests of Valley City. While filling the
office of justice of the peace he pursued a correspondence course with the Lincoln -Jefferson
University at Hammond, Indiana, and after four years' study received his LL. B. degree from
that institution, his knowledge of law proving of marked value to him in the discharge of his
official duties.
On the 3d of June, 1893, Mr. Moe was married to Miss Maud H. Meloy, of Sanborn, Xorth
Dakota, a daughter of James R. Meloy. After graduating from the high school at Sanborn
she pursued a course in Tabor College at Tabor, Iowa, and prior to her marriage was a suc-
cessful teacher in the Gray Green, Island Lake and Soea districts. Mayor and Mrs. Moe have
become the parents of seven children but have lost their two firstborn. Myrtle and Opal.
The others are: Gladys, who is a graduate of the Valley City high school and who studied
for a year in the Valley City State Normal School, while at present she is serving as assist-
ant auditor in the city hall; Glenn, a high school student; and Grace, Gordon and Clayton, all
in school.
Fraternally Mr. Moe is connected with the Odd Fellows and is a trustee of the North
Dakota Grand Lodge of the Knights of Pythias. He has long been prominent in that order,
having for three years been chancellor commander of Valley City Lodge, No. 26, K. P., and
captain of Reid Company, No. 2, Uniform Rank, K. P. He is secretary of the Barnes County
Pioneer Club and is also secretary of the Valley City Commercial Club. He has an honorable
discharge as second sergeant after seven years' service in Company G, First Infantry, of the
North Dakota National Guard. It will thus be seen that he has again and again given his
time, thought and energies to public service and he stands with those progressive men who
are taking advanced steps in connection with the promotion of municipal and commonwealth
interests. Strong in purpose, strong in his ability to accomplish and perform, he has become
a leader of public thought and action in Valley City and his friends predict further advance-
ment, knowing that he is well qualified for still higher positions.
O. A. SPILLUM.
0. A. Spillum, of Rugbj', who is filling the position of county auditor of Pierce county,
was born at North Cape, Wisconsin, April 7, 1871. His father, George Spillum, was a
native of Spillum township, near Namsos, north of Trondhjem, Norway, and with his parents
came to the United States in 1859 when a youth of eighteen years. In this country he
wedded Betsy Emmonson, whose birth occurred on the shores of the North sea and who in
1849 came with her parents to America. She had four brothers who served in the Civil
war, Albert and Thomas being members of the Fifteenth Wisconsin Infantry, while Charles
belonged to the Thirty-eighth Iowa and Ole to the Forty-third Wisconsin Regiments.
Only one lived to return from the front — Albert, who reenlisted on the e.vpiration of his first
term of service of three years and at the close of hostilities returned as a brevet captain.
George Spillum settled in Wisconsin and became an early pharmacist of that state. For
many years he engaged in general merchandising and in the drug business at North Cape,
where he located when the work of development and progress had scarcely been begun
there. He remained thereafter a respected and valued resident of that district until his
death, which occurred February 2, 1908. He lost his first wife when their son, 0. A. Spillum,
was but two years of age and the father afterward maiTied Miss Anna Seterlund. a native of
Sweden, who survived him and is now living in North Cape.
0. A. Spillum pursued his education in the public schools of his native town, in the
Rochester Seminary of Rochester, Wisconsin, and in the Belle City Business College of
Racine, Wisconsin, being graduated from the last named institution in 1889. He then
started out in the business world, seciiring a position as bookkeeper with A. Dahlman ct
Vol. 11—3 6
680 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Compaii}-, wliolesalc grocers of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He worked for this firm for tliren
and one-half years and then removed to Racine, where he was employed in various ways
until 1902. That year witnessed his arrival in North Dakota, at which time he filed on a
homestead in Juniata township. Pierce count}', eighteen miles northeast of Rugby. After
]iroving up on this property he removed to Rugby in 1904 and secured a clerkship in the
general store of 0. T. Tofsrud. Later he acted as clerk and bookkeeper for Xels Jacobson
and after leaving that employ spent three years as bookkecj)er for T. P. Scotland, a dealer
in machinery and mereliandise. Still later he became bookkeeper for Scldon Crockett, land
agent, but after a brief period was made deputy auditor under Henry Albertson, in which
capacity he served for six years, while at the November election of 191-1 he was elected to
the office of county auditor and is again the candidate for the position without opposition.
He owns a farm of one hundred and twenty acres adjoining Rugby — a tract of rich and
well improved land.
On the 13th of July, 1892, Mr. Spillura was united in marriage to Miss Lillie Isaacson,
a native of Dodge count_v, Wisconsin, whose parents emigrated from Norway to the new
world and took up their abode among the pioneer settlers of Dodge county. To Mr. and
Mrs. Spillum have been born eight children, as follows: Irving, who served in the United
States navj' for four years and on the expiration of that time was gunner's mate, third
class, and who is now a homesteader in Montana; Stanley, who is also a Montana home-
steader, owning three hundred and twenty acres of land adjoining the half section of his
brother Irving; Earl, who is in the service of the Great Northern Railway at Minot Station;
Gladys, who is employed as clerk in the office of the county auditor; Leroy. a freshman in
the high school; Glen, who is still in the grade schools; Theodore, deceased; and Wesley.
Mr. Spillum votes with the republican party and is chairman of the republican central
committee of Pierce county, taking active and helpful part in promoting republican suc-
cesses. That he has no military record is not his fault, for in 1898 he recruited a company
of thirty-three men in North Cape, Wisconsin, and joined the company formed at Burling-
ton, Wisconson, for service in the Spanish-American war. They expected to become a part
of the Fifth Wisconsin Regiment but it was organized without accepting the company,
which, however, received the promise that they would be attached to the next regiment.
They were not called to the colors, however. At the formation of the !Milton Horlick
Garrison Army and Navy Union of Racine, Wisconsin, in 1916, Mr. Spillum was made an
honorary member. Fraternally he is connected with Rugby Lodge, No. 65, F. & A. M., of
which he is junior warden; Damascus Chapter, No. 21, R. A. M., of which he is captain;
and Lebanon Council, No. 3, R. & S. M. He likewise has membership with the Modern
Woodmen of America and with the Sons of Norway at Rugby, of which he is treasurer.
He and his family attend the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mrs. Spillum and their
children are members. In social circles the family occupy an enviable position and Mr.
Spillum is making a most excellent record as a county official, discharging his duties with
promptness and fidelity.
JOHN KELLING.
John Kelling, manager of the Max Telephone Company, is also engaged on quite an
extensive scale in real estate operations and in all that he has undertaken has proved suc-
cessful. He was born in Iowa in 1867, a son of George and Mary .T. (Beaver) Kelling. who
became residents of that state in 1S.')4. They were pioneers of Wright county and for
several decades resided upon a homestead there which is still in the possession of the
family. The father, who died in 1912, was practically the last survivor of the earh' si'ttlers
ami was held in th<' highest honor throughout the county. The mother died in Iowa. All
of their thirteen children are still living.
John Kelling, who is the second in order of birth, was educated in the public .schools of
Iowa and after putting aside his textbooks remained upon the home farm until he was
twenty- five years of age. He then went to Seattle, Washington, where he spent three
years, after which he returned to Iowa and purchased a farm which he operated for several
I
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 681
years. In the spring of 190:2 he came to North Dakota and purchased hind in Barnes
county. In 1906 he proved up on a iiomestead in McLean county and during the entire
period of his residence here has given much of his time and attention to buying and selling
land, gaining a substantial profit from his operations. His residence in Max dates from 1906
and lie was active in the real estate field here during the period of the town's construction.
He is filling the position of manager of the Max Telephone Company and under his direction
that concern has prospered greatly. He has excellent judgment, keeps in close touch with
everything relating to the business and is characterized by energy and initiative.
In June, 1911, Mr. Kelling was married to Miss Minnie Grant, a resident of South Dakota.
Her parents, W. C. and Susie Grant, removed to that state in 1872, being among its
pioneers. For the past thirty years Mr. Grant has been a United States government oflicial,
his long tenure of oflice indicating the ability with which he has discharged his duties.
Both he and his wife are still living.
Mr. Kelling supports the republican party at the polls but has never desired office as
a reward for his fealty. He is a member of the Yeomen and the Modern Brotherhood of
America, both of Max, and in his life exemplifies the spirit of fraternity which is the
foundation of those orders. He lias unbounded confidence in the future of North Dakota
and has thoroughly identified his interests with those of the state, doing everything in his
power to promote the general good.
ASA C. BRAIXARD.
Asa C. Brainard, one of the representative young business men of Bottineau county,
now serving as assistant cashier of the Mouse River Valley Bank at Souris, was born in
Anamosa, Iowa, .January 1, 1892. His parents, F. A. and Lizzie Electa Brainard, arc also
natives of Jones county, Iowa, where after reaching manhood the father followed farming
until 1901. which year witnessed his arrival in Bottineau county. North Dakota. He pur-
chased land two miles south of Souris and upon that place he has since engaged in farming.
Asa C. Brainard was nine years of age when he accompanied his parents on their
removal to this state and he grew to manhood in Bottineau county, remaining under the
parental roof until he attained his majority. In the meantime he acquired a good practical
education. In October, 1915, he accepted the position of assistant cashier in the Mouse
River Valley Bank at Souris and has since held that office, discharging its duties in a
commendable manner. He affiliates with the republican party and holds membership in the
Yeomen Lodge.
FRANK I. TEJIl'LE.
Frank I. Temple, who has been actively and successfully engaged in the practice of
law at McClusky for the past ten years, was elected to the office of states attorney in
the fall of 1916. He was born at Owatonna, Minnesota, April 1, 1881, his parents being Seth H.
and Sarah A. Temple. His father died in Minnesota during the year 1890, but his mother still
lives and makes her home with him at McClusky, North Dakota.
Frank I. Temple acquired his early education in a country school and subsequently
attended high school and Pillsbury Academy at Owatonna and the Breck School at Wilder,
Minnesota. Having determined upon a professional career as a life work, he entered the
law department of the University of North Dakota and was graduated therefrom in 1907.
In 1902 he filed on a government homestead which now adjoins the city of McClusky, and
still continues to farm the property. Here he has followed his profession continuously during
the past ten years and has been alone in practice save for a short period spent as associate
of D. P. Bates. In no instance has liis reading ever been confined to the limitations of
the question at issue; it has gone beyond and compassed every contingency and provided
not alone for the expected, but for the unexpected, which happens in the courts quite as
682 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
fi'i'<nu'Mtlv as (Hit (if tlicin. Tlic IuhIi rc^iard I'litcrtaiiicd for liis |ir(ifi'ssioiial ability is
iiulicatod in the fact that in tlic fall of liHO he was ilettcd states attorney of Sheridan
eounty, North Dakota, by a llattering majority, carrying all hut two precincts. For the
past nine years he has served as United States ooniniissioner for the district of North
Dakota, and in the affairs of his home eomniunity he has ever taken a prominent and
leading part, being instrumental in securing the separation of Sheridan county from McLean
county, and also in establishing the county seat at McClusky. He incorporated the village
of McClusky and became its first clerk, acting in that capacity for many years. His record
is an integral [lart of the history of the coniiiiunity and his efforts have been a jiotent
factor in its upbuilding.
MAiaOX CHAKLi;S LASKLL.
Marion Charles Lasell is the youngest scm and ne.xt youngest child of a family of nine,
and was born June 6, 1873, in a log cabin in Sumner township, Fillmore county, Minnesota,
about fourteen miles from Rochester, which was the main trading point. His father, Zara
Dana Lasell, was a descendant of the Cirovners, Danas. Bishops and Cargills, of New' York.
New Hampshire and Quebec. His mother, Roxanna Moon Lund, was a first cousin of Grace
Darling of lighthouse fame. They came to Jtinnesota from Morgan, Vermont, in ISjG, and
were of that sturdy stock so often found among the pioneers in those early days. He
attended country school in the winter until ho had mastered the three R's fairly well, but
quit school in 1885 and became the main help upon the farm, his brothers in the meantime
having gone for themselves. When seventeen years of age, his father gave him his time, and
he started west, going to Olympia, Washington, where he worked in the logging camps, saw-
mills and grading camps, at various times changing his home, living on Heartstein island,
Puget Sound, at Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia, Washington, Portland and .Salem, Oregon,
and San Francisco and Red BlufT. California, each in turn. He finally returned east and
located in Roberts county, .South Dakota, where his father had filed upon a homestead. For
the next few years he worked upon the farm, in the store, in the print shop, machine shop
and coal sheds. He taught school for three months in the spring of 1893 in Day county. He
taught the following two winters and worked on his fatlier's farm in the summer. Beginning
with the spring of 189.'> he spent forty weeks at Valparaiso, Indiana. He returned to South
Dakota, assisted liis father upon the farm and taught school. In the spring of 1898 he
returned to Valparaiso, where he spent the next two years, graduating in the commercial,
teacher's and scientific courses, completing a special nuithematie course which included sur-
veying and then taking up the study of law. He was admitted to practice law in Indiana.
October 3, 1900. He spent some time in the law ollice of 0. R. Williams at Chesterton,
Indiana. In .June, 1901, he was married to iliss May Dennison, of Goshen, Indiana. That
fall the yo\ing couple settled at La Moure, North Dakota, where the young wife died Febru-
ary 5, 1902. She was buried beside her mother near Goshen.
March 24, 1902, Mr. Lasell was admitted to the bar in North Dakota. At that time he
was more than fifteen hundred dollars in debt, and without any tangible property except a
Code and a few other law books. From that time on, his progress, both in the financial and
business world, has been continuous. After the first two or three years of his career, as an
attorney, he was never without some help in the office, and at times has had as many as two
attorneys and two stenogra|)hers emjiloyed, and for five years prior to 1912. there was not a
term of court in Lamnure county, in which he was not interested in more than two-thirds of
the cases upon the calendar. There were no important actions in which he was not inter-
ested, upon one side or the other. No case was so trivial or none so large, that he would not
take it if it was a worthy matter, and he had the reputation of appealing any case, either
great or small, where he f(dt he had not received fair treatment and a proper decision. His
real estate holdings are large. He owned at one time more than thirty-five hundred town
lots in the city of La Moure, besides farm lands in numy counties throughout the state. In
the fall of 1912, he turned his law business over to Harold F. Knopp, who was then in his
employ. April 2, 1913, he was married to Etta Wharton at JIansfield, Ohio. To this union
MARION C. LASELL
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 685
was born one son, Robert Marion Lascll, August 19, 1914. Directly after this marriage he
moved to Aberdeen, Soutli Dakota, «liere he took up his duties as president of the Western
Finance Company, general Manager of the Farmers Equity Mutual Insurance Company and
also senior member of the law firm of Lasell & Lasell, consisting of himself, G. G. Lasell, a
brother, and H. D. Lasell, a nephew.
No history of North Dakota would be complete without his biography. He is the first
attorney in the state to bring an action before the railroad commissioners to compel elevators
to comply with the law, and the record of his dealings as an attorney, business man and
financier is known throughout the state.
ALEX D. FAIRWEATHER.
Alex D. Fairweathcr, who is now interested in the grain trade as manager of the
St. Anthony elevator at Souris, was born in Dundee, Scotland, in August, 1873, his parents
being William and Elizabeth (Alves) Fairweather, also natives of that country. It was in
1886 that the father brought his family to America and located in North Dakota. Two years
later he took up a homestead in Bottineau county and was engaged in its operation until
1905, when he retired from active labor and went to California, there passing away in April
of the following year. His widow still survives him and is now living in Souris, North
Dakota, at the age of seventy-eight years.
Alex D. Fairweather began his education in the schools of Scotland and continued his
studies for a time after the removal of the family to this country. He remained under the
|)arental roof until after he attained his majority, and in 1897 took a homestead five miles
south of Souris in Bottineau county. He continued to engage in the improvement and
cultivation of that place until 1905, when he sold it and removed to Souris, buying three
luindred acres adjoining the town. He also purchased one hundred and sixty acres one
mile west of Souris but at the present time is not actively engaged in agiicultural pursuits
although he still lives upon his farm, it being operated by hired help: In August, 1915, Mr.
Fairweatlier accepted the position of manager of the St. Anthony & Dakota elevator, in
which capacity he is still serving with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of
all concerned.
On the 26th of April, 1899, Mr. Fairweather married Miss Keturah Kinley, by whom
he has had six children but three died in infancy. Those living are: Margaret E., born in
September, 1902; Lawrence K., born in June, 1906; and Marian Belle, born in November, 1912.
The democratic party finds in Mr. Fairweather a stanch supporter of its principles, and he
has been called upon to serve as a member of the school board and as justice of the peace.
Fraternally he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Yeomen. He is
an earnest and consistent member of the Presbyterian church, taking an active part in its
work. He is now serving as elder of the church at Souris and was a delegate to the general
assembly at Atlanta, Georgia, in 1913.
JOHN H. SOGN.
One of the most prominent and influential citizens of Bowdon is John H. Sogn, who for
several years has taken an active part in public affairs and is now serving as county com-
missioner of Wells county. He was born in Spring Valley, Fillmore county, Minnesota,
on the 6th of November, 1871, and is a son of Lars and Maria Sogn, natives of Norway,
where they were reared and married but shortly after their marriage they emigrated to
America and settled in Fillmore county, Minnesota. For about two years the father was
engaged in farming there but in 1872 removed to Lincoln county, South Dakota, where he
took up government land and engaged in farming. He passed away in 1902 but his wife is
still living. In their family are thirteen children, of whom John H. is the eldest of three
sons.
686 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
.Jiilin li. .Sogn began Jiis edufatioii in tlie ccniiiuon schools of Lincoln county, South
Dakota, and later attended Augustana L'ollcge at Canton, that state. He began farming
for himself upon rented land but in l'.)05 came to North Dakota and purchased a farm four
miles west of Bowdon, on wliich he lived for four years. That place consisted of three hundred
and twenty acres and he is now the owner of a whole section near the village, on which he
is still carrying on general farming with good results.
In 19U3 Mr. Sogn was married in Lincoln county, South Dakota, to Miss Hannah
Dickson, also a native of Minnesota, and to them have been born the following children:
ilamie, Leland, Toledo, Harold, Walter, Thelma and Helmer.
In 1909 Mr. Sogn removed with his family to Bowdon and purchased a half interest in
the Vaughan & Lester hardware store, when the junior member of the firm retired from the
business. The store was then conducted under the name of Vaughan & Sogn until 1911,
when it was purchased by Jones Brothers. In that year Sir. Sogn was elected secretary and
manager of the Bowdon Telephone Company and has since served in those capacities, being
also a stockholder of that company and of the Home Oil Company — a local enterprise.
Mr. Sogn is an ardent supporter of the republican party and since attaining his majority
has been prominently identified with local politics. Before coming to this state he served as
township clerk of Norway township, Lincoln county. South Dakota; also school clerk; and
as assessor for five years. In 1899 he was made bill clerk in the legislature in that state and
so acceptably did he fill the position that he was reelected. He was chosen second assistant
chief clerk of the assembly and during his second term was chief bill clerk. In 1909 he was
made assistant bill clerk in tlie North Dakota legislature. In this state he has served as
school clerk and assisted in building the new high school in Bowdon, which is thoroughly
up-to-date and splendidly equipped for its purpose. Mr. Sogn has also filled the office of
justice of the peace and has been a member of the board of trustees of the village. In 1914
lie was elected county commissioner from the second district of Wells county for a tcrrri of
four years with little opposition, receiving a handsome majority. He is preeminently public-
spirited and progressive and no trust reposed in him has ever been betrayed whether of a
public or private nature. He is an honored member of the Sons of Norway at Bowdon
and both he and his wife are faithful members of the Lutheran church.
JOHN HANSON.
Not far from Arg\isville is the farm of John Hanson —a valuable property comprising
three hundred and thirteen acres of rich and productive land situated on section 25, Wiser
township. He has been identified with both farming and stockraising interests and his
carefully directed business alVairs have brought him success. A native of Norway, he was
born April 17, 1863, and is a son of Hans and .lohanna Hanson, who were also born in the
same country. They left that land for America in 1865 and first took up their abode in
Wisconsin, where they remained for fourteen years. In 1879, however, they became residents
of Cass county. North Dakota, settling upon a farm where they remained until called to
their final rest. Their family numbered eleven children, ten of whom are still living.
.Tolin Hanson continued at home until he reached his majority and his youth was largely
a period of earnest and unremitting toil, but he gained therefrom the experience which
enabkMl liim to carcfull.v and wisely direct his interests after he started in business on his
own account. Purchasing the farm whereon he now lives, he has given his time and energies
to the fmther development and improvement of three hundred and thirteen acres of arable
land on section 25, Wiser township, Cass county. For a long period he was quite
extensively engaged in breeding and raising Pereheron horses and thereby added largely to
his income. In all of his business aflFairs he has displayed sound judgment as well as
enterprise and his labors have been attended by gratifying success.
In 1893 Mr. Hanson was united in marriage to Miss Julia Ilovden, a native of Minnesota
and a daughter of William and Anna llovdi'n. both of whom were born in Norway and are
now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Hanson have been born ten children, as follows: Angeline
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 687
and Eunice, both of whom are engaged in teaching school; Hazel; William; Nicholas;
Joseph; Jeanette; Mildred; George; and Norman.
The parents are consistent and faithful members of the Lutheran church and take a
most active and helpful interest in its work, contributing generously to its support. Mr.
flanson belongs also to the Modern Woodmen of America at Fargo and has filled some of the
chairs in the local camp. He has likewise served as school director and his political support
is given to the republican party, which finds in him a strong indorser of its principles. He
is ever loyal to his honest belief, nor does he fear to express his convictions and opinions.
Those who know him find him trustworthy and reliable at all times.
WILLIAM C. WHAETON.
William C. Wharton, connected with commercial interests of Rugby and also filling the
oliice of deputy sheriff of Pierce county, is numbered among the substantial citizens that
Pennsylvania has furnished to North Dakota. He was born at Spruce Hill, in the Keystone
state, September 29, 1890, a son of William and Sadie (Guss) Wharton, who were likewise
born in that state. The father followed farming in Pennsylvania until 1897, when he met
death in a tornado. His widow survived and is now living in Wolford, North Dakota.
William C. Wharton was reared and educated in Pennsylvania and in North Dakota,
being a lad of nine years when brought by his mother to this state, at which time she
purchased a half section of land which William C. Wharton afterward cultivated for five
years. He then turned his attention to the motorcycle business at Wolford and after
three years devoted to that work removed to Rugby, where he again opened a motorcycle
shop, which he is now conducting. On the 1st of January, 1915, he was appointed deputy
sheriff of Pierce county and is also occupying that position. He is likewise a stockholder
and the treasurer of the Rugby Realty Company.
On the 24th of October, 1910, Mr. Wharton was united in marriage to Miss Ruth M.
Kitzman and to them have been born three children: William C, born in 1911; Dorothy,
born in 1913; and Audrey, born in 1916.
Mr. Wharton votes with the democratic party and in religious belief is a Presbyterian.
Fraternally he is connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Brotherhood
of American Yeomen and he is now treasurer of the Rugby Rifle Club, a semi-military
organization. He is widely and favorably known and his salient characteristics are such
as have won for him warm regard among his many friends.
JOHN C. THORPE.
John C. Thorpe, a member of the law firm of Bagley & Thorpe at To.wner, and the present
states attorney of McHenry county, has in his professional career displayed all the sterling
traits of the able and distinguished lawyer. He was born in Ada, Minnesota, May 30, 1886.
His parents, O. S. and Johanna (Grimsrud) Thorpe, were both natives of Norway but came
to the United States in young manhood and womanhood and were married at Faribault,
Minnesota. There they established their home and for several years the father was identified
with railroading. Subsequently he removed to Minneapolis, where he engaged in the lumber
business, and in 1879 he became a resident of Norman county, Minnesota, taking up a
homestead claim near Ada. He at once began to develop and improve that property, which he
converted into a productive farm, thereon residing to the time of his death, which occurred
December 18, 1915. His widow is still a resident of Ada.
John C. Thorpe was accorded liberal educational opportunities. He attended Concordia
College at Moorhead, Minnesota, and also the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks,
where he won the degree of Bachelor of Law upon graduation with the class of 1910. He
then entered into partnership with Joseph G. Forbes, the former partner of Hon. P. J.
McCumber, the present United States senator from North Dakota, and for two years their
688 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
inactiec was eanii'il (in uiidrr the linn style of Forbes & Thoi'|io at Wahpeton. In December,
1912, Mr. Thorpe removed to Towner and entered into liis jjresent professional relationship
as a member of the firm of Bagley & Thorpe, the senior partner being former county judge
Bagley. In 1914 Mr. Thorpe was elected states attorney of JlcIIenry county, in which
position he is now ably serving. He is also a stockholder and a director of the First National
liank of Towner. Along with tho.se qualities indispensable to the lawyer — a keen, rapid, logical
mind, plus the business sense and a ready capacity for hard work, he brought to the starting
point of his legal career certain rare gifts — eloquence of language and a strong personality.
He has always displayed a thorough grasp of the law, and ability to accurately apply its
principles is another factor in his efl'ectivcness as an advocate.
On the 4th of June, 1913, Mr. Thorpe was married to Miss Marcia Mcintosh Mitchell, of
Crystal, Xortli Dakota, and they have a daughter, Marcia Rosalie. Mr. Thorpe votes with
the republican party and is a firm believer in the effectiveness of its principles as factors in
good government. He is identified with various fraternal organizations, including Mouse
River Lodge, No. 43, A. 1". & A. if.; Mystic Chapter, No. 13, R. A. M.; and Lebanon
Council, R. & S. M. He is also connected with the American Yeomen and he and his wife
are members of the Older of the Eastern Star. He belongs to the United Lutheran church,
while his wife is connected with the Baptist church, and they have many sterling traits
of character which have gained them high regard in the social circles in which they move.
CHARLES S. ATKINSON.
Charles S. Atkinson, who is now successfully engaged in the banking business in Sykes-
ton. North Dakota, was born in Davenport, Iowa, on the 28th of January, 1875, his parents
being J. A. and Sophia Atkinson, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Toronto,
Canada. In early life they became residents of Iowa, where their marriage occurred, and
they made their home in Davenport until 1880, which year witnessed their arrival in
•Jamestown, Stutsman county. North Dakota. The father purchased a tract of land just
south of the town but lived in Jamestown anil was engaged in the real estate business
there for several years.
Charles S. Atkinson was a child of five years when he accompanied his parents on
tlieir removal to this state and he is indebted to the grammar and high schools of James-
town for the education he acquired during his youth. He remained at home and assisted
his father in the operation of the farm in Stutsman county until 1896, when the family
removed to Sykeston, Wells county, where another farm was purchased. The son also
aided in its cultivation for a few years but in 1899 located in the village, where his parents
are also living at the present time. He o|)ened a real estate olTice and engaged in that
business until 1902, when he organized the Sykeston State Bank, which received its charter
in July of that year. Its first officers were A. Beuthien, jircsidcnt; J. C. Morse, vice
president; and C. S. Atkinson, cashier; but later G. C. .Jameson became president and E.
A. Morey, vice president, while Mr. Atkinson remained as cashier. Another change was
subsequently made when Mr. Atkinson accepted the presidency and K. J. Atkinson became
vice president and M. B. Malley cashier. The last named has since been succeeded by
Oscar Olafson. The capital stock is five thousand dollars and the earnings and surplus
are the same amount. The bank is now one of the strong institutions of the county and
in coimection with a general banking business handles a large amount of real estate.
Persoiuilly the president has landholdings near the villag(' and is today one of the sub-
stantial citizens of the community.
In 1902 Mr. Atkinson was united in marriage to Miss Katherine Jones, a native of
Dewitt, Iowa, and to them have been born three daughters, two of whom are living,
namely: Eveleth and Laura. Jlr. Atkinson is a member of the blue lodge and chapter of the
Masonic fraternity at Carrington, North Dakota, and is also connected with the Knights
of the ;Maccabces at Sykeston and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks at .lamostown.
In politics he is an independent republican, taking a commendable interest in public aflairs
and doing all in his power to promote the welfare of his community. For foiu- .years he
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 689
has been a member of the village board and is now serving his third term on the school
board. He is a most progressive and enterprising citizen, who commands the respect and
confidence of all with whom he comes in contact.
EMIL ERICKSON.
Emil Erickson, who is one of the leading business men of Souris, North Dakota,
claims Sweden as the land of his birth. He was born on the 19th of May, lS73, and is a
son of John and Pauline (Burgeson) Erickson, who are still residents of that country,
where their entire lives have been passed. By occupation the father is a farmer and he
continues to reside upon the old homestead.
Emil Erickson was reared and educated in Sweden and remained with his parents
until eighteen years of age, when he emigrated to America in 1891. He first located in
Joliet, Illinois, where he was employed for four years, and for the following two years
worked on a railroad in Michigan. It was in 1897 that he arrived in Bottineau county.
North Dakota, and took a homestead nine miles northwest of Souris, to the improvement
and cultivation of which he devoted his energies for nine years. In 1906 he became a
resident of Souris and embarked in the farm implement and harness business, which he
has since conducted with good results, having built up an excellent trade. He also has
an implement store at Roth, North Dakota, and has five thousand dollars worth of stock
in the farmers cooperative store at Souris. Besides this property he owns a section and a
half of land, including his original homestead and a half section adjoining the town of
Souris, and he also has twenty acres in Texas.
In November, 1898, Mr. Erickson was united in marriage to Miss Ida Anderson, and
they have become the parents of four cliildren, namely: Lilly, born August 13, 1899; Hedvig,
born January 14, 1901; Rudolph, born March 27, 1904; and Martin, born September 25,
1907.
In politics Mr. Erickson is a socialist and he has been called upon to serve as a member
of the town board for eight years. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran church, to
which he belongs. Coming to this country with no capital, he has steadily worked his
way upward to success by his industr}', enterprise and perseverance until he is now one
of the most substantial citizens of his community, and his course has ever been such as to
commend liini to the confidence and regard of those with whom he has been brought in
contact.
ED S. HEALY.
Ed S. Healy, cashier of the Lincoln State Bank at Glenburn, was born in Grapeland,
Minnesota, July 19, 1864, a son of 0. C. and Belle (Shaw) Healy, the former a native of
Connecticut and the latter of Ireland. The father was a machinist by trade and in 1856
went to Minnesota, settling in Faribault county, where he took up a preemption, which
he improved and operated, continuing there to engage in farming throughout his remaining
days. He passed away in March, 1913, having for more than two decades survived his
wife, who died in September, 1892.
Ed S. Healy spent the days of his boyhood and youth in Minnesota and after attend-
ing the high school at Winnebago began learning the blacksmith's trade, which he followed
for twenty years. In 1882 he removed to South Dakota, settling at Milbank, Grant county,
where he conducted a smithy until 1890, when he was elected countj' auditor, which posi-
tion he filled for four j'ears. He afterward conducted a blacksmith and machine shop
until 1903, when he removed to Glenburn and took up a homestead in Renville county.
This he developed and cultivated for two years, since which time he has rented the property.
His attention during the past thirteen years has been mainly given to the establishment,
development and conduct of the Lincoln State Bank at Glenburn. Throughout this period
690 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
he lias been its casliier, witli Mrs. Eflie C. Hoaly, his wife, as vice president and (). W.
Healy as president. The bank is capitalized for ten thousand dollars and its deposits
amount to over two hundred thousand dollars. It has had a prolitable existence from
the beginning and the business policy of the institution is one which will bear the closest
investigation and scrutiny. In addition to his other interests Mr. Healy is a stockholder
in the I'armers Elevator Companj- and his landed possessions comprise sixteen hundred
acres, which he rents.
On the 14tli of July, 1886, Mr. Healy wedded Miss KIlie Cornell, a daughter of dames
and August.a (McCoy) Cornell, who moved from Indiana to JIapleton, Minnesota, in 1856.
Both are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Healy have become the parents of two children:
Annis B., the wife of B. W. Laughlin, who is bookkeeper in the Lincoln State Bank; and
Florence E., who passed away in 1898. The religious faith of the family is that of the
Methodist church and Mr. Healy also has membership in the Modern Woodmen of America
and in the Masonic order and is a past master of Glenburn Lodge, No. 79. Politically he
is a republican and for eight years has served as mayor of Glenburn, a fact which indicates
his marked capability and fidelity in office. He has wisely administered the allairs of the
city, avoiding botli useless retrenchment and needless expenditure, and the acceptability of
liis administration is indicated bv his long retention in office.
C. J. KACHELHOFFER.
C. J. Kacheniiiffcr. the aggressive and efficient city attorney of Wahpeton, Kichland
county, was born in Frecport, Illinois, on the 29th of ilarch, 1878. His parents, .Joseph and
Mary (Abel) Kachelhofl'er, were both born in Bufl'alo, Erie county. New York, the father on
the 29th of November, 1846, and the mother on the 3d of .June, 1851. The paternal grand-
father of our subject, Joseph Kachelhofter, was born in Alsace-Ijorraine but many years ago
came to the United States and his death occurred at Freeport, Illinois. He was a man of
good business ability and became financially independent. The maternal grandfather, Jacob
Abel, was born in Luxemburg and on emigiating to the United States in early manhood
located at Buffalo, New York, where he engaged in railroad contracting. The parents of our
subject were married at Freeport, Illinois, where the father had been taken as a child by his
parents. He devoted his active iife to agricultural pursuits but about eighteen years ago
retired and is now living at Cherokee, Iowa. He is a democrat in politics and has held a
number of township offices. In religious faith he is a Koinan Catholic, His wife passed
away in 1892, her demise being sincerely mourned by her family and her many friends. To
Joseph and JIary KachelhofTer were born seven children: John, an attorney, who, however, is
now engaged in merchandising in Kansas City, Emma, the wife of B. E. Adams, who is farm-
ing near Pierre, South Dakota; C. J.; Edward L., who is employed by the Standard Oil Com-
pany at St. Louis; Carrie, the wife of IC. L. .Mdrich, a railroad man of Cherokee, Iowa;
Agnes, who married F. A. Lynch, a farmer of Luverne, Jlinnesota; and Frank, of Rapid City,
South Dakota, who is in the employ of the Nebraska Telephone Company.
C. .J. Kachelhoffcr attended tlie common schools of Illinois in his boyliood and youth ami
subsequently took a year's course in the Mankato (ilinn.) Commercial College, after which
he began his preparation for the legal profession, studying law in the office of Gvistav Schuler,
of Wahpeton. In December, 1909, he was admitted to the bar but did not begin practice
until 1912, remaining in Mr. Schulcr's office during the intervening years. He has since built
up a good practice and is well liked by his fellow attorneys. .\ number of years ago he
served for three years as city attorney, after which he was states attornc^y for two years, and
in 1914 he was elected city attorney, in which office he is now serving.
On the 1st of January, 1912, occurred the marriage of Mr. Kachelhofrer and Miss Alabel
Schuler, a daughter of Gustav Schuler, one of the pioneer attorneys of Wahpeton, where he
has practiced for about twentj'-five years. Mr. Kaclulhoffer is a democrat in politics and
supports that party loyally at the polls. He is well known fraternally, being connected with
the Masonic blue lodge; the Royal Arch Chapter; the Knights Templar Commandery; the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows; Fergus Falls Lodge, No. 1073, B. P. O. E.; the Modern
/ ••"V*
C. J. KACHELHOFFER
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 693
Samaritans; and tlie Order of the Eastern Star, to which his wife also belongs. He has
served as junior deacon and junior warden in the blue lodge of Masons and is now filling the
office of senior warden. He is public-spirited to a marked degree and is always willing to
give his time and thought to the advancement of the interests of Wahpeton, and as secretary
of the Commercial Club has been a factor in the development of the city along business and
civic lines.
S. R. DAY.
One of tlie foremost business men of McKenzie is S. R. Day. proprietor of a general
store at that place. He is one of Burleigh county's native sons, his birth occurring eleven miles
from McKenzie on the 13th of January, 1889. His parents, George J. and Willametta
(Smith) Day, were born in Knox City, Missouri, but were married after their removal to
North Dakota. It was in 1881 that the father came to this state and took up government
land eleven miles south of McKenzie, and to the development and cultivation of that farm
he has since devoted his attention. He has also engaged in stock raising to some .extent and
lias met witli well deserved success in his operations. His wife is also living as are their three
sons: S. R., of this review; Robert, now a resident of Bismarck; and Richard, at home.
S. R. Day began his education in the district school of McKenzie and later attended the
high school of Bismarck. After putting aside his textbooks he entered the City National
Bank of Bismarck, with which he was connected for five years, starting at the bottom and
advancing step by step until lie became assistant cashier of that institution. On resigning
that position in 1912 he removed to McKenzie and bought out the McKenzie Mercantile
Company, wliich had been incorporated in 1905 and continued business under that name until
Mr. Day became proprietor. He was appointed postmaster of McKenzie by the civil service
and is still holding tliat position. The office has one rural route operated three times a week
and one star route twice a week. Mr. Day not only deals in all kinds of general merchandise
but in machinery as well and has secured an excellent patronage.
On the 9th of August, 1910, Mr. Day was united in marriage to Miss Gladys Falconer,
who was born in Bismarck, May 8, 1891, and resided there until after her marriage. They
have two children: Raymond, born March 5, 1912; and Robert, born October 5, 1915. In
religious faith they are Presbyterians, belonging to a church in Bismarck, and Mr. Day is
also a member of the Masonic lodge in that city. He is past grand of the Odd Fellows lodge
at McKenzie and is a democrat in politics. He has been called upon to fill local offices,
serving as justice of the peace, president of the school board and in other positions. He is
vice president and a director of the Sibley Rural Telephone Company and is interested in
farming around McKenzie. Success has attended his business efforts along various lines
and he is today numbered among the substantia! as well as the representative citizens of his
community.
ALBERT RICHARD RUDOW.
Albert Richard Rudow, editor of the Tribune, published at Ashley, Mcintosh county,
was born May 8, 1893, in Pana, Christian county, Illinois, a son of Ludewig and Katherine
Rudow, who for the past fifteen years have resided at Monango, North Dakota. The father
worked for nearly ten years in the lumber yard of Wade B. Dille but is now retired.
A. Richard Rudow ]iursued his education in Monango, where he was graduated from the
high school in 1906. when but thirteen years of age. Immediately afterward he accepted the
position of "devil" on the Monango .Journal, then owned by .James S. -Jensen, now of
Foxhome, Minnefota, with whom he remained for some time. He next secured a position
on the Times, published at Oakes, but in a little more than a month was called home to take
his father's place in the lumberyard, his father having been injured by a bad fall. Later
he again worked in the office of the Monango Journal and subsequently went to Northville,
South Dakota, where he spent two months in the Journal office. He then secured a better
694 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
position on tlie Beacon at Crcsbard, South Dakota, whicli [)aper was published by F. 0. Mark.
There lie remained lor nearly two years and in April returned to Monango, where he
worked in the Journal office until August 22, 1912. lie then purchased the paper, which
he owned and edited until May, 1913, when he sold out to J. H. Nagel, of Forbes, North
Dakota. At that date Mr. Endow removed to Cresbard, South Dakota, where he spent two
more years in connection with the Beacon, which paper was discontinued by its owners
in 1915. On the 28th of December of that year he accepted a position at La Moure on the
Kcho, owned by C. C. Lowe, and in July, 191G, was transferred to Ashley as editor of the
Tribune, also owned by Mr. Lowe. This ])aper is published half in English and half in
(Jcrman.
On the 15th of November, 1912, the marriage ceremony performed by the Ki'V. il. \V.
Jlerril of the Presbj'terian church united the destinies of A. Richard Rudow and Edna Mary
Ellickson, the wedding ceremony being performed in the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs.
0. L. Ellickson, who are prosperous farming people living west of Monango. Mrs. Rudow was
born in Monmouth, Illinois, December 4, 1895, and by her marriage has becme the mother
of two children: Maurice L., born at Cresbard, South Dakota, March 25, 1914: and Mervin
Gale, born at Monango, North Dakota, October 26, 1915.
Mr. Rudow is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church of Cresbard. His political
allegiance is given to the republican party and fraternally he is connected with Camp No.
12916, M. W. A., at Cresbard, and with Morning Star Camp, No. 87, W. 0. W., at La Moure.
He has been making steady progress in his chosen vocation since entering a printing office at
the age of thirteen years and is now well known as a newspaper man in his part of the
state.
GEORGE L. ROBINSON.
George L. Robinson, an honored resident of Garrison, McLean county, is one of the
few men now living who knew intimately the old frontier life of the west when the white
men who ventured into the country claimed by the Indians were in danger of being
scalped and when transportation was by means of wagon trains. He is also worthy of
recognition as a veteran of the Civil war and his name is inseparably connected with the
commercial development of McLean county, in which he established a store at a time
when all of his goods had to be freighted from Bismarck. He now owns and manages
four stores in this section and likewise has extensive ranching interests and is president of
two important business concerns. Mr. Robinson was born in England in 1842 and was
brought by his parents, John and Jane (Laidman) Robinson to the United States, the
family home being established in St. Louis, Missouri. The mother died there in 1S54 but
the father survived for fifty years, passing away in 1904. He was a butcher and pork
packer, and his business affairs were well managed, yielding him a gratifying profit. In
his family were eight children, of whom George L. is the oldest. The only other surviving
member of the family is a sister, Mrs. George Heaton, of Boise City, Idaho.
George L. Robinson received but a limited education in schools although during his
long, adventurous life he has gained a wide knowledge and acquired much practical wisdom.
He attended school both in England and in St. Louis as he was but twelve years old when
the family removed to this country. In 1859, when a youth of seventeen, he drove
an ox team from Kansas City to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for Colonel Will Bent, one
of the early freighters of the southwest and a brother of George Bent, the first governor
of the territory of New Mexico. In 1860 Mr. Robinson went with a freight train from
Kansas City to Fort Bent, Colorado, and the hazard of the undertaking is indicated by
the fact that about that time a comrade was scalped by the Indians.
After spending two years upon the frontier Mr. Robinson returned to St. I^ouis and
at the outbreak of the Civil war enlisted in the Sixth Missouri Regiment, with which he
served for sixteen months. After receiving his discharge from the army he resided at
St. Louis continuously until April, 1883, successfully following the butcher's and packer's
business. However, the possibilities of the then new and undeveloped territory of Dakota
jiiade strong appeal to his pioneer spirit and in the month mentioned he came to what is
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 695
now Xortli Dakota, settling at Coal Harbor, where he took up a preemption and also a
tree claim located near the town. Not long afterward he established a general store at
Coal Harbor, which he conducted there until 1905, when the Soo Railroad was built through
the state and the old town of Coal Harbor, which was seven miles distant from the rail-
road, was moved to the new town of Coleharbor, which was named by Mr. Robinson in
honor of an official of the Soo Line. For a number of years after he established the business
in old Coal Harbor the nearest railroad point was Bismarck, from which all of his goods
were freighted. Later a branch of the Soo Line was built and the town of Velva, only
fifty miles distant, became his shipping point. This remained the nearest railroad station
until the Bismarck & Great Falls Railroad, now a part of the Soo Line, was constructed
and the old town of Coal Harbor was moved as previously stated. Mr. Robinson removed
his store to Coleharbor and at the same time established another store at Garrison, residing,
however, at Coleharbor. Tn 1916 he purchased a general store at Emmet and also founded
another at Dunn Center, in which he owns a half interest. He now lives at Garrison l)ut
has personal supervision over the management of all four stores. Although this would
be enough to occupy the time and attention of most men he also looks after a large tract
of land in North Dakota, mainly in McLean county, which he owns and a part of which
he rents. Moreover, he personally manages a cattle ranch located ten miles southeast of
Garrison, consisting of two thousand and eighty acres of land, on which lif keeps an average
of one hundred and fifty head of graded shorthorn cattle. He also has about one hundred
head of Shire horses on the ranch and about one hundred Berkshire hogs. His unusual
energy and activity also enable him to serve as president of the First National Bank of
Washburn, North Dakota, and as ])resident of the Missouri Slope Seed Company, a Garri-
son business enterprise.
Mr. Robinson was married in St. Louis in 1864 to Miss Janet Sharp, who was born
in Scotland but came with her parents to the United States in 1849. They have become
the parents of five children: Jesse Thompson, George L. and Peter S., all three deceased;
William H.. who is now in charge of his father's general store at Garrison; and Francis,
also deceased.
Mr. Robinson votes independently and gives careful study to the issues of each
campaign in order that he may cast his ballot intelligently. He was at one time treasurer
of JIcLean county and his record in that capacity was in harmony with his record in other
connections. He has reached the age of seventy-four years but has charge of business
interests the management of which would tire many a man twenty years his junior His
long, active and successful life has brought him prosperity and also the honor and regard
of all wlio know him.
ALBERT J. DRAKE.
Albert J. Drake is editor and proprietor of the Standard, which is published at Westhopc
and is one of the leading weekly newspapers of Bottineau county. His apprenticeship was on
an important city daily and he is familiar with the business in principle and detail. He was
born in Fairfax, Minnesota, July 5, 1877, his parents being James and Amy (Collins) Drake,
natives of England and New York respectively. The former came to the United States when
;i young man and was married in Wisconsin. About 1870 he homcsteadcd near Fairfax,
Minnesota, and there engaged in farming for almost a quarter of a century but since 1894
has lived retired in Fairfax, enjoying a rest which he has truly earned and richly merits.
Albert J: Drake acquired his education in the public and high schools of Fairfax, com-
pleting his course by gradviation with the class of 1896. Prior to this time, however, he had
taken his first step in the field of journalism, having entered upon an apprenticeship at the
printer's trade in the office of the Crescent at Fairfax, working his way upward in that
connection and thoroughly mastering every phase of the business. He was employed also
in Mineapolis and in 1899 came to North Dakota, doing the first mechanical work in connection
with the publication of the Bottineau News. In 1901 he founded the Mouse River Standard
at Richburg, which was the first paper established in the western part of Bottineau county.
696 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Witli the building of the railroad to Wosthope he removed his plant to that point and changed
the name of the jiaper to the Westhope Standard, under which title he has since continued its
publication, making it a thoroughly readable journal devoted to local and general news, its
attractiveness being indicated by its increasing circulation. In 1899 Jlr. Drake homesteaded
in Bottineau county and proved up on his jiroperty but later .sold his farm.
In 1900 was celebrated the marriage of ,Mr. JJrake and Miss Alma Brown of Bottineau,
North Dakota, by whom he has seven children, namely: Kvelyn F., Francis L., Mildred D.,
ClifTord J., Lucille Jr., Albert H. and Donald W. Mr. Diake lias ahvays been a stalwart
advocate of republican principles and espouses the party through the columns of his paper.
He belongs to Westhope Ixidge, No. 74, F. & A. M.. and to the Modern Woodmen of America,
while he and his wife are consistent and faithful members of the ifethodist Episcopal
church. He has found the occupation in which he embarked as a young tradesman a congenial
one and he has made it a field for furthering public progress and iniprovoment as well as
advancing his individual business interests.
CLARENCE L. COVELL.
Clarence L. Covell, who is now engaged in the publication of the Sykeston News, has
been identified with the interests of Sykeston throughout life, for he was born in that
village on the 8th of Jlareli, 1890, and has always resided there. His parents, Alton G.
and Esther C. (Butts) Covell, continue to make their home in Sykeston and are numbered
among its prominent citizens. The father came to North Dakota from Corry, Erie county,
Pennsylvania, in 1883, and after spending about a year in Carrington located on a farm
near Sykeston, having homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres. He also purchased one
hundred and sixty acres on the same section. During his residence there he has engaged in
merchandising and also practiced law, being an attorney by profession. He has filled the
office of United States commissioner and is now serving as justice of the peace.
During his boyhood Clarence L. Covell attended the graded schools of Sykeston and
later pursued his studies at Phillips Academy at New Rockford, now known as New Rock-
ford Collegiate Institute. He subsequently entered Fargo College, from which he was gradu-
ated with the A. B. degree. For about two years after completing his education he engaged
in clerking in his father's store and was later a member of an electric light construction
crew. In 1916 he purchased the Sykeston News, which he is now editing in a most capable
manner, giving to the public a bright, newsy sheet. In politics he is an independent repub-
lican and in religious faith is a Congregationalist.
FRANK RETTINGER.
Frank Rettinger, sherifT of Pierce county and a resident of Rugby, was born in
Lansing, Iowa, in July, 1878, a son of Crist and Catherine (Repbergcr) Rettinger, both
of whom were natives of Germany. In early life they crossed the Atlantic and settled
in Rockford, Illinois, where the father rented land and engaged in farming for four or five
years. He afterward removed to Allamakee county, Iowa, and invested in laud near Lans-
ing before that town was laid out arid before the railroad was built through the district.
He at once began the task of transforming his tract of wild prairie into productive fields
and continued to further develop, improve and operate his farm for many years, but
eventually retired from active life and took up Iiis abode in Lansing, where lie spent his
remaining days, passing away in December, 190fi. His widow survived until October, 1915,
when she, too, was called to her final rest.
In the schools of Lansing Frank Rettinger acquired his education and remained with
his parents until he reached the age of twenty years, having in the meantime long aided
his father in the work of the fields. He afterward worked as a farm hand for others for
five years, but at length removed to North Dakota, settling in Benson county, where he
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 697
was employed for a time, but later filed on a homestead in Rolette county, which he
improved. This property now adjoins the town site of Mylo. Thereon he continued to
engage in farming for five years, after which he sold that property and bought land in
Pierce county which he farmed until 1914. He was then elected sheriff of the county,
which office he has since filled. He has rented his farm, upon which he left his stock, and
from his property he derives a good annual income. His place comprises two hundred and
eighty acres of valuable land four miles west of Wolford. He is also a stockholder in the
Rugby Realty Company and a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator at Wolford. While
upon the farm he made a specialty of raising Duroc-Jersey hogs.
In November, 1904, Mr. Eettinger was united in marriage to Miss Beulah Wharton, a
daughter of William W. and Sadie E. Wharton, mentioned in connection with the sketch of
W. C. Wharton on another page of this work. To Mr. and Mrs. Rettinger were born two
children, but both died in infancy, Roland and one who had not yet been named.
Mr. Rettinger gives his political endorsement to the democratic party and has served
as road overseer. Fraternally he is connected with the Odd Fellows, the Masons and the
Ancient Order of United Workmen and his religious belief is indicated by his membership
in the Presbyterian church. He has lived to witness many changes in the county, which
has rapidly developed during the period of his residence here. Wlien he began farming in
Pierce county he used oxen entirely, but today the tractor plow is seen and all of the
other modern accessories of farm life are to be found here. Mr. Rettinger has kept pace
with modern progress and improvement and is an alert and enterprising citizen.
ANDREW C. BERG.
Andrew C. Berg, now serving as county superintendent of schools in McHenry county,
with office in Towner, where he makes his home, was born on the 11th of June. 1876, in
Pope county, Minnesota. His parents, Cornelius A. and Jorand (Brevig) Berg, are both natives
of Norway, whence they emigrated to America in 1867 and located in Pope county, Minnesota,
being among its first settlers. There the father took up a homestead, which he improved
and, meeting with success in his farming operations, he was able to add to his original tract
until he now owns one whole section of land and is still engaged in its cultivation. He has
reached the age of seventy-one years and his wife is sixty-eight years old.
On the home farm Andrew C. Berg passed the days of his boyhood and youth in much
the usual manner. He began his education in the public schools of Starbuck, Pope county,
Minnesota, and for two years attended the seminary at Willmar. He was next a student in the
normal school at Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where he completed a five year course, and has
since spent two years in the North Dakota State University. In 1892 he taught his first
term of school, although at that time he was but sixteen years of age, and he has since
taught in Iowa, Minnesota, North and South Dakota. His experience has been varied as
he has had charge of many schools, including the small country school and the large city
school, of which he has been principal. In 1906 he took up a homestead in Bowman county.
North Dakota, which he improved and is still operating, though he does not give his personal
attention to its cultivation. He is now the owner of a half section of land and has met with
success in farming. In the fall of 1908 Mr. Berg removed to Granville, McHenry county,
where for four years he served as superintendent of the city schools, and was then elected
county superintendent, being the present incumbent in that oflice. As a teacher he has met
with most excellent success and the schools under his management have been greatly
benefited. In the office of county superintendent he has made the schools of McHenry county
far more efficient and the people have the utmost confidence in his ability.
Mr. Berg was married in August, 1905, to Miss Alma Hanson, and they now have two
children: Madeline J., born January 3, 1907; and Homer C, born June 2, 1910. Mr. Berg
is a stockholder in the Towner Garage, which handles the Ford cars. Fraternally he is
identified with the Masonic order and the Modern Woodmen of America, and politically he
affiliates with the republican party. He is a member of the Lutheran church and is a man
highly honored and esteemed wherever known. He is secretary and manager of the North
698 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Dakota Pupils Reading Circle Board, secretary of tlie North Dakota Educational Association's
committee on legislation and president of the Northwestern Educational Association,
embracing thirteen counties in the northwestern part of the state.
BERTRAM E. LORD, M. D.
Dr. Bertram K. Lord, engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery at Glenburn, is
a native of Minnesota, his birth having occurred at Shakopee, October 12, 1880. Hia
father, Charles H. Lord, a native of New Hampsliire, accompanied his parents on their
westward removal to Minnesota in 1855, at which time the family secured a homestead
claim. The grandfather was a physician and there practiced his profesion throughout his
remaining days, liis death occurring in 1880. After his son, Charles H. Lord, had com-
pleted his public school education he took up the study of pharmacy, and for fifteen years
conducted a drug store at Shakopee. Later he turned his attention to the insurance
business and was special adjuster for the Germania Fire Insurance Company for more
than twenty years, covering the territory of Minnesota, North and South Dakota and parts
of Iowa and Wisconsin. In early manhood he wedded Minnie H. Eckford, a native of St.
Paul, Minnesota, and on the 23d of January, 1905, he was called to the home beyond, while
his widow now lives in Chicago.
Dr. Lord spent his youtliful days in Minneapolis and in Shakopee, .Minnesota, and
in the pursuit of an education entered Hamline University at St. Paul, from which he
was graduated on the completion of a course in medicine with the class of 1903. The
same year Dr. Lord located in Glenburn, then a newly established town in Renville county,
North Dakota, where he has practiced continuously since, covering a period of thirteen
years. A very liberal patronage has been accorded him, for he soon demonstrated his
ability to cope with the intricate and complex problems which continually confront the
physician. His work has been attended with excellent results, viewed from both a pro-
fessional and linancial standpoint. In addition to his practice he has farming interests,
being the owner of a well improved tract of land of one hundred and sixty acres in Ward
county, six miles south of Glenburn.
On the 30th of April, 1900, Dr. Lord was married to Miss Jennie May Elliott and
thej' have two children: Evelyn, born December 23, 1902; and Kenneth, November 29, 1910.
Dr. Lord exercises his right of franchise in support of the principles and candidates of
the republican partj'. Fraternally he is connected with the Masonic lodge of Glenburn
and he is actively interested in all that pertains to the welfare and progiess of city and
county. For four years he filled the ofiice of village trustee and has also been a member
of the town council, while lie is now serving for the third year as a member of the school
board. He is progressive in citizenship and in his profession has kept in touch witli the
trend of modern thought and progreoa which results from scientific investigation and
research.
RICHARD H. VOSBCRG.
Richard H. Vosburg is the owner of an excellent farm property of six hundred and forty
acres in Arthur township, Cass county, and in addition to carrying on general agricultural
pursuits he makes a specialty of dairying, both branches of his business proving profitable
because of his capable management and unfaltering energy. A native of Michigan, he was
born May 9, 1854, of the marriage of Bernard and Laura Vosburg, both of whom were natives
of Columbia county. New York. On removing to the west they established their home in
Jlichigan and there reared their family of six children, five of whom are living. The parents
have both passed away.
Richard H. Vosburg spent liis youtlifiil days upon his father's I'arin in .Michigan, there
continuing to the age of twenty-five years, during which period he became familiar with the
best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. Wishing to acquire a farm of his
RICHARD IL VO.SBUKG
MRS. RICHARD H. VOSBURG
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 703
own, he removed to Xorth Dakota in 1880 and settled on section 8, Arthur township, Cass
county, where he secured a tract of land that constituted the nucleus of his present extensive
possessions. He at once began to till and improve his place and it is now one of the excellent
farms of the county. Upon it are fine buildings, including an attractive residence and sub-
stantial barns, sheds and outbuildings that furnish ample shelter for grain and stock. He
has also planted a beautiful grove that is one of the attractive features of the farm and
from time to time he has extended the boundaries of his possessions until he and his wife
now own six hundred and forty acres, all in Arthur township and all under a high state of
cultivation. In addition to raising the cereals best adapted to soil and climate Mr. Vosburg
makes a specialty of dairying and that branch of his business is proving quite profitable.
On the 21st of November, 1883, having made considerable headway in establishing a
home in the northwest, Mr. Vosburg completed his arrangements for a home of his own by
his marriage to Miss Elizabeth Williams, and theirs was the first wedding in what is now
Arthur township. Mrs. Vosburg is a native of Michigan and a daughter of Theodore and
Anna (Clark) Williams, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Michigan. Mr. and
Mrs. Williams were married in the Wolverine state and in the spring of 1883 came to Cass
county, North Dakota, at which time the father purchased the farm that is now the property
of Mrs. Vosburg. He lived thereon for ten years and then removed to Hunter, where he and
his wife spent their remaining days. They had a family of six children, of whom three are
yet living. Mr. and Mrs. Vosburg became the parents of four daughters: Anna, who died
when but a day old; Mildred Laura, who is a graduate of the normal school at Mayville and
is the wife of Hugo Vestenz; Bernice Anna, at home, who is a normal school graduate and
lias successfully engaged in teaching; and Maude E., who is a graduate of the high school at
Arthur and is now the wife of W. J. A. Jenkins. Mrs. Vosburg was also a successful teacher
for several years in Michigan and followed the same profession in Arthur.
The family are all members of the Methodist Episcopal church, guiding their lives by
its teachings and taking a helpful part in its work, Mr. Vosburg now serving as one of the
church trustees. He belongs to the Yeomen lodge and he is a stalwart advocate of educa-
tion, serving for twenty years as an efficient member of the school board. In polities he is a
democrat and was the second township treasurer in Arthur township, filling that position
for a number of years. He has lived in the county for thirty-six years and has witnessed
notable changes as the work of progress and improvement has been carried forward. In thie
woik he has borne his full share and has contributed in large measure to the material devel-
opment of this part of the state. His business success is well merited, for his methods have
ever been honorable, and his prosperity has been the direct result of persistent and intelli-
gently directed labor.
LUDVIG J. MORK.
For fifteen years Ludvig J. Mork has been prominently identified with the business
interests of Souris, North Dakota, and is now conducting a general store as a member of
the film of Moik-Moen Company. They formerly dealt in farm implements of all kinds
and by fair and honorable dealing have built up an extensive trade.
Mr. Mork was born in Pope county, Minnesota, February 13, 1878, his parents being
Ivor and Jlary (iiork) Mork, natives of Norway. In 1860 the father came to the United
States and located in Fillmore county, Minnesota, where he resided for two years. At the
end of that time he took a homestead in Pope county and to its improvement and cultivation
he devoted his attention for twenty years. The year 1886 witnessed his arrival in Bottineau
county. North Dakota, where he took a preemption, and he was engaged in its operation
at the time of his death, which occurred in 1887. His widow is still living.
Ludvig J. Mork was brought to Bottineau county when eight years of age and he early
became familiar with pioneer conditions while aiding in the improvement and cultivation
of the home farm. He attended the public schools and completed his education at a college
in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He remained with his mother until he attained his majority,
when lie took up a homestead in Bottineau county and at once began its development, but
Vol. n— S7
704 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
only resided thereon for a short time. In 1901, wlien the railroad was built through Souris,
he opened a general store at that place and also began dealing in farm machinery. In 1906
he admitted M. E. Moen to a partnership and they have since operated under the name
of the Mork-Moen Company. They have a fine double store, erected by Mr. Mork, and
carry an excellent line of goods, for which they find a liberal patronage. Mr. Mork is still
interested in farming to some extent and is meeting with success in all his imdcrtakings.
In March, 1903, he married Miss Petra Crogen, by whom he has one child, Lewald P.,
born October 29, 1904. They hold membership in the Lutheran church, and Mr. Jlork is
also identified with the Sons of Norway. His political support is given the men and meas-
iires of the republican party. His fellow citizens, recognizing his worth and ability, have
elected him mayor of Souris and also a member of the town council at different times. He
has always been found true to every trust reposed in him whether in public or private life,
and the success and prominence that lie has attained is but the merited reward of a well
spent life.
ANTON P. BKRGET.
For twenty years Anton P. Berget has been prominently identified with the business
interests of Towner and is now devoting his attention to the grain trade as manager in
charge of the elevator of the Andrews Grain Company. He was born August 14, 1867, in
Norway, of which country his parents, Peter and Annie (Berget) Berget, were lifelong
residents. By occupation the father was a farmer. The mother died on the 14th of
August, 1867, when our subject was only three hours old. He then made his home with
his grandparents and was reared and educated in his native land.
At the age of seventeen years Mr. Berget crossed the Atlantic to the United States
and located in Montevideo, Minnesota, where he learned the harness maker's trade, at
which he worked in that city for seven years. On the 4th of July, 1894, he came to
Towner, North Dakota, and has since been a resident of McHenry county. He took up
a homestead about forty miles northwest of Towner and was engaged in its improvement
and operation for two years, after which he removed to Towner and again turned his
attention to harness making. He followed that business until 1903, when he sold out, and
for the following ten years engaged in general merchandising. In 1914 he accepted the
position of general manager for the Andrews Grain Company and has since had charge
of their elevator.
Mr. Berget was married November 10, 1888, to Miss Mary Teigen, and they have
become the parents of eleve'n children, namely: Alma, now the wife of A. R. Ellis, of
Mendon, North Dakota; Melvin, a resident of Towner; Inga, a teacher, residing at home;
Lena, .Jalnicr, ITazel, Minnie, Viola and Burton, all at lionip; and Tnjia and .Mice, both
deceased.
At the primaries of 1910 J[r. Berget was nominated as register of deeds on the
republican ticket and as his party is about four to one in the majority a nomination is
equivalent to an election. He has been a member of the city council of Towner and has
served as school director for six years, his official duties always being most faithfully
and conscientiously performed. His religious belief is that of the Lutheran church, and
fraternally he is an honored member of the Masonic order.
ALLEN S. NICHOLSON, M. D.
Dr. Allen S. Nicholson, a successful and up-to-date yoimg physician and surgeon resid-
ing at Max, McLean county, was born in the province of Prince Edward Island, Canada,
January 24, 1882. His parents, Samuel and Anna (Nicholson) Nicholson, were born in Maine
and Canada respectively. In his youth the father removed to Prince Edward Island, where
he was married and made hia home until 1883. In that year he removed with his family
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 705
to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he engaged in contracting and building for a number of
years. He is now living retired and still makes his home in St. Paul. His wife passed
away in 1888.
Allen S. Nicholson, who is an only child, was but six months old when taken by his
parents to St. Paul, and there he grew to manhood. He was accorded good educational
advantages and after graduating from Macalester College in 1899 entered Hamline Uni-
versity, also at St. Paul, where he took a liberal arts course, laying the foundation for his
professional success on a broad and thorough general education. He prepared for the prac-
tice of medicine in the medical department of the University of Illinois at Chicago, from
which he was graduated with the M. D. degree in 1905, and the following year was devoted
to work as interne in the West Side Emergency Hospital of Chicago. On the 1st of March,
1906, be located for practice at Denhoff, North Dakota, where he remained until the 6tb of
March, 1907, when he removed to Max, McLean county, where he has since resided. He has
built up a large and lucrative general practice and stands high among his brother physicians
as well as in the estimation of the general public. He has invested in farm land near
Max and derives a gratifying addition to his income from his agricultural interests.
On the 9th of May, 1907, at Bismarck, Dr. Nicholson was married to Miss Iva Beamish,
who was born in Michigan but came to North Dakota in her girlhood and for a number of
years lived at Rugby. To the doctor and his wife has been born one child, Lome.
The democratic party receives the support of Dr. Nicholson, and he has taken an active
part in the municipal government, having served for two years as a member of the village
council and being now president of that body. He has many fraternal connections, being
a member of the Masonic blue lodge and chapter, the latter of Minot; of the Independent
"Order of Odd Fellows at Benedict, North Dakota, in which he has held office; of the Elks at
Minot and of the Modern Woodmen at Max. He also belongs to Epsilon Phi Sigma, a college
fraternity. He is a Presbyterian in religious faith and guides his life by high moral
standards. He has been honored by election as councillor of the North Dakota State
Medical Society and takes a lively interest in the work of that body.
HENRY ERICKSON.
One of the most prominent business men of JIcHcnry countj' is Henry Erickson, who
has been actively identified with various enterprises and is todaj' the oldest merchant in
the county, having conducted a general store in Towner since 1887. He was born in Pope
county, Minnesota, September 26, 1866, and is a son of Ole and Hannah (Ekk) Erickson,
natives of Norway. It was in 1850 that they left the land of the midnight sun and on
a sailing vessel started for the new world. They were four long months in making the
journey but finally located in Quebec, Canada, where they remained for a time. They
next proceeded to Minnesota and the father took vip land in Pope county, on which he
was living at the time of the Civil war. Feeling that his adopted country needed his
services he enlisted in a Minnesota regiment of infantry and was with his command for
one year, after which he returned to his farm in Pope county. He continued to reside
thereon until 1894, when he laid aside farming and removed to Towner, North Dakota,
where he spent the remainder of his life, dying in March, 1903. His wife died the following
month.
At the usual age Henry Erickson entered the public schools of his native county and
after completing his education aided his father in the operation of the home farm until
1887, when he came to Towner, North Dakota, and embarked in general merchandising.
Here he has carried on business ever since with marked success and enjoys a large and
lucrative patronage. He owns the building where he engages in business and carries a
large and well assorted stock of merchandise. Besides his town property he also owns
an eight hundred acre ranch twelve miles southeast of Towner, which he operates with the
assistance of a hired foreman, and he raises thereon both horses and cattle. He also has
another eight hundred acres twenty miles northwest of Towner, which he rents. He
formerly owned several general stores and eleven farm implement stores, receiving at one
706 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
time the largest train load of agricultural implements ever shipped to one retail lirni in
the world. He paid five hundred dollars to decorate the train. Besides the business interests
already mentioned he has been engaged in banking. Success has attended his efforts and
he is today one of the most substantial and prominent business men of McHenry county.
Mr. Krickson was married in June, 18S5, to Miss Laura Randall, and to them have
been born seven children, those still living being Oliver, Merrill and Lawrence. Two died
in infancy and Reuben and Ina are also deceased. Mr. Erickson takes an active interest in
public affairs and never withholds his support from any enterprise which he believes will
prove of benefit to the community. He has served on the school board for years and has
also been alderman and mayor of Towner, giving to the city a public-spirited and pro-
gressive administration. For two years he was railroad commissioner of the state and he
is one of the ardent supporters of the republican party. He is a prominent Mason, having
taken the thirty-second degree in that order, and is also a member of Lodge No. 15.5,
B. P. 0. E., at Grand Forks. In religious belief he is a Lutheran. It is to such progressive,
energetic business men that North Dakota owes its prosperity and advancement and Mr.
Erickson well merits the high esteem in which he is unifornilv liclci.
FRANK SANFORD.
Frank Sanford. who follows farming at Roger and makes his home in Valley City,
was born at Liberty, Jackson county, Michigan, September 25, 1800, a son of James P.
and Cornelia (Nutten) Sanford, who were natives of the Empire state, the former born af
Mount Morris and the latter at Penn Yan. The paternal graiulfatlier, Abraham Sanford,
was born near Albany, New York, and was descended from old colonial stock, tlie progenitors
of the family in America being two brothers, one of whom was a general and the other a
soldier in the French army. Thej' came to the new world in the seventeenth century and one
remained a bachelor but the other married Rachael Von Blarken, of Holland descent, who
was one of the heirs of the "Holland Purchase." This couple became the founders of the
Sanford family to which Frank Sanford belongs. In 1834 Abraham Sanford removed
from New York to southern Michigan and assisted in biiilding the Chicago and Michigan
turnpike, which was the first road from Detroit to Chicago. He was also otherwise identi-
fied with the pioneer development of Michigan, where he piirchased in all seven hundred
acres of land and two hundred and seventeen acres of his original homestead are now owned
by Frank Sanford. The grandfather lived to the advanced age of eighty years, passing
away in 1878. He was one of a family of five sons and two daughters, of whom one
brother, David, went to Canada, while another brother became a resident of Michigan and
a third settled at Kankakee, Illinois, where one sister also lived, while the other sister
went to Michigan.
.lames P. Sanford succeeded to a part of his father's farm in Michigan, which was
-Jivided among three sons and a daughter. He was only four years of age when his parents
removed to the Wolverine state and there he was reared amid pioneer conditions and spent
his entire life. For many years he filled the office of justice of the peace, making a
creditable record in that connection. He was born in 1839 and had therefore reached the
age of eighty-three years when called to his final rest in 1912. His first wife died in
1869, at the age of thirty-two years, after which he married again.
Frank Sanford, the only child of the first marriage, spent his boyhood days in Michigan
and at an early age began providing for his own support. He afterward worked his way
through high school and subsequently taught school through winter terms. In 1882 he
arrived in Barnes county. North Dakota, and accepted the position of manager of a farm for
William Hutchins, four miles northeast of Sanborn. Two years before, or in 1880, he had
married Esther Rhoades, whose father was a native of England. She was drowned in a well
on the 2Gth of .June, 1882. On the 13th of October, 1886, he was again married, his second
union being with Miss Helen Kingsley, of Hamilton, New York, whose parents came to
North Dakota in 1883 and are now residents of Griggs county.
Soon after his arrival in this state Mr. Sanford secured a homestead claim but con-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 707
tinued to work on the Hutchins farm in 1882 and 1883, removing to his own place in
1884. Prosperity has attended his efforts as the years have gone by and he and his wife
are today the owners of three and one-half sections of land in one body surrounding the
original homestead and more than eight hundred acres in other farms. He makes a
specialty of stock raising, handling Aberdeen Angus cattle, and he has both registered bulls
and cows. His main stock barn has accommodation for one hundred and thirty-five head.
Every modern improvement and facility is found upon his place, including two large silos
eighteen by thirty-five feet, which form the corners on the front of the barn. He displayed
his cattle at the county and state fairs for five years and won many prizes upon his
stock. He has gained a well earned reputation of being one of the most prominent and
successful stock raisers of southeastern North Dakota and the demand for his stock is
gi-eater than the supply. He also breeds pure bred Duroc-Jersey hogs, raising two hundred
a year, one-half of \\hich he sells for breeding purposes, while the other half go to the
slaughter house. The Jiorses which he handles are of the graded Norman stock and he
usually keeps about fifty head, mostly for his own use. He has one hundred and sixty
acres planted to alfalfa, his stock barn accommodating two hundred tons of hay. He also
raises large quantities of wheat and oats and both as a grain and stock raiser is meeting
with success. He gives personal supervision to all departments of his farm work but
since 1895 has made his home in Valley City, where he occupies a commodious and attractive
residence.
While his business interests have been extensive and have been carefully and successfully
managed, Mr. Sanford has also found time to cooperate in movements for the public good and
at all times stands for progress and improvement. In the fall of 1891 he was elected to the
office of county commissioner and in the fall of 1894 was chosen register of deeds, to
which office he was reelected in 1896 and 1898, serving in all for nine years £ts a county
official. For four years he was a member of the board of trustees of the Agricultural
College and during his incumbency in that office lent his aid and influence toward the
building of Ceres Hall, the girls' dormitory, and the chemistry building. In 1915 the
farmers institute board appointed him superintendent of the farmers institute of the state,
a fact which indicates his high standing as a typical and representative agriculturist of
North Dakota. He is prominent in Masonic circles, holding membership in the lodge,
chapter, commandery and Mystic Shrine, and he is ever recognized as a broad-minded, public-
spirited man and citizen, a splendid representative of that class to whom the state owes
her development and upbuilding. He has taken into account those things which are worth
while for the individual and the community, has cast out of his life all the nonessentials,
and concentrating his interest and efforts upon business affairs and the public need, he
has won success for himself and greatly promoted the welfare of this state.
WILLIAM J. COOPER.
William J. Cooper, an able and successful practicing attorney of Wcsthopc, was born
in Ontario, Canada, March 9, 1875, his parents being Thomas and Janet (Robertson) Cooper,
who were natives of that country and of Scotch descent, their respective parents having
removed from Scotland to Ontario. In 1878 the father left Canada accompanied by his
wife and four children to establish his home in the United States. He filed on a claim in
Traill county. North Dakota, and for twenty years remained a successful farmer of that
locality. In 1898, in order to give his children better educational opportunities, he removed
to Mayville and there resided for five years or until 1903, when he established his home in
Alexandria, Minnesota, where he now resides.
William J. Cooper had the benefit of instruction in the Mayville Normal School, and
then determining upon law practice as a life work, he began studying with that end in
view in the University of Minnesota. He did not complete his course there, however, but
turned his attention to banking and in 1904 arrived in Westhope as cashier of the First
National Bank, in which important position he capably served until the business was closed
out in 1910, it being absorbed by the Bank of Westhope. Subsequently Mr. Cooper entered
708 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
into |iai'tiuT.slii|) witli \'. Onnsl)y Suule for the practice of law, under tlie firm style of
Soule & Cooper, and in the past six years has given liis undivided attention to his law
practice, being regarded as one of the leading barristers of the Bottineau county bar. His
partner died in 1915, since which time he has practiced independently, and on many occa-
sions he has given demonstration of his power to successfully cope with involved and
intricate legal problems. He studies closely every pliase of a case, possesses comprehensive
knowledge of the law and ably applies its principles to the points in litigation. While
largely concentrating his energies upon his work as a member of the bar, he also gives
supervision to his farm of two hundred acres of well improved land a mile and a half north
of \\"esthope.
Mr. Cooper married Miss Emma Nettcrficld, of Wiiigham, Ontario, by whom he has
five children, namely: Amy E., William Ross, Thomas George, Dorothy Jean and Frances
Elizabeth. Fraternally Mr. Cooper is connected with Westhope Lodge, No. 74, A. F. &. A. M.;
Phoenicia Cliapter, Xo. 17, R. A. M.; Lorraine Cominandery, No. 13, K. T., and the Modern
Woodmen of America and he stands as a loyal supporter of the panciples of Masonry, which
rests upon a recognition of the brotherhood of mankind. His political views accord with the
teachings of the republican party and his life is guided by his connection with the Methodist
Episcopal church, in which both he and his wife are devoted members. In all branches of
the church work they take an active and helpful interest and Mr. Cooper is now serving
as a member of the board of trustees and as superintendent of the Sunday school. In all
his business affairs he has been thoroughly reliable, never taking advantage of the necessities
of his fi-llowmen and ever careful to conform his [iractice to a high standard of professional
ethics.
LESLIE D. COLTON.
Leslie 1). Colton. engaged in business at Burlington as a coal dealer and also giving con-
siderable attention to farming, was born at Russell, St. Lawrence count}', New York, October
.3, 186.), a son of Joseph and Diana (Robinson) Colton who were married on the 25th of Feb-
ruary, 1863. The father was born in Jefferson county. New York, March S4, 1840, and the
mother's birth occurred at Lisbon that state, May 1, 1843. In early life Mr. Colton engaged
in farming and afterward conducted an insurance business. Removing to the west in 1873,
they lived at Brainerd, Minnesota, for one summer and thence went to Frazee, that state.
In the fall of 1878 they removed to Lisbon, North Dakota, and were among the founders of
the town. In 1880 ilr. Colton was chosen register of deeds and occupied that position for
two terms, while at an early period in the history of the town he served as postnuistcr for
four years. In 1883 he went to Burlington, where he engaged in merchandising for foiu'
years and then resumed the occupation of farming. He also took up coal mining, which he
followed until 1894, when he removed to Bartow, Florida, where he retired from active busi-
ness life, enjoying a well earned rest until death called him on the 21st of December, 1896.
His widow survived until August 3, 1903. At the time of the Civil war Mr. Colton served for
three years as member of the Sixtieth Regiment of New York Volunteers. He became a
corporal and was promoted to the rank of sergeant. He assisted in raising a company and
was at the front three years and two months, being in a hospital at the time he was mus-
tered out. lie then returned home and reenli>led, but peace was declared ere he again
arrived at the front. A spirit of loyalty and patriotism characterized him throughout his
ontire life and in May, 1889, his fellow townsmen, appreciative of his public spirit and devo-
tion to the general good, elected him a delegate to the constitutional convention which
convened at Bismarck on the 4th of July. He was made chairman of the committee on resolu-
tions and railroads and he served on other important committees. In the Masonic fraternity
he attained the highest possible rank and was ])roMiincntly known in Masonic circles through-
out this section of the country. His family numbered three children: Mrs. .lames Johnson;
Leslie D.; and Sarah Levisa, who was born in IsTO ami <licd at Bartow. Florida, October
2, 1894.
Leslie D. Colton was a youth when brought to this state and attende<l school in Lisbon
and also continued his education in a private school at Burlington. He worked for two years
LESLIE D. COLTON
HISTORY OF NORTI-I DAKOTA 711
for his father after attaining adult age and then engaged in farming for himself. He became
a landowner in the fall of 1886 and throughout the intervening period with the exception of
seven years has engaged in farming in this state. He opened the first coal mine in the north-
western part of Nortli Dakota in 1893 for his father and with the exception of two years haa
since been identified with the coal trade. He is now working two mines on his own land, ono
a shaft mine and the other a slope mine. He is also cultivating farm lands and is engaged in
stock raising, having about sixty head of stock and breeding Holstein cattle and Duroc and
Poland China hogs. He has about a section of land devoted to farming a short distance
east of Burlington and his agricultural interests are wisely and capably managed, bringing
to him a very gratifying return. He is likewise a stockholder in the Minot Creamery &
Dairy Company and is a stockholder in the Burlington Telephone Company. His cooperation
has been sought along various lines because his wisdom and enterprise are recognized by his
fellow townsmen and in reviewing his life one recognizes the fact that opportunity slips
away from the sluggard, tauntingly plays before the dreamer but yields to the man of reso-
lute purpose and the fruits of labor therefore become his.
Mr. Colton has been married twice. On the 14th of May, 1891, he wedded Miss Nettie
M. Millar, who was born in Norwood, Illinois, May 19, 1871, 2 daughter of William L. and
Anna -Millar both of whom were natives of Scotland, whence they came to America about
1861, settiing in Illinois. Tlie father followed both farming and mining in early life but
afterward concentrated his attention upon general agricultural pursuits. In 1885 he removed
with his family to Burlington, North Dakota, and there in October, 1913, he and his wife
celebrated their golden wedding. He is now retired. Mrs. Colton was the fourth of a family
of nine children and she passed away July 29, 1899. She had four children: Walter George,
who was born February 19, 1893; Laura S., who was born December 11, 1S94, and is now in
her fourth year in the normal school at Minot; Alvin B., who was born August 17, 1897, and
is a cutter in a corset factory in Fargo; and Harriet M., who was born December 21, 1898,
and is in her third year at the Minot Normal School. On the 14th of November, 1903, Mr.
Colton was again married, his second union being with Miss Lizzie Richert, a native of Ger-
many, who when two years of age was brought to America by her parents, John and Elizabeth
Piichert. The father lived for two years in Minnesota and then settled upon a farm near
Burlington, North Dakota. John Richert died October 37, 1906, and his wife survived only
until the 26th of December of the same year. By the second marriage of Mr. Colton two
children have been born: Leo Joseph, whose natal day was September 11, 1904, and who
passed away November 37, 1906; and Charles John, who was born June 26, 1906.
Mr. Colton is an earnest republican but not an office seeker. He became a member of
the Modern Woodman camp at Rock Island, Illinois, but has never been active in connection
with fraternities. His time and attention have been concentrated upon his business affairs
and his ability has been manifest in his success. There has been nothing spectacular in his
career nor has his been a humdrum existence, for he has found pleasure in solving intricate
business problems and in conquering tasks to which he has set himself. Gradually he has
broadened the scope of his labors and his prosperity has correspondinglj- increased.
AUGUST P. LANDBLOM.
August P. Landblom, living in Reed township, Cass county, is one of the honored pioneer
settlers of this part of the state, where he has now made his home for forty-five years.
It was on the 14th of April, 1871, that he crossed the Red river at Georgetown and took up
his abode upon the farm which has since been his home, his labors throughout the intervening
years being devoted to the development and improvement of this place. He was born in
Sweden, September 21, 1846, a son of Peter and Anna (Stein) Landblom, both of whom
were natives of that country. In 1863 they sailed for America with their family and first
established their home in Clayton county, Iowa. They afterward removed to Moore county,
Minnesota, where their remaining days were passed. They had a family of ten children,
eight of whom survive.
August P. Landblom pursued his education in the schools of his native country. He
712 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
was a youth of sixteen years when the family saih-d for America. Five years later he
too sought a home in the new world, arriving in 1S67 and making his way to Clayton
county, lovva, where he remained for four years. In April, 1871, he came to Cass county.
North Dakota, and took up his abode upon the farm upon which he now resides, crossing
the Red river at Georgetown on the 14th of April and settling on section 18, Reed town-
ship. There was not an improvement upon the place or any indication that the work of
civilization and development had been there begun. He built a log cabin, which he occupied
for four years, at the end of wliieli time he replaced the primitive home by a more
modern and commodious residence. He has since added fine buildings to his farm and has
a splendidly im|pioved property equipped with all the conveniences and accessories of the
model farm of tlie twentieth centurj'. To his original purchase he has also added from
time to time until he is now the owner of five hundred and eighty acres, all of which he
has brought to a high state of cultivation. His methods are practical and progressive and
are productive of good results and he has made his farm one of the valuable and desirable
properties of the county. He has also been vice president of the Farmers Elevator Company
at Harwood. His business affairs are capably managed, he is systematic and methodical in
what he does and the spirit of enterprise characterizes him at all points in his career.
In November, 1871, Mr. Landblom was married to Miss Clara Johnson, a native of
Sweden who came to America in 1870 and for a year and a half was a resident of Chicago,
after which she came to North Dakota. Eleven children were born of this union: Minnie,
the wife of Theo Euren; Herman L.; Axel E.; John E.; France A.; William A.; Carl
Rudolph; Martin G.; Roy T.; and two who are deceased.
The parents are members of the Lutheran church, of which Mr. Landblom is serving as
trustee. In politics he is an earnest republican, recognized as one of the local party leaders.
He served as county commissioner for twelve years and for more than forty years has
been township treasurer, a fact indicative of his faithfulness and capability in office. He
has also been treasurer of the school board for twenty-six years. It is well known that
he is a most trustworthy man, loyal and faithful at all times, and his many good traits of
character have won him high regard. His success is the direct result of his earnest labor
and has been so honorably and worthily won that the most envious cannot grudge him his
prosperity. As a pioneer settler he has witnessed many changes in the county as the years
have gone by. He has seen a wild and sparsely settled region converted into a progi-essive
county with a large population of prosperous and contented people. Those who know him,
and he has a wide acquaintance, esteem him for his sterling worth, and are glad to call
him friend.
HON. C. 0. JACOBSON.
Hon. C. C. Jacobson, a dealer in general merchandise, farm machinery and automobiles
at Landa and now representative from his district in the state legislature, was born in
Norway, February 5, 1871. a son of CTirist and Lena (Mork) Jacobson, who came to tjie
United States in 1871, when their son was but an infant of six months. Tlipy established
their home in Adams county, Wisconsin, where the father purchased land and engaged in
farming, his active life being spent in that state. His wife passed away aboiit 1911, suice
which time he has made his home among his children.
C. C. Jacobson wae educated in the public schools and in the high schools of Nocedah
and Waupaca, Wisconsin, and also in the Northern Indiana Normal and Business College,
being graduated from the commercial department of the last named institution with the
class of 1893. During the succeeding two years he taught school and subsequently was
employed in mercantile houses in Necedah and Oranil Rapids, Wisconsin. In August, 1904,
he arrived in Bottineau, North Dakota, and from that time until the 1st of April following
he was employed in the settlement of the Ertresvaag estate. Later, in connection with
George Sunberg, P. S. Ilillcbne, 11. .1. Dale, P. B. Haber and W. .T. Cooper, he organized the
First International Bank of Landa and was placed in charge of that institution as oasliier
upon the opening of its doors for business on the 17th of April. In that capacity he served
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 713
until September, 1912, when he disposed of his interest in the bank and purchased the farm
implement business of Gorder & Gorder and the general merchandise business of Andrew
Helgerson. Both of these houses he has since conducted and has built up a business of
substantial proportions in that connection. He also has the agency of the Studebaker and
the Ford cars and is regarded as one of the most progressive, alert and enterprising business
men of Landa. He has also made investment in farm property and is now the owner of
three hundred and twenty acres of land, although formerly his holdings were much more
extensive but in recent months he has disposed of a considerable portion of his land.
On the 18th of August, 1897, Mr. Jacobson was united in marriage to Miss Tillie Christen-
son, of Necedah, Wisconsin, by whom he has two daughters, namely: Lela Adelaide, a student
in the Westhope high school ; and Viola Marie. ' The parents are members of the Lutheran
church and in politics Mr. Jacobson is a repxiblican. For several years he filled vario'us
political local offices and was chairman of the board of supervisors, president of the school
board and justice of the peace. In November, 1912, he was elected to represent his district
in the state legislature and in 1914 was reelected to that offioe, while in the summer of 1916
he was nominated for a third term. His party has thus endorsed his service as a member
of the general assembly and in that connection he has done excellent work, supporting much
constructive legislation and seeking ever to advance the best interests of the commonwealth.
To this end he places tlie public good before personal aggrandizement and the general interests
of society before partisanship.
JUDGE T. C. ELLIS.
Judge T. C. Ellis, judge of the county court of McHenry county, was born in Winona,
Minnesota, May 25, 1866, his parents being Levi and Susan M. (Young) Ellis, who were
natives of Maine and New Hampshire respectively. They were married in the old Granite
state in 1858 and their eldest child was there born. In 1861 they removed to Winona,
Minnesota, where Mr. Ellis purchased land and engaged in farming until 1880. In Marcli
of that year he came to North Dakota, settling at Valley City, where he purchased a
section of railroad land which he cultivated and improved in partnership with his son, T. C.
Ellis, their interests being conducted on an extensive scale. It was in the year 1898 that
T. C. Ellis came to McHenry county and took up a homestead near Anaraoose. Four years
later, or in 1902, he was joined by his father, who bought a relinquishment on a homestead
near the claims of his sons, T. C. and E. E. Ellis. The father proved up on liis property
and there resided to the time of his death.
.Judge Ellis occupied liis liomestead property for four years and then in February, 1902,
embarked in general merchandising in Anamoose, being for three years prominently identified
with the business interests of the town. In 1905 he sold his store there and removed to
Towner, where he purchased the hardware store of Tory Thorson. For six years thereafter
he carried on the business and then sold out. In 1914 he was elected county judge of McHenry
county and has since remained upon the bench, his service in that connection being char-
acterized by fair and impartial rulings. He never regards lightly the duties and responsi-
bilities of his office and hjs judicial record is one worthy of high commendation. He has
demonstrated his faith in North Dakota by his investment in property, being now the owner
of three hundred and twenty acres of farm land in Benson county and an equal amount in
McHenry county.
On April 22. 1891, .Judge Ellis was married to Jliss Lilly Butterfield, a daughter of Ira
and Maryette (Sheldon) Butterfield, the former of whom is deceased while the latter is
still living in Valley City, North Dakota. To Judge and Mrs. Ellis have been born ten
children, nine of whom survive, as follows: Charles T., who is a graduate of Fargo College
and now attends the Boston Technical School; Earl L., who is a graduate of the State
Agricultural College and is employed in Minot; Martha, who is a graduate of the Towner
high school and Valley City normal school and is employed as clerk in the office of the
register of deeds at Towner, North Dakota; Wilfred M., a gi'aduate of the Towner high
school and a student in Fargo College; Grace H., who is also a graduate of the Towner high
7U HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
school and is now a district school teacher; JCInier, a freshman in the Towner high school;
Evalyn, who is in the eighth grade; Donald, a fifth grade student; and Robert.
Kraternally Judge Ellis is connected with the ilodern Woodmen of America. His
political allegiance has always been given to the republican party and he is a stalwart
advocate of its principles, believing firmly that its platform contains the best elements of
good government. He greatly assisted in organizing the school district at Anamoose and
at tli« first election in that district was chosen a director. He has many admirable qualities
worthy of all praise and his M;ilient characteristics commend him to the confidence, high regard
and good will of all wlio know him.
TAYLOE CRUM.
Taj'lor Cruni, an attorney of Fargo, was born November G, 1852, at West Candor, Tioga
county, New York. As the name indicates, the family is of German extraction on the
paternal side. The name has been spelled variouslj' Crum, Krum, and Krom by different
branches of the family. His father, JMcDonough Ciura, was an infant in arms at the time of
the battle between Commodore Downie, the British officer, and Commodore McDonough, the
American commander, who met in a naval engagement on Lake Champlain in 1814. His
mother, with the child in her arms, witnessed the battle from the shore and named her boy
McDonough Crum after the victorious Commodore McDonough. As the years i)assed on
McDonough Crum became a prosperous farmer of New York. He married Harriet McGowan,
who was of Irish lineage.
In the common schools of his native state Taylor Crum began his education, which he
continued in the Owego (N. Y.) Academy and in the State Normal School at Oswego, New
York, from which he was graduated with the class of 1873, his diploma authorizing him to
teach any school in the state of New York during his lifetime. He became principal of a
graded school at Campbell, New York, for one year and afterward spent three years in the
University of Koehester. In December, 1881, he came to North Dakota, then the territory of
Dakota, and for two years was principal of the schools of Fargo. In the meantime he took
up the study of law, was admitted to the bar and has since followed tliat profession in this
city. His constantly developing powers have brought to him an increased clientage and his
legal business is now extensive and of an important character. In a word, his practice is
large and lucrative and in addition he has at times been called upon for public service that
has brought into marked play his ability as a lawyer.
At Campbell, New York, in August, 1876, Mr. Crum was united in marriage to Miss
Helen Bixby, a daughter of Simon Bixby, contractor and builder. To them were born three
children, as follows: Dr. Solon Crum, a practicing dentist of Fargo, North Dakota, who is
married and has a daughter; Paul, an attorney at law located at Fast Scobey, Montana, who
is married and has two sons and two daughters; and Leon, an engraver residing at Zion City,
Illinois, who is married and has two daughters and a son. Taylor Crum lost his first wife in
1886 and in October, 1908, at Fargo, North Dakota, was again married, his second union being
with Miss Kva G. FitzGerald, a daughter of Jacob FitzGerald, who served as treasurer of
Schuyler county, New Y'ork, and held other positions of trust.
The religious faith of Taylor Crum is that of the Presbyterian church. He was a char-
ter member and officer of the Ancient Order of United Workmen for many years but with-
drew from the organization several years ago. He belongs to the Fargo Commercial club
and is in hearty sympathy with its many projects for the upbuilding of the district and the
extension of its trade relations. In politics he was formerly a dcnM)crat but of late years
has maintained an indejjendent course. He has never been a candidate for any imblic office
but once, on which occasion he was nominated for state senator in the Fargo district but was
defeated by a small majority by the late John E. Haggart. He was active in politics during
territorial days and during the period of early statehood, being at that time identified with
the democratic party.. He served as secretary of the Cass county committee and also as a
delegate to county and state conventions. He also stumped the state for the party during
several campaigns but of late years has taken no active interest in any political organiza-
TAYLOR CRUM
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 717
tions, voting for men whom he considers capable regardless of their identification with any
political organization. He has been considered by many as one of the most effective political
orators in the state and he is regarded as a particularly strong and able lawyer, especially
when he appears before juries. He bears the reputation of being one of the best all-around
lawyers in North Dakota and he is well known professionally throughout the state of North
Dakota and through eastern Minnesota, where he has had a large number of clients. He is
referred to by many as the poor man's lawyer, never having been known to turn away a
client because of his poverty. During his political activity he was in great demand as a
stump and an after dinner speaker at all banquets. He never asked for a political nomina-
tion and the one time he ran for office he was selected to lead a forlorn hope in a. district
which at that time had never elected a democrat to any office. Notwithstanding that state
of afTairs he polled the largest number of votes ever cast for a democrat in the Fargo district
up to that date. He resided at No. Ill Eighth street. North, in Fargo for many years, but
when his homestead there was demanded as a part of the site of the new postoffice he pur-
chased another home at the corner of Tenth street and Third avenue, North, where he and
his wife now reside. His fellow townsmen speak of him in terms of high regard, mentioning
liis worth as a citizen and his abilitj' as a lawyer, and it is the consensus of opinion on the
part of one's fellowmen that establishes his position.
.TAKE W. ALBUS.
Although still a young man .Jake W. Albus occupies an enviable position in the business
•circles of Wells county as a dealer in farm machinery and automobiles in Bremen. His
entire life has been passed in that county, his birth occvirring in Fessenden, November 8,
1889. His father, Frank Albus, is a native of Roumania and on his emigration to the new
world first located in Jamestown, North Dakota, but after spending a year at that place
removed to Wells county, taking up land three miles from Fessenden in 1881. To the
improvement and cultivation of that property he devoted his energies until 1907, when he
took up his residence in the town and turned his attention to the farm implement business,
in which he is still engaged.
•Jake W. Albus was educated in the public schools of Fessenden and after putting
aside his textbooks operated an elevator at that place for two years. He then assisted
his father in the implement business and under the latter's instruction became thoroughly
familiar with that line of trade. In 1912 he opened his present establishment in Bremen
before the railroad had been constructed to that place. He now- carries a good line of
farm implements of all kinds and also threshers and the Overland automobiles and has
already secured a fine patronage which is constantly increasing.
Mr. Albus was married in 1916 to Miss Anna Kovar, who is also a native of North
Dakota. Politically he is identified with the democratic party and he is now acceptably
filling the office of justice of the peace. He is a member of the Jloose lodge at New Rockford
and is one of the representative young business men of Wells county.
L. R. COLVERT.
L. R. C'olvcrt, the owner of a well patronized meat market at Berthold, Ward county.
North Dakota, was born in Clarence, Missouri, on the 28th of September, 1873, a son of
J. S. and Delilah Colvert, natives respectively of Virginia and Missouri. The father followed
agricultural pursuits for some time but after his removal to Shelbina, Missouri, engaged in
the furniture and undertaking business for three years. I.,ater he conducted a meat market
for a similar period. He passed away in 1896, but his wife is still living and resides in San
Diego, California. For nineteen years he was superintendent of the Sunday school of the
Southern Methodist church at Zion and all efJorts to promote the moral welfare of his com-
munity received his hearty support.
718 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
L. R. Colvcit received a good education and remained at lionie until nineteen years of
age. He then devoted three years to farming, after wliich he worked in a meat market
until 1903, wlien lie removed to Bertliold, North Dakota. Here he established a meat
market of his own, which he has since conducted, and his thorough knowledge of the butcher's
trade, combined with his business ability, has enabled him to gain a gratifying measure of
success. He also has other interests as he is the sole owner of the 13erthold Potato Com-
pany, and he also ships considerable stock to eastern markets. He owns four h\indred acres
of fine land near Berthold and his property yields him a good financial return.
Mr. Colvert was married on the 9th of February, 1897, to Miss Mabel A. Coerd, a daughter
of George W. and Susan Coerd. Her father, who engaged in farming in Missouri, has passed
away, but her mother is still living in Shelbina, Missouri. To Mr. and Mrs. Colvert have
been born five children, namely: Hazel Irene, eighteen years old, who is a student in the
Berthold high school; Jlyra, who is sixteen years of age and is also a high school student;
and Richard N., Paul Leon and Evelyn Loraine, aged respectively fourteen, eleven and eight
years, all of whom are in school.
Mr. Colvert is independent in politics, supporting the man rather than the party, and
for four years he served as a member of the village board. He is an influential member of
the Congregational church of Berthold, of which he has been a trustee for three years, and
fraternally he is identified with Berthold Lodge, No. 72, A. F. & A. M., with the Klks and
with the Woodmen. In all relations of life he has measured up to high standards of man-
hood and is highly esteemed for his integritv and his ability.
OTIS F. McGRAY.
Otis F. McOray is devoting his time chiefly to the conduct of his large hardware, furni-
ture, implement and harness business at Garrison and ranks among the leading business men
of McLean county. He was born in Prescott, Wisconsin, January 2, 1803, a son of
William Frank and Lena (Nelson) McGray. The father was born in Maine but for many
years has resided in Wisconsin. For thirty years he held the office of manager of the
St. Croix-Brown Corporation of Stillwater, Minnesota, his long incumbency in that position
indicating his ability and loyalty to the trust rejiosod in him. He is still living, as is his
wife, who is a native of Norway.
Otis F. McGray gi'ew to manhood in his native town and after comideting the course
offered in the schools there entered Carleton College at Northfield, Jlinnesota, which he
attended for some time. After leaving that institution he returned to Prescott and
remained there until about 1885, when he became assistant manager of the St. Croix-Brown
Corporation of Stillwater. Minnesota, removing to that city, where he resided for about
fifteen years. At the end of that time he became master of a steamboat belonging to the
St. Croix-Brown Corporation and for five years made the run from St. Paul to Winona,
Minnesota, his sliip being the Columbia, a large pleasure packet. In January, 1902, he
severed his connection with that company and came to North Dakota, making part of his
journey to Coleharbor by stage. There he opened a hardware and implement store,
which he conducted for three years, after which he moved the stock to Garrison and erected
the building which his store has since occuiiied. lie has been connected with business interests
here since the fall of 1905 and in addition to hardware and implements carries a complete
line of furniture and also deals in harness. His building is thirty by one hundred feet in
dimensions and is well adapted to his needs. His annual business reaches a large volume
and in fact is the largest in this section of the state. He also owns about three thousand
acres of land and owns stock and is a director in the First National Bank of Garrison.
In 1883, in Prescott, Wisconsin, Mr. McGray was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude
Hicks, also of Prescott. They have a son, Frank, who is assisting his father in the store.
Mr. McGray supports the republican party at the polls, is now filling the ofTice of mayor
to the satisfaction of his fellow townsmen and has also filled other positions of trust. He
belongs to the Masonic blue lodge at Prescott, Wisconsin, the chapter and eoniniaiidery at
Stillwater, Minnesota, and the Mystic .''hrine at Fargo, North Dakota, and is likewise identi-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 719
lied \vitli the Knights of Pytliias at Stillwater. He holds membership in the Congregational
church and furthers all movements seeking the moral advancement of his community. His
life has been an active and useful one and his reward is not only financial prosperity but
also the consciousness that he has had a part in the upbuilding of his town and county.
MRS. L. E. (XJRRIER.
Mrs. L. E. Currier, the editor of the McLean County Independent, published at Garrison,
is making that journal one of the best country papers published in this part of North
Dakota, winning success in a field to which very few women have turned their attention.
She was born in Fullerton, Nebraska, and is a daughter of Theodore Lenker. She remained
in her native state until her union with A. B. Currier, who is a stockholder in the Bismarck
Motor Car Company. Following her marriage she resided in Bismarck for a number of years
but since 1914 has made her home in Garrison, having assumed active charge in that year
of the publication of the MgLean County Independent, which is owned by her husband and
his brother, Frank Currier. The latter is engaged in the insurance business in Lambert,
Montana, and A. B. Currier is quite heavily interested in lands in North Dakota and in
Cuba. He has spent considerable time on that island looking after his interests there.
Mrs. Currier takes great pleasure in her work as editor and has a right to be proud
of what she has accomplished. The McLean Independent was established as the Knox
County Independent in Emmet, Knox county, in April, 1904, but three years later was
removed to (jarrison, where it has since been published. It is one of the older papers of
this section and is the official county sheet. It is independent in polities and in all matters
ati'ecting the welfare of town and county is progressive and well balanced, always taking
the lead in the advocacy of advance steps. The news columns are of the same high standard
as the editorial page and the typographical work is excellent, the equipment of the plant
including a Cottrell press. The Independent has a large circulation among the representative
people of the county and is recognized as a valuable advertising medium. Mrs. Currier not
only lias a high standing as a newspaper woman but personally is held in high esteem by
all who know her and she has many warm friends.
M. D. DYAE.
M. D. Dyar, a well known giain buyer of Bottineau county, proprietor of the Dyar
elevator at Antler, was born in St. Charles, Minnesota, September 7, 1873, a son of Alvano B.
and Edah (Garish) Dyar, natives of Maine and New Hampshire respectively and both repre-
sentatives of old New England families founded in America prior to the Revolutionary war.
In early manhood A. B. Dyar became a resident of Minnesota and his wife removed there
with her parents during her girlhood da_vs in 1855. They were married in ISCfl and began
tlieir domestic life upon a farm in Winona county, whereon Mr. Dyar cai'ricd on general agri-
cultural pursuits until 1897, when they removed to St. Charles, where he passed away in
1913 at the age of seventy-four years. His widow survives and is still a resident of that
city. She is a daughter of Charles Garish, who homesteaded in Winona county in 1855,
being one of the first settlers of that part of the state. He was also a member of the
territorial legislature in the year in which Minnesota was admitted to the Union and was
a prominent leader in local republican circles. There are many points of interest in the
ancestral history of the family. The paternal grandfather of A. B. Dyar three times removed
was captain of one of the vessels that figured in the famous Boston tea party, and It was
his wife who made the blacking for the coloring of the faces of the persons who took part
in that famous historic event, going to the British ships, from which they took the tea,
throwing it into the sea.
M. D. Dyar supplemented his district school training by study in the St. Charles high
school and since 1893 has been connected with the grain trade, starting out in that line of
720 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
business soon after his textbooks were put aside. For five years he was buyer for the H. J.
O'Neil Grain Company at Stewartville, ^Minnesota, and when ^Ir. O'Neil sold out to the
American Malting Company he remained with tliat corporation for two years. He next
engaged in the implonKiit business at Stewartville for two years and in 1903 came to North
Dakota, settling at Westhope, where he took charge of the elevator belonging to the Ucising
Elevator Company. He represented that firm for two years and in the fall of 1905 removed
to Antler, where he arrived before the building of the railroad. For three years he bought
grain for the MeCabe Elevator Company and in 1908, in connection with F. A. Rinkel, built
an elevator at Kuroki, of which Jlr. Dyar acted as manager for two years. In 1910 the
partners sold that elevator and Mr. Dyar purchased his present elevator at Antler and
has since conducted the business independently. He is today one of the best known grain
merchants in the northwestern part of the state. His operations have been carried on exten-
sively and there is no one who keeps more thoroughly in touch with the grain market and
he is thus able to wisely direct .his business affairs. Moreover, he is a stockholder and one of
the directors of the State Bank of Antler, while his investments in land are extensive,
embracing thirteen hundred and 'twenty acres in Bottineau county. From this property he
derives a very gratifying and satisfactory annual income and the development of his farm
lands constitutes an element in the progress and upbuilding of his section of the state.
In 1897 Mr. Dyar was. united in marriage to Miss Blanche Scott, of St. Charles, Minnesota,
by whom he has two children, Adah Merle and Esther Scott, who are students in the North
Dakota State University at Grand Forks.
Mr. Dyar exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the
republican party. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons, belonging to Antler Lodge,
No. SO, A. F. & A. M.; Orient Qiaptcr, No. 29, R. A. M., of St. Charles, Minnesota; Home
Commandery, No. 5, K. T., of Rochester, Minnesota; and Kem Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., of
Grand Forks, North Dakota. His interest in the fraternity is manifest by his loyal support
and exemplification of its principles and throughout his entire life he has manifested sterling
qualities which 'have won for him the favorable regard, goodwill and confidence of those with
whom he has been associated in business or social relations.
D. J. O'CONNELL.
D. J. O'Connell, a member of the McHenry county bar practicing at Towner, was born
in Cincinnati, Ohio, in December, 1862, a son of J. G. and Julia O'Connell, the former a
native of Ireland and the latter of Massachusetts. The father came to the new world with
his parents in early boyhood and here learned and followed the carpenter's trade, becoming
a contractor of Cincinnati and afterward of Indianapolis, Indiana, where he passed away
in 1863. His wife survived for only two years and died in 1865.
D. J. O'Connell spent the days of his boyhood and youth in Iowa and Illinois and was
graduated from the State University of Iowa as a member of the class of 1896. Prior to
this time, however, he had spent several years in the newspaper business in Iowa and
Minnesota, but desiring to enter upon a professional career, he took up the study of law.
Following his graduation he located at Burlington, Iowa, where he engaged in active practice
until 1902, and during the period of his residence there he became a candidate for congress
on the democratic ticket on two occasions but met with defeat. In 1902 he removed to
Towner, North Dakota, where he opened an office and has since continued in the active
practice of his profession. He is the possessor of one of the largest law libraries of the
state, with the contents of which he is very familiar. He displays marked ability in his
profession, carefully and systematically preparing his cases, while his clear and cogent
reasoning in the presentation of his cause never fails to impress court or jury and seldom
fails to win the verdict desired for his client. While his devotion to his clients' interests
is proverbial, he never forgets that he owes a still higher allegiance to the majesty of the
law. For six years he has served as special assistant attorney general and he has filled
the office of states attorney, while on one occasion he was defeated for the office of attorney
general of North Dakota on the democratic ticket. 'ttTiile a resident of O'Brien county,
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 721
Iowa, he held the ofiice of county superintendent of schools. He has also been a member
of the town council and his official duties have been discharged in a most prompt and
capable manner.
In August, 1SS5, in Sheldon, Iowa, Mr. O'Connell was united in marriage to Miss Mary
E. Burns and they have one child, Anna, who was born in November, 1903. The religious
faith of the parents is that of the Catholic ciiurch and in fraternal relations Mr. O'Connell
is connected with the Elks and the Knights of Pythias. He votes the democratic ticket
and his close study of the questions and issues of the day enables him to give strong reason
for his political faith. Naturally his interest chiefly concentrates upon his profession and
in his chosen calling he is making substantial progress.
THOMAS B. TORSON.
Thomas B. Torson, cashier of the Security Bank of Rugby, which is the j-oungest and
strongest bank in Pierce county, possesses strong business qualifications, combining inde-
fatigable energy with persistency of purpose and thorough reliability. North Dakota has
reason to be proud to number him among her native sons since he was born in Mayville,
June 26, 1888, a son of Lawrence N. and Mary (Myhren) Torson, who removed with their
family to Rugby, wliere Thomas B. Torson obtained a part of his education in the public
schools. He afterward became a student in the State University and following his return
home engaged in the abstract business for six years. On the expiration of that period
he accepted the position of manager of the Rugby branch of the real estate and loan
business of E. J. Lander & Company, with which he remained for three years. He next
became cashier of the Security Bank of Rugby in 1915 and is also one of its stockholders
and directors. The other officers are: 0. T. Tofsrud, president; and 0. B. Bergeson, vice
president. The bank is capitalized for twenty thousand dollars, has a surplus of five
thousand dollars and its deposits amount to two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars.
Throughout the entire period of its existence the bank has made steady and substantial
progress and tlie business policy pmsued ensures its continued success. In addition to his
banking business Mr. Torson is interested in cattle in Montana.
In September, 1909, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Torson and Miss Fanny Athearn
and they have become the parents of two children: T. Bradley, born June 8, 1913; and
Lee M., born November 13, 1914.
Politically Mr. Torson is a republican and is now serving as city auditor of Rugby,
while at a former date he was deputy city treasurer and also deputy sheriff of the county.
Fraternally he is connected with the Masonic lodge of Rugby, of which he is a past
master, and with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. His religious faith is that
of the Episcopal church. He and his wife are held in high esteem in the community in
which they reside and the warm-hearted hospitality of their home makes it a favorite
resort with their maiiv friends.
GEORGE H. KALBFLEISCH.
George H. Kalbfleisch, engaged in the banking business in Westhope, now occupying the
position of cashier in the Peoples State Bank, of which he is also a stockholder and director,
was born in Grafton, North Dakota, in August. 1884, a son of Henry G. and Katherine
(Rothe) Kalbfleisch, who were natives of Canada. The father was a miller by trade and
for many years followed that pursuit. In 1885 he arrived in Bottineau county, North
Dakota, and built a flour mill in the town of Bottineau, which was the first enterprise
of that character in this part of the state. His remaining days were devoted to the
operation of the mill, death ending his labors in August, 1898. His wife survived for
nearly two decades, passing away in August, 1915.
George H. Kalbfleisch has been a lifelong resident of North Dakota and almost the
722 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
entile jniiod has been spent in Bottineau county. He was graduated from the Bottineau
high school witli the class of 1901 and afterward attended the State University and also
pursued a course in Aaker's Business College at Fargo. In 190G he removed to Westhope
to accept the position of assistant cashier of the First International Bank, with which
institution he continued until 190S, when the bank was merged into the Peoples State
Bank, Mr. Kalblleisch being retained in the position of cashier. He has since acted in tliat
capacity, promptly, faithfully and elliciently discharging his duties and thus contributing
in large measure to the success of the institution, which has enjoyed a steady growth
and is now recognized as one of the strong financial concerns of Bottineau county. He
took an active part in organizing the Peoples State Bank and in its conduct has ever held
to the highest ethical standards. He is also the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of
land in Bottineau county.
In April, 1913, Mr. Kalbfleiseh was married to Miss Lillian M. Johnson and they have
become the jiarcnts of two children: Gaylord H., born in October, 1013; and Kathryn S.,
born in September, 1915.
Mr. and Mrs. Kalbfleiseh are consistent members of the Baptist church and fraternally
he is connected with the Masons and the Modern Woodmen of America. His political
endorsement is given to the republican party and at the prc^sent time he is filling the
offices of city treasurer and secretary of the board of education. He is a public-spirited
citizen and his efl'orts have been a potent force in u[iluilding and developing those standards
which are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride.
/
JUDUK CHARLES ANDREW POLLOCK.
No record that finds a place in the judicial history of North Dakota is more commend-
able and worthy of admiration than is that of Judge Charles Andrew Pollock, who has
five times been elected judge of the third judicial district, his present terra expiring January
1, 1917. Not only has he upheld the legal but also the moral status of his community and
he is known as the father of the prohibition law of the state. In a word, his inlluence
is always on the side of reform, improvement and progress and his efforts have been of
far-reaching effect and benefit.
He was born September 37, 1853, iu Elizabethtown, Essex county. New York, and
went west with his parents to Iowa in 185G, remaining there until 1881, when he located
for the practice of law in Fargo, Dakota territory, where he has since continuously remained.
His more specifically literary education was obtained in Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa,
from which he was graduated with the degree of B. A. in 1878. His alma mater con-
ferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts in 1881 and in 1908 the LL. D. degree. In
the meantime he had begun the study of law in the University of Iowa and on the com-
pletion of his course the LL. B. degree was conferred upon him in 1881. He entered upon
the active work in his profession in Fargo and in 1885 was elected district attorney of Cass
county, which position he filled for four years, or until 1889. In the private practice of
law a liberal clientage was accorded him, resulting from his recognized ability as manifest
in thfe careful preparation of his cases and from clear and forceful presentation in the
■courts. No man ever conformed his practice more closely to the ethics of the profession.
He never sought to lead the court astray in a matter of fact or law, nor endeavored to
withhold from it tlie knowledge of any fact appearing in the record. Calm, dignified, self-
controlled, he gave to his clients a service of great talent, unwearied industry and rare
learning, but he never forgot that there were certain things due to the court, to his own
self-respect and, above all, to justice and the righteous administration of the law which
neither the zeal of the advocate nor the pleasure of success would permit hira to disregard.
It was but natural therefore that he should bo called upon for judicial service. In the
fall of 1896 he was elected district judge of the third judicial district of North Dakota
for a term of four years, taking his seat upon the bench January 1, 1897. His course
proved that the confidence reposed in him was fully merited and since then he has been
four times reelected, his present term expiring on the 1st of January, 1917. His decisions
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 725
are strictly fair and impartial, being models of judicial soundness, and the fact that he
bas so long been continued in office leaves no need for comment as to his ability. For over
four years he has had charge of the practice courts of the law department of the State
University.
On the 2rth of September, 1882, Judge Pollock was united in marriage to Miss Martha
Clinton, who was graduated from Cornell College with the class of 1879, being a fellow-
student there with the judge. They have three living children: Clara A., who was grad-
uated from Cornell in. 1908; Lorine M., who is a graduate of the Wisconsin State University
of the class of 1912; and Charles M., who was also graduated from the Wisconsin State
University in 1913 and from the law school of the State University of Minnesota in 1915.
He is now married and is practicing law in St. Paul.
Judge Pollock is a thirty-second degree Mason and a member of El Zagal Temple,
A. A. 0. N. M. S. He is state president of the Sons of the American Revolution. Holding
membership in the First Methodist Episcopal church of Fargo, he is serving on its official
board and is recognized as one of the proniinent representatives of the denomination in
the state, having represented North Dakota in the general conference of his church at
Baltimore in 1908, at Minneapolis in 1912, and at Saratoga Springs in 1916. His political
allegiance is always given to the republican party but he never allows politics to interfere
in any way with his professional duties. He has long been a close student of the great polit-
ical, sociological and economic problems of the country and along these lines keeps in touch
with best thinking men of the age. He prepared and published a manual of the prohibition
law, which is to be found generally in the law offices throughout the country. His cooperation
has been an effective force in securing the adoption of many measures and the utilization of
many plans for the upbuilding and welfare of city and state.
L. F. MAHOWALD.
L. F. Mahowakl, the owner of a large hardware, harness, implement and furniture
business at Garrison, has been identified with the town since it was laid out and erected
the first building here. His birth occurred in Mankato, Minnesota, April 11, 18S9, and
he is a son of John and Catherine (Weber) Mahowald, natives of Germany. The mother
was brought to the United States when about two years of age and grew to womanhood
near Mankato, while the father emigrated to this country when about twenty-five years old
and settled in the same locality. They were married there and the mother is still living
in Mankato, but the father passed away in 1909. To tliem were born fourteen children,
of whom ten survive, namely: Frank J., of Mankato, who is a blacksmith and motorcycle
dealer; Anna, the wife of J. T. Lorenz, of Bird Island, Minnesota; Tillie, who married Frank
Kreutzer, a resident of Mankato; Mary, the wife of J. J. Huettl, of Max; Julia, the wife of
John Butzer, of Mankato; L. F.; Joseph J., who is employed by his brother L. F. ; Fred,
who owns an auto livery and resides in Mankato; George H., a priest stationed at Cleveland,
Ohio; and Lillian, the wife of Roy Brooks, of Mankato. A son, Clemens, died at the age of
twenty-one years in Minot, and three children died in infancy.
L. F. Mahowald acquired his education in the parochial schools of Mankato and learned
the harness maker's trade at Redwood Falls, Minnesota, under Nick J. Mahowald, for whom
he worked for three years. Later he was employed for two years at Bird Island and
Madelia, Minnesota, and for a year in Morton, that state. He then opened a harness shop
of his own in Mankato, but after eighteen months sold out and in 1902 came to McLean
county, North Dakota. He took up as a homestead the northeast quarter of section 21,
township 148, range 85, his land being five miles southwest of Garrison. He proved up on
his farm and for three years devoted his attention to its cultivation and improvement. In
1904 he went to Larimore, North Dakota, where he worked at the harness trade until the
summer of 1905. He then came to Garrison and bought the second lot sold here, the town
site having just been opened, and he it was who erected the first building in the town, a
structure twenty-four by forty feet, on the same site as his present store building. He
put in a good stock of hardware and harness and his business prospered so under his able
726 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
management that in 1909 he bought the adjoining building, which gave liim a ground floor
space of twenty-four by sixty feet. In 1910 he found it necessary to add twenty feet to
the old building and in 1916 he added forty foet to the new building, making his store
proper forty-eight by sixty feet and his warehouse twenty-four by forty feet. In 1910
he put in a complete line of furniture and implements and altogether carries a stock worth
about ten thousand dollars. He spares no pains to please his customers and the quality
of the goods carried, the reasonable prices and the liberal business policy followed have
resulted in the building up of a large patronage. He is also interested in farm lands near
Garrison.
In 1901 occurred the marriage of Mr. Mahowald and Miss Anna Heinzen, who was born
in (jermany but when nine years of age accompanied her parents to the United States, set-
tlement being made at Bird Island, Minnesota, where she remained until her marriage. She
has become the mother of three children. Ward Earl, Elvira E. and Leo II.
Mr. Mahowald is a strong republican in politics and has held a number of local
offices. He was chosen a member of the first board of trustees of Garrison; in 1909 was
elected county commissioner, which office he held for two years, and for the past six years
has served on the school board and for the greater part of that time has been president of
that body. In that connection he had much to do with the erection of the fine new school
building, of which Garrison is justly proud and which makes it possible to give a full four
years' high school course. He belongs to St. Nicholas' church of Garrison, and fraternally
is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America, the Knights of Columbus at Slinot, in
which he has taken the fourth degree, and the Catholic Order of Foresters. In all the
relations of life, business, civic and personal, he has manifested those qualities which
everywhere command respect and regard and is accounted one of the leading citizens of
Garrison.
TRYGGVE D. MONSEN.
Tryggve D. Monsen, publisher of the Sheridan Post at McClusky, was born in Norway
in 1884, a son of Ludvig Monsen, who is also a native of Norway. He became a printer in
the town of Hamar, where for the past forty years he has published the town paper, a
work in which he is still actively engaged. He married Josephine Dehn, also of Norwegian
birth, and they became the parents of fifteen children, all of whom are yet living with the
exception of two.
Tryggve D. Monsen, who was the sixth of the family, was educated in the schools of
Norway and when nineteen years of age came to the United States, settling in Wisconsin,
where he was employed as a farm hand for three years. On leaving that state the came
to North Dakota, establishing his home at McClusky in 1907. For two months he was
employed in the office of the McClusky Gazette. He had previously worked in his father's
printing office in Norway and had thus learned the trade. After two months spent in
McChisky he purchased the Gazette from J. S. Arneson, its previo\is editor and owner, who
is now a prominent figure in Minnesota politics. For two years Mr. Monsen continued to
edit and publish the Gazette and then in 1909 took up a homestead located five miles
northeast of McClusky. For two years he devoted his time and energies to the development
of the farm and secured his title to the property.
It was also in 1909 that Mr. Monsen was united in marriage to Miss Hertha Boutwell,
a native of Wisconsin and a daughter of Teter and Anna Boutwell, both of whom are now
deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Monsen have become the parents of three children: Teddy, born
in May, 1910; Blanche, born in August, 1911; and Alda B., born in May, 1913.
After leaving the homestead Mr. Monsen and his family removed to McClusky and
in 1913 he purchased the State Press from F. J. Kehrer, at which time he changed the
name of the paper to the Sheridan Post. This is an independent sheet, well edited and
carefully managed, and it has a circulation of five hundred and fifty. The Post is today
the most widely circulated and best known paper in Sheridan county. It is a bright,
readable journal devoted to the dissemination of local and general news, and the business of
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 727
tlie office is constantly increasing owing to the enterprising and thoroughly reliable business
methods of the proprietor. In addition to his paper Mr. Monsen has become the owner of
town property.
Mr. Monsen is an independent voter, but while he does not ally himself closely with
any political part}', he stands at all times for those interests which have most to do with
the development, growth and prosperity of the community. For a period of two years
he was city assessor of McClusky and is the present deputy clerk of the district court, which
office he has filled for four years. He was also at one time a candidate for the state
senate. He holds to the Lutheran faith in his church relations, while fraternally he is
connected with the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the
Woodmen camp, all of McClusky, and in the Odd Fellows lodge he has passed the chairs,
while in the Woodmen camp he is now consul. Since coming to the United States a young
man of nineteen years he has steadily worked his way upward, wisely utilizing his time,
talents and opportunities, and today he occupies a creditable position among the citizens
of Sheridan county, while in his professional capacity his influence is of no restricted order.
0. L. GORDEE.
0. L. Gorder, a hardware dealer whose enterprise is a large contribtuting factor to the
upbuilding of Landa, was born in Pope county, Minnesota, August 16, 1875, a son of Lars
and Olena (Hanson) Gorder, who were natives of Norway, in which country they were
reared and married. About 1869 they came to the United States, settling in Pope county,
where they lived to the time of their death.
O. L. Gorder pursued a common school education and in 1895 came to North Dakota,
settling in Bottineau county, where he was employed for two years as a farm hand. In
1898 he filed on a homestead in starbuck township, on which he lived for five or six years.
There he continued to engage in general agricultural pursuits until 1910, when he and his
brother, J. L. Gorder, embarked in general merchandising in Landa, continuing the business
until F'ebruary, 1913, when they sold out to C. C. Jacobson. The following year 0. L.
Gorder spent in visiting in Europe and in the spiing of 1915 he established his present
hardware business in Landa, building up a good trade during the intervening period, so
that he is now accorded a very liberal patronage. He is also the owner of four hundred and
eighty acres of farm land in Bottineau county.
In 1913 Mr. Gorder was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Thorvaldsen, of Landa, by
whom he has two children, Orlando and Leo. In politics Mr. Gorder is independent, voting
for men and measures rather than party. He and his wife are members of the Lutheran
church and are held in high esteem in the community in which they reside, while the
hospitality of the best homes is freely accorded them.
PARELIUS B. PETERSON.
Parelius B. Peterson, cashier of the First International Bank of Landa, North Dakota,
is interested in a number of different enterprises and is regarded as one of the leading
business men of Bottineau county. He was born in Bodo, Norway, on the 27th of Feb-
ruary, 1884, and is a son of Waldemar and Anna (Arntson) Peterson, who are still living
in that country, of which they are also natives. The father is a merchant and is conducting
a store in Bodo.
In his native land Parelius B. Peterson grew to manhood and was given good educational
advantages. In 1903 he bade goodby to parents and friends and sailed for the new world,
believing that better opportunities were here afforded ambitious young men not afraid to
work. He spent two years in Minneota, Minnesota, where he clerked in a store, and thus
acquired an excellent knowledge of business methods. In 1905 he removed to Landa, Bot-
tineau county. North Dakota, and for a time worked at anything he could find to do, lint
''28 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
in the summer of 1900 accepted the position of assistant cashier in tlie First Interniitional
Bank, with wliich he has since been iaentified. In 1911 he was made casliier, the other
officers being George Sundberg, president; and H. J. Dale, vice president. The bank was
organized in 1904 and has a capital of ten thousand dollars and a surplus of five thousand
dollars, while its deposits now amount to one hundred and sixty thousand dollars. It is in
a most flourishing condition, due to the capable management of its ollicials, and it ranks
among the most substantial financial institutions of Bottineau county. Mr. Peterson is also
secretary-treasurer of the .Sundberg- Peterson Mortgage Company of Landa and treasurer of
the I'armers Elevator Company of the same place. He owns three hundred and sixty acres
of land four miles north of Landa, which is improved and under cultivation, and at one
time owned a farm in northern Minnesota, having homesteaded there in 1904. He is a very
progressive and energetic business man, who generally carries forward to successful com-
pletion whatever he undertakes.
On the 30th of November, 1911, Mr. Peterson married Miss Rhoda M. Hanson, by whom
he has one son, Ingolv D. A., born July 5, 1913. He casts his ballot with the republican
party and is now serving as clerk of the school board. In religious faith he is a Lutlicran.
Upright and honorable in all the relations of life, he occupies an enviable position in the
coniMUMiity in wliicli he lives.
GUSTAVUS F. BRAEGER.
Gustavus F. Braeger is one of the prominent farnu>rs and stock raisers of Wells county,
residing on section 20, township 147, range 71. He is a native of Germany, born May 23,
1864, and is a son of David and Marie Braeger, who came to this country from Prussia in
May, 1873, and located near Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, wlicre they continued to make their
home until called to their final rest.
Gustavus F. Braeger was only nine years of age when brought to the United States
by his parents and he remained with them until be attained the age of sixteen years, when
he started out in life for himself empty handed. He was employed on railroads and farms
until he reached his majority but in 1885 came to North Dakota and took up a preemption
on section 28, township 147, range 71. He proved up on the same but after residing there for
a time bought a relinquishment on section 20 of the same township, where he has since
made his honu-. After buying that place he began raising small grain and in his farming
operations has met with most excellent success. In 1897 he purchased three quarter sections
near his home place on sections 22 and 28 and in 1904 bought another quarter on section 22:
in 1905 bought the northeast quarter of section 20; and in 1907 the southwest quarter of
section 14, the same township. Later he traded three ((uarter sections on section 22 and
the quarter on section 14 for a half section of land south of Oiaseley, which he now rents.
He is now the owner of twelve hundred and eighty acres of very valuable land— the result
of his own industry, enterprise and good management. In 1902 he started in the stock
business with two cows and two calves and is today one of the extensive stock raisers of
Wells county. For a time he raised only pure blooded shorthorns but now kecjjs graded
stock and has about ninety head of cattle and one bundled and forty Shropshire sheep
upon his place. He also raises thoroughbred Percheron horses and has shipped more horses
than anyone else in his township. His farm is well improved with commodious and sub-
stantial buildings for the shelter of grain and stock and he is now erecting two Champion
silos and one Thompson silo.
On the 18th of June, 1902, Mr. Braeger was united in marriage to Miss Ella Swayne,
a daughter of George W. and Cj'ntliia A. (Grazier) Swayne, who were natives of Penn-
sylvania, where the mother spent her entire life. The father is now living retired in
California. Mrs. Braeger was born in IMoimt Junior, Pennsylvania, December 25, 1809, and
came west in 1900, teaching school in Wells county. North l>akota, until her marriage. She
has become the mother of seven childri'n, one of whom died in infancy. The others are
Lcona, Harold David, Clarence Willard, G. Falley, Gladys Bernice and Floyd Swayne.
In politics Mr. Braeger is an independent republican and on that ticket was elected
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 729
county commissioner against his wishes. His fellow citizens, however, recognized his
capability and he was retained in that position for eight years. He has also served as
school clerk and township clerk and filled other township oltices. His career has been that
of a self-made man who has performed every duty assigned to him in an efficient manner
and who has made his own way in the world unaided by capital or influential friends. He
is today one of the prosperous farmers of .Wells county and is held in the highest esteem.
ItlAUEITS VAN SOEST.
Maurits "Van Soest, vice president of the First State Bank at Strasburg and a retired
farmer, was born in Holland, May 10, 1848, his parents being Martinis and Helen Van
Soest, who were also natives of the Netherlands. The father was a laborer in that country
and never came to America, his death there occurring in 1857, while his wife survived for
a few years and passed away in 1866.
Maurits Van Soest was reared and educated in the land of the dikes and in 1883,
hoping to enjoy better business opportunities in the new world, sailed for America. For
two years he was a resident of Chicago, where he was employed in the building of Pullman
cars, but attracted to the growing northwest, he made his way to Campbell county. South
Dakota, in 18S5, and there bought a preemption, after which he engaged in farming in that
locality for two years. He next removed to Emmons county and took up a homestead
which he developed and improved, turning the first furrows in his fields and converting the
land into a richly productive tract. He continued the work until everything was in fine
shape and he had one of the best improved farm properties of the county. To his original
holdings he added from time to time until he is now the owner of sixteen hundred acres
from which he derives a most gratifying annual income. He continued to cultivate that
place until the spring of 1914, when he retired and removed to Strasburg, there purchasing
a nice home. Not content to utterly put aside business cares, he became one of the organ-
izers of the First State Bank, of which he is the vice president and as such has voice in
its management and control. He is also a stockholder in the Strasburg Lumber Company
and he has also dealt to some extent in real estate. While upon the farm he was engaged
in the cattle business and met with substantial success as a stock raiser.
In May, 1883, Mr. Van Soest wedded Miss Anna Radder and they have become parents
of eight children, as follows: Peter M., who is an implement dealer of Strasburg; Jennie,
the wife of Ed H. Nieuwsma, who cultivates the farm of his father-in-law; Cornelius, an
agriculturist of Emmons county; Helen, who is the wife of James Borr, a farmer of
Emmons county; Maurits, who is employed as a farm hand by James Borr; Grace, at
home; Helen, who passed away in 1887; and Grace, whose demise occurred in 1891. Mr.
Van Soest votes with the republican party, but has never been a politician in the sense
of office seeking. He and his wife belong to the American Reformed church, and they are
people of sterling worth, occupying an enviable position in the social circles in which they
move.
EARL B. TALMADGE.
Earl B. Talmadge, a representative business man and enterprising citizen of Towner,
was born on the 2d of October, 1870, in New York, of which state his parents, Carlton
H. and Mary E. (Lockwood)) Talmadge, were likewise natives, the former born in 1838
and the latter in 1841. The father was engaged in the dairy business in New York until
1883 when he removed to Grand Forks, North Dakota, and took up a homestead in Grand
Forks county, to the improvement and cultivation of which he devoted five years. In the
meantime, in 1884, he secured a claim in that part of Bottineau county which is now
McHenry county and for sixteen years he operated the place as a cattle ranch, keeping
from four to six hundred head. He also purchased additional land until he owned three
730 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
quarter sections, but iu 1900 he sold liis farm to our subject and is now living retired
in Towner at the age of seventy-eight years, honored and respected by all who know
him. His wife died in 190S.
Earl B. Talmadge began his education in the schools of New York and later attended
school in Towner after the removal of the family to this state. In early life he gave his
father the benefit of his labor on the home farm and subsequently engaged in ranching
with his father and brother until 1900, when he purchased the former's interest in the
business. For some years he made a specialty of raising shorthorn Hereford cattle, but in
1900 discontinued that and raised only registered Galloways for sixteen years, retiring
from the cattle business at the end of that time. In 1907 he became interested in the
baled hay and feed business, which he still carries on, shipping hay all over this state and
in Montana. He now owns a ranch in Valley county, Montana, and expects to operate
the same.
On the 18th of January, 1912, Mr. Talmadge was united in marriage to Mrs. Myrta
<Read) Hernenian, Mr. Talmadge adopting her daughter Ruth B., who was born August
31, 1900. Mrs. Talmadge is a daughter of Nelson A. and Jennie L. (Hancock) Read, natives
of Illinois and Wisconsin, respectively. The mother died in 1914. Mr. and Mrs. Talmadge
are members of the Presbyterian church and he is also identified with Mouse River Lodge,
No. 43, A. F. & A. M., and Lodge No. 1089, B. P. O. E., of Minot. His political support is
given the republican partj-. He is widely and favorably known both in business and social
circles and is regarded as one of the loading citizens of Townor.
DANIEL WARREN BOWKER.
Daniel Warren Bowker, junior partner in the firm of Wallace & Bowker, wholesale fuel
dealers of Minot, was born at Crystal Lake, Hancock county, Iowa, February 37, 1872, a son
of Samuel Francis and Amanda Mary (Chase) Bowker. The father's birth occurred in Fitz-
william. New Hampshire, where he was reared and educated, afterward obtaining employ-
ment in a pulp factory in that state. In 1871 he traveled westward by rail to Mason City,
Iowa, and thence across the country to Crystal Lake, where he purchased government land
which he cleared and cultivated, there carrying on general farming until his death, which
occurred May 18, 1900, when he was sixty-seven years of age. His wife was born in Keene,
New Hampshire, where she attended school and in that state she was married, after which
she accompanied her husband to Iowa, living upon the old home farm there until the death
of Mr. Bowker, since which time she has resided with her children, who are residents of Min-
nesota, Iowa and North Dakota.
Daniel W. Bowker obtained his education in the district schools at Crystal Lake, Iowa,
and afterward assisted his father in the operation of the home farm until he reached the age
of twenty-two years, when he was married, purchased land and began farming on his own
account, being thus engaged vmtil 1900, when he came to Minot. He then lioniesteaded (he
southeast quarter of section IS, Waterford towiishi]). Ward county, twenty miles northwest
of Minot, and at once began to develop and improve the place, continuing the cultivation of
his farm until 1909. In connection with the raising of grain he also engaged in stock raising
and he is still the owner of the home place, which he values and prizes very highly. lie
bought more land adjoining his honiostead and also acquired three quarter sections about
three miles from his home, so that in all he owned and farmed eight hundred acres of land in'
Ward county, which in fifteen years has ceased to be homestead land and has risen to a value
of fifty dollars per acre. Tliis is as good agricultural land as can be found in the state. He
also owns a quarter section in McLean county and from his farm lands he now receives a
very substantial rental. In 1909 he removed to Minot, where he erected a modern two story
residence on Valley street that ho now occupies. On the 1st of September, 1911, he entered
into partnership with J. S. Wallace of Burlington, North Dakota, under the firm name of
Wallace & Bowker, for the conduct of a wholesale and retail coal and fuel business, their
yard being located on Central avenue. East. In the intervening period, covering five years,
they have built up a large trade, their patronage steadily increasing. Aside from his other
DANIEL W. BOWKER
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 733
interests Mr. Bowker has become active in the promotion of various business enterprises
which are of direct value to the community. He was one of the main organizers and the first
president of the Burlington Farmers Telephone Company at Burlington, North Dakota, was
one of the organizers and is a director of the Burlington Farmers Elevator Company and
assisted in organizing the First State Bank of Burlington, of which he is a director.
In May, 1894, at Crystal Lake, Iowa, Mr. Bowker was united in marriage to Miss Clara
Kluver, who was born at Dumont, Butler county, Iowa, April 7, 1873, a daughter of Charles F.
and Doris Kluver and a sister of H. A. Kluver, of Burlington, who is mentioned elsewhere in
this work. Mr. and Mrs. Bowker have become parents of four children: Mabel Irene, who
was born at Crystal Lake, Iowa,' January 27, 1895, and is now teaching school at Ross, North
Dakota; Roy Vinton, who was born at Crystal Lake, March 31, 1897, and is a high school
student in Minot; Maurice Fay, who was born on the Bowker farm near Burlington, Febru-
ary 14, 1905; and Doris Esther, born in Minot, May 13, 1910.
Mr. Bowker e.-cercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the
republican party and has filled several local offices. He was clerk of Waterford township,
Ward county, also clerk of the school board in District No. 67 and was the first chairman of
the btiard of supervisors in that district. Both he and his wife are active and prominent
members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was superintendent of the Sunday school
conducted in connection with the Methodist church near Burlington and has been a teacher in
the Sunday school at Minot. His wife has been equally active in church work and is identi-
fied with the Foreign Missionary Society and the Ladies Aid Society. Mr. Bowker has no
reason to regret his determination to come to North Dakota, for he has won a substantial
measure of success as the years have gone on and his ability has brought him prominently to
the front in business connections.
CLARENCE M. CONDIT.
Clarence M. Condit is a member of the Condit & Son Electric Company, builders and
proprietors of the Westhope electric light plant. Drawn to Bottineau county by its oppor-
tunities for business growth and expansion, he has become a factor in the development
of his part of the state. He was born in Warren county, Iowa, August 8, 1861, a son of
Daniel M. and Sarah M. (Martindale) Condit, the former a native of Orange, New .Jersey,
and the latter of Gallipolis, Ohio. They were married in the latter state and in 1856
removed westward to Iowa, becoming pioneer settlers of Warren county, where the father
purchased government land at the usual price of a dollar and a quarter per acre. They
continued to reside in Warren county until called to their final rest, Mr. Condit passing
away in 1873, while his wife survived until 1907.
Liberal educational opportunities were accorded Clarence M. Condit, who supplemented
his common school course by study in the Ackworth Academy of Ackworth, Iowa. He then
took up the occupation of farming in his native county, devoting his energies to the work
of tilling the soil until 1893, when he became one of the dominant factors in the organization
of the Citizens Bank in Milo, Iowa. For seven years he remained as cashier of the institution
and then resigned his position, after which he spent two years in the real estate and
abstract business in Winterset, Iowa. In 1902 he disposed of his interests in that connection
and in April of the same year came to North Dakota, filing on a homestead a mile north
of the old town of Richburg in Bottineau county. He was thereafter identified with agri-
cultural pursuits upon that place until 1914 and still owns the property. In 1905 he was
appointed postmaster of Westhope and served in that capacity for five years. In 1914
he removed from his farm to the town and in 1916 he and his son, Gilbert H., built the
electric light plant, which is one of the most modern and thoroughly equipped little plants
of the Mouse river loop. The son is an electrical engineer, having taken a course in electrical
engineering in the State University of Iowa, and for the past two years he has had charge
of tlie Mouse river drainage project and also during the same period has been county sur-
veyor of Bottineau county. In addition to his electric light interests Clarence M. Condit
is the owner of six hundred and forty acres of farm land all in one body.
734 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
In 1882 Mr. Coiulit was uniteii in marriage to Miss Emma E. Turiu'r, of Jlilo, Iowa, by
whom he lias three children, as follows: Geraliiine M., the wife of Dr. L. L. Bowie, of
Buckeye, Iowa; .John T., who is agent for the Studebaker automobile and lives at home; and
Gilbert II., who is associated with his father in the conduct of the electric light plant.
In politics Mr. Condit is a republican and fraternally is connected with W'esthope Ix>dge,
No.. 74, A. F. & A. M.; Westhope Lodge, No. 87, I. 0. O. F.; and the Modern Woodmen of
America. He is recognized as a man of sterling worth and during the fourteen j'ears of
his residence in Bottineau county has gained a most substantial and creditable position in
business circles. All who know him entertain for him warm regard because of his progressive
spirit, his thorough reliability and his social, genial nature.
SAMUEL M. KOTO.
Samuel M. Koto, who is now practically living retired in Towner, was born in Kock
county, Wisconsin, on the 12th of September, 1863; and is a son of Die and Annie (Sletto)
Koto, natives of Norway. In early life the parents came to America and settled in Wis-
consin, where the father purchased a tract of land and engaged in its operation, devoting
his life to farming. He died in that state in 18S3 and the mother passed away in 1873.
In the state of his nativity Samuel M. Koto grew to manhood and is indebted to its
public schools for the educational advantages he received. He remained under the parental
roof until his removal to McHenry county. North Dakota, in 1883. Here he took up a
homestead and began farming on his own account. Success attended his efforts and he
was able to add to his property, owning at one time a whole section of land. He still
has in his possession four hundred and eighty acres of land in McHenry county and also owns
property in the western part of the state. In 1908, however, he put aside the active labors
of the farm and removed to Towner, where he now makes his home, his attention being
given to the supervision of his invested interests.
In July, 1903, Mr. Koto married Miss Hilda Hanson, a daughter of Hans and Christine
Hanson. The father died when Mrs. Koto was two years old and Mrs. Hanson married
Martin Hendrickson. They came to America in 1884, settling in McHenry county. Mr.
and Mrs. Koto have one child, Selma Hazel, born January 27, 1909. They are earnest
members of the Lutheran church, and in politics Mr. ]\oto is a stanch republican. He has
served as township clerk and as county treasurer from 1908 to 1912. He was first appointed
to the latter position, and after filling it for four months was elected to that oITice, which
he so acceptably filled that he was reelected. He is today one of the honored citizens of
Towner and well merits the liigli esteem in which he is held.
N. P. LINDBERG.
N. P. Lindberg, proprietor of the Rugby Greenhouses, which were established in 1903,
is an alert and progressive business man who is constantly studying the best methods for
enlarging his interests and today has one of the finest and most extensive enterprises of
the kind west of the twin cities. lie was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in September, 1864,
a son of I. and Mary Lindberg, who were also natives of that oountry, where they remained
until 1866 and then came to the new world, establishing their home in Faribault, i\Iinnesota.
The father was a miller by trade and after becoming a resident of Faribault he there
engaged in the milling business for several years. He next turned his attention to the
hotel business, conducting a hotel until 1891, when he retired from active life and has
since enjoyed a rest which he has truly earned and richly deserves. He is now eighty-two
years of age, while his wife has reached the age of eightj'-four.
N. P. Lindberg was reared and educated in Faribault, Minnesota, and at the age of
thirteen years started out to earn his own living. He was employed at different jobs and
in 1886 he made his way to Philadelphia, where he learned the florist's business as an
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 735
employe at Fainnount Park. He afterward worked at the florist's trade in various cities
and also as a cigar maker and in 1900 he located at Leeds, North Dakota, where he established
a cigar factory which he conducted for a year. At the end of that time he removed to
Rugby, where he established greenhouses and has since conducted business as a florist. In
the intervening period his patronage has steadily increased and he today has one of the best
equipped greenhouses west of the twin cities. His plant is very large and includes altogether
fourteen greenhouses, while in the fall of 1916 h.e expects to erect two more. His shipments
cover five Jifi'erent states and he handles everj' kind of ornamental shrub and blossoming
plant. His greenhouses represent an investment of thirty thousand dollars, in addition to
which he owns residence and business property in Grand Forks.
In December, 1888, Mr. Lindberg was united in marriage to Miss Julia Fossuin and they
have two children: Venus, the wife of J. S. Simpkins, of Portland. Oregon; and Myrtle J.,
a court stenographer living at home.
The parents arc members of the Episcopal church and in his political views Mr. Lind-
berg is a socialist. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons and with the Modern
Woodmen of America and is loyal to the teachings and purposes of those organizations.
He is highly esteemed as a man of genuine worth and as a most enterprising and progressive
business man. Starting out in life empty handed at the age of thirteen, he has worked his
way steadily upward and by reason of the force of his character, his ability and laudable
ambition has become one of the most substantial citizens of Rugby, while his interests are
of a character that contribute to public progress and prosperity as well as to individual
success.
SVEN P. NOKKEN.
Sven P. Js'okken, a merchant of Roger, was born at Sogn, Norway, March 29, 1861, and
was a little lad of but nine years when brought to America by his father, Peter Nokken, who
settled with his family south of !Moorhead, Minnesota, securing a homestead on the river.
Throughout the intervening years he has remained upon his farm there and he is still
enjoying good health at the age of ninety-two years. Ho is a man of splendid ph}"sique and
notable vigor and has led a life of intense activity.
Sven P. Nokken was the youngest of a family of three sons and tw-o daughters and
was reared amid pioneer conditions upon the old homestead farm, sharing in all of the
hardships and privations of frontier life. There were no towns within many miles and
over the old trail between St. Paul, Breckenridge and Fort Garry the emigrants passed
sometimes in wagon trains of one hundred or more, going to the west and north. The
father had some money at the time of his arrival and was able to purchase a few cows and
sheep, which were brought along from southern Minnesota and rendered the life of the
family somewhat free from the privations which many settlers endiu'cd, for they were
able to have milk and occasionally a beef or sheep was slaughtered, furnishing them with
meat. Game birds and fish were also plentiful. On making the trip to their destination they
started from Goodhue county, Minnesota, with ox teams and two other families came about
the same time, while still others followed. It was a considerable period, however, before
the district became thickly settled and took on all of the advantages known to the older east.
Sven P. Nokken early became familiar with the arduous task of developing new land
and fighting grasshoppers in summer and blizzards in winter. When a young man he made
up his mind to go back east to get an education and after saving some money attended
school, completing his education at Northfield, Minnesota, and Minneapolis, for he realized
the value of intellectual training as a stepping-stone toward business success. His brother
Peter had been elected county treasurer of Cass county. North Dakota, and Sven P. Nokken
then entered his office, in which he remained for three years. At the end of that time he
established with his brother a hardware and machinery business in Cass county which was
later sold. After spending some time upon the road as a commercial traveler he opened the
first hardware store in Litchville, North Dakota, which he conducted for several years but
which he sold when he moved to Valley City to give his children better school facilities.
In 1912 he removed to Roger and he now conducts a hardware and harness store, having
736 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
a wt'U appuinti'd establishment, in wliirli lu; carrios an extensive and well selected line of
goods. He is enjoying a lilieial patronage, for the public recognizes the integrity of liis
business methods, his enterprise and his earnest desire to please his patrons.
In December, ISSS, Mr. Xokken was united in marriage to Miss Johanna Ilummell, of
Fargo, in which city her father, J. !•". Ilummell, settled with his family in 1878. The chil-
dren of this marriage are Alvin Percy, now deceased; and Roy and I^eonard, both of whom are
residing in Roger.
Mr. Nokkcn has .never sought nor desired public ollice and has never served in any
political position save tliat of deputy county treasurer of Cass county. Fraternally lie is
connected with the Masons, the United Commercial Travelers and other organizations. lie
is genial, courteous and obliging, ever ready to extend a helping liand or do a favor for a
friend or neighbor, and those who have been associated with him speak of him in high
terms. There is no phase of western pioneer life with which he is not familiar, for since
1871 he has made his home in the northwest, covering all of the period of its development.
He rejoices in what has been accomplished and he has borne his full part in the work of
general improvement.
W. E. RAVFLY.
The subject of this article and whose picture appears here, was born on a farm near
Springfield, Illinois, December 21, 1873, where he resided with his parents until they moved
to North Dakota in the spring of 1890, where he, with his father and brothers, engaged in
stock raising, until 1905 when he disposed of his interests and took a course in portrait and
commercial photography, covering a period of two years. In 1907 he located in Edgeley,
North Dakota, as a photographer, and also handled commercial photography, doing all kinds
of outdoor and specialty work.
Mr. Ravely has made many pictures of North Dakota, her people and places, which have
become a part of the history of the state. Among tlicse is the picture of the Whitcstone
Hill Battlefield Monument, in Dickey county, North Dakota, which shows the governors of
two states and six of the survivors of that battle, being the only iiicture in existence of that
battlefield, together with these survivors.
He is perhaps the best known photograidier in the state of North Dakota, his pictures
being found in all works pertaining to the biography and history of the state.
B. A. FISH.
For some years B. A. Fish has been engaged in business in Towner as jjroprietor of a
variety store and in that capacity he has become widely and favorably known. He was
born in Maine, in October, 1857, his parents being Elon and Martha (Dwelley) Fish, also
natives of the Pine Tree state. By occupation the father was a farmer. At an early day
he removed with his family to Michigan, wliere he engaged in agricultural pursuits until
1894, when he came to North Dakota and here spent the remainder of his life, dying in
J908. The mother passed away in December, 191.3.
The early life of B. A. Fish was spent upon a farm in Maine and his education was
begun in the public schools of that state. He accompanied his parents on their removal to
Michigan and remained with them until he attained his majority. For several years he
engaged in clerking in stores and thus became familiar with practical business methods
wliieh have been of great benefit to him in his subsequent career. On coming to McHenry
county. North Dakota, in the spring of 1897, however, he took up a homestead and for
about thirteen years engaged in farming thereon, but at the end of that time removed
to Towner and has since conducted a variety store with good success.
On the 1st of January, 1878, Mr. Fish was united in marriage to Miss Mary T. Stone, a
(laughter of Franklin C. and Mary C. (Rathbun) Stone, who were natives of New York.
W. E. RAVELY
i:
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 739
At the ago of six j-ears her father removed with his parents to Grand Rapids, Michigan,
where he was subsequently engaged in the butcher business. During the dark days of the
Civil war he enlisted in the Fourth Jliehigan Cavalry and was in the service for three
years. He then returned to Michigan, where he continued to reside throughout life. His
•death occurred in May, 1900, and Mrs. Stone died February 22, 1886. Mr. and Mrs. Fish had
one child: Lola M., who was born in July, 1879, and married George W. Snyder. She died in
February, 1906, leaving two children, Clifton B. and Max L., who reside with their father in
Sunfield, Michigan.
Mr. Fish and his wife are consistent members of the Presbyterian church and he is also
affiliated with the Masonic fraternity. He votes with the republican party and has served as
assessor of his township. No man in the community is held in higher regard and he has
made many friends since coming to McHenry county.
ARTHUR BACKEN.
Artluir Backen has spent almost his entire life in Wells county and is now efficiently
serving as postmaster of Heimdal, where he is also engaged in the hardware business. He
was born near Nord Finnskoga, Sweden, on the 9th of December, 1890, but during his
infancy was brought to the United States by his parents, Ole and Hannah Backen, who
located upon a farm near Heimdal. North Dakota, and are still residing in Wells county.
Upon the home farm Arthur Backen grew to manhood and by assisting his father in
the work early became familiar with agricultural pursuits He attended the graded schools
of Heimdal and also took a commercial course in the Minneapolis Business College, from
which he was graduated. In 1911, he and his father started a hardware store in Heimdal,
which they are still conducting under the firm name of 0. H. Backen & Son. They carry
a good stock of shelf and heavy hardware and by reasonable prices and fair dealing have
built up an excellent trade, which is constantly increasing. In 1915 the son was appointed
postmaster and he is now filling that position in a creditable manner.
In inil Mr. Backen was married to Mi.ss Regina Mellum, a native of Amherst .Junction,
Wisconsin, and to them has been born a daughter. Eupice. They hold membership in the
Lutheran church and Mr. Backen affiliates with the republican party. He takes an active
interest in public affairs and never withholds his support from any enterprise wliich he
believes will promote the general welfare.
VALENTINE BENZ.
Amoui; the pioneer settlers of Burleigh county who have borne an important part in
its upljuiUling and development is Valentine Benz, who come to this locality in 1886 and has
since been identified with its farming and mercantile interests. His early home was on
the other side of the Atlantic, for he was born on the River Rhine in the southwestern part
of Germany, February 7, 1861, a son of .John and Briggeta Benz, who were lifelong residents
of that country. The father was a stonecutter by trade but also followed the occupation of
farming to some extent. Two of the children came to the United States — Valentine and
August — and the latter is now living on the creek four miles south of Moffit, in Burleigh
county. North Dakota.
Valentine Benz was reared and educated in his native land and after laying aside his
textbooks gave his father the benefit of his services until coming to America on the 1st
of April, 1881. He landed in New York city but continued his journey westward until he
reached Lake City, Minnesota. There he was employed as a farm hand for five years but,
wishing to engage in farming on his own account, he came to North Dakota in 1886 and
took up a homestead two miles from Moffit in Burleigh county. He was the first white
man to settle in that locality but later in the same summer others arrived, coming princi-
pally from Missouri. Mr. Benz proved up on his claim and continued to reside thereon until
740 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
1912, when lie rcninved to Moffit, whero he now makes liis home. He became extensively
engaged in stock raising, having a large herd of shorthorn cattle, and success attending his
efforts, he added to his landed possessions from time to time until he owned about one and
a half sections of land.
On his removal to Moffit in 1912, Mr. Benz erected a store building, eighty by twenty-
two and a half feet in dimensions and stocked it with general merchandise. He also deals
in farm im|ilcMiiiits, in fact carries everything needed on a farm. In 1913 he built a ware-
house and public hall, twenty-two and a half by eighty feet and two stories in height. The
lower floor he uses as a store house for his machinery, while the upper story is used as a
public hall. Farming and merchandising do not constitute his only business interests for
Mr. Benz is serving as president of the Farmers Elevator Company of Moffit, of which he
is a stockholder and director, and he is also vice president and a stockholder of the Moflit
State Bank.
In 1886 Mr. Benz married Miss Catherine Jauch, also a native of Germany, and to them
have been born eight children, namely: William, now a blacksmith of Moffit; John A., at
the head of his father's general store; Oscar and Henry, who are operating the home farm;
Susie, the wife of D. Bruce, who is also engaged in farming; Catherine, at home; and Nellie
and Frank, attending school.
In politics Mr. Benz is a republican and in 1911 he was chosen as the third postmaster
of Moffit, being appointed by the civil service on the 14th of March, that year, and still
serving in that capacity to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. He is a very public-
spirited and enterprising citizen and does everything within his power to promote the inter-
ests of his town and county. Coming to this country in limited circumstances he has steadily
worked his way upward until he is now numbered among the most substantial men of his
community and while advancing his own interests has also promoted the public welfare.
J. M. HYNES.
The limitless opportunities of the northwest have been to J. M. Hynes a call to action.
He has seen in this vast section of the country the chance for the establishment and
ft
conduct of important business interests and today he has extensive land holdings and is
one of the prominent representatives of banking interests in the northern part of North
Dakota, having large investments in this stale, although he makes his home in St. Paul.
He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, July 11, 18G8, a son of Michael and Mary
(Speight) Hynes, who were natives of County Limerick, Ireland. The father crossed the
Atlantic in 1847, establishing his home in Massachusetts, where he purchased land and
carried on general agricultural pursuits throughout his remaining days. His death occurred
in December, 1896, while his wife passed away in December, 1897.
The youthful days of J. M. Hynes were spent in the old Bay state, where he remained
with his parents until he reached the age of eighteen years, after which he was employed
in different factories in Massachusetts, but the interesting reports concerning the oppor-
tunities of the developing northwest led him to sever his connections with New England
and come to North Dakota. He arrived in Wahpcton in 1880 and there took up the study
of telegraphy, after which he was employed until 1901 as station agent and telegraph
operator on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, the Great Northern and the Soo railroad
lines. In 1901 he made his initial step in connection with the banking business by entering
the Lidgerwood State Bank at Lidgerwood, North Dakota, in the capacity of assistant
cashier. There he was employed until July, 1905, when he went to ToUey and organized
the First National Bank of that place, acting as its cashier for several years. The present
officers are: J. L. Mathews, president; J. M. Hynes, vice president; and W. E. Hynes,
cashier. The bank is capitalized for twenty-five thousand dollars and has deposits amount-
ing to two hundred and ten thousand dollars. Mr. Hynes is also associated with numerous
other financial institutions, owning banks at Kermit, Wildrose, Ambrose, Mantador and
Lidgerwood. He also owns twenty-three quarter sections of land in Renville county and
his farming interests are another important source of his income. In 10] 4 he removed to
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 741
St. Paul, where he engaged in the land business and where he still resides, managing his
business investments from that point.
On the 19th of May, 1891, Mr. Hynes was married to Miss Julia Feenej' and they have
become the parents of six children: Agatha, Aileen and Berniee, all at home; and three who
died in infancy.
While residing at Tolley Mr. H3nes served as a member of the town council. Fra-
ternally he is connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Modern Woodmen
of America, the lilaccabees, the Woodmen of the World, the Ancient Order of United
Workmen and the Knights of Columbus. He belongs to the Catholic church and in his
political views is a stalwart democrat. His business career is an expression of notable
enterprise, diligence, progressiveness and keen business judgment, and shows what can be
accomplished when ambition points out the way. It is also a proof that prosperity and an
honored name may be won simultaneouslj'.
WILLIAM H. GARDEN.
William H. Garden, a well known citizen of Landa, was born on the 26th of November,
1857, in Decorah, Winneshiek county, Iowa, a son of Halvor and Isabelle (Opdahl) Garden,
of whom further mention is made in the sketch of E. L. Garden on another page of this
work. Our subject passed his boyhood and youth in Decorah and vicinity, where he attended
school and also learned the barber's trade.
Mr. Garden remained with his parents until he attained his majority and on leaving
home went to Pembina county. North Dakota, and for twpnt}'-sLx years followed his trade
at Drayton. In the meantime he went to McKenzie county and proved up on a homestead,
which he still owns but now rents. In 1915 he removed to Landa, Bottineau county, and
opened a barber shop, which he is now conducting with excellent success, receiving his
share of the public patronage.
On the 14th of September, 1888, Mr. Garden was united in marriage to Miss Julia
Hegland. He takes a commendable interest in public affairs and while a resident of Dray-
ton served on the city council. In politics he is a republican and in religious belief is
a Methodist. Fraternally he belongs to the Masonic order, the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows and the Ancient Order of United Workmen and he has always endeavored to live
up to the principles of those organizations, which are founded on the brotherhood of man.
C. E. FOUTS.
C. E. Fouts, county auditor of McHcnry county, where he has resided since the spring
of 1905, was born in Whiteside county. Illinois, on the 28th of February, 1867, a son of
William H. H. and Barbara (Dorns) Fouts, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania
and representatives of old Pennsylvania Dutch families. Both removed with their respective
parents to Illinois in 1847, at which time a colony of Pennsylvania people settled in Fulton
county, and there the parents have since resided with the exception of a period of two
years passed in Whiteside county, Illinois. To them were born seven children, all of
whom are still living.
C. E. Fouts completed his public school education in the high school at Canton, Illinois,
and afterward attended the Canton Commercial College. For two years he was engaged
in teaching and then began farming in Fulton county, Illinois, where he devoted two years
to general agricultural pursuits. He next engaged in the grocery business at Canton for
eight years, but in 1899 made his way to the northwest, becoming assistant cashier in the
Raymond State Bank at Raj'mond. Minnesota. There he continued until the spring of
1905, when he arrived in North Dakota, settling at Upham, McHenry county, where he
became cashier of tjie State Bank of Upham. In 1910 he removed to Towner, having been
appointed deputy county auditor, and in 1912 he was elected to the position of county
742 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
auditor, in wliiih he has been continued by reelection to the present time, being an etlicient
and capable man in the position by reason of the thoroughness and careful methods whicli
characterize the discharge of his duties.
In isyo Mr. I'outs was married to Miss \iola Whitmore, of Canton, Illinoi.-*, and they
have become the parents of two children. Chester E. and Donald E. The former was a
commercial salesman for the firm of Walker Brothers & Hardy of Fargo until the recent
Mexican trouble, when witli Company B of the North Dakota troops he went to the Mex-
ican border, where he is now stationed.
Mr. Fonts gives his political support to the republican l)arty, believing firmly in the
efficacy of its principles as factors in good government. In 1915 he was elected maj'or of
Towner for a two year term. Fraternally he is connected with Meadow Lodge, No. 85,
F. & A. it., of Uphani, with Mystic Chapter, No. 1.3, R. A. M., of ToUey. Lebanon Council,
No. 2, R. & S. M., of Rugby, De Molay Commanderj% No. 10, K. T., of Minot, and Kem.
Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Grand Forks. He is also a member of Willmar Lodge, No.
952, B. P. 0. E.. at Willmar, Minnesota, and he and his wife are active and consistent
members of the Presbyterian church, in which lie is now serving as treasurer. They take
an active part in church work and are doing everything in their power to promote its growth
and extend its influence. Their aid is always given on the side of progress and improve-
ment and they have contributed to the material, political, social and moral progress of the
community.
THOMAS DEWITT.
Since 1912 Thomas Dewitt has made his liome in Alfred, where he is now practically
living retired from business, although he still controls a farm of six hundred and forty acres
and is the vice president of the First State Bank of Alfred. In former years he carried
on agricviltural pursuits on a very extensive scale and the wise judgment and unfaltering
energy which he displayed in the management of his farming interests brought him sub-
stantial success. He was born in Amsterdam, Holland, .lune IS, 1878, a son of Bernard and
Mary (Schafer) Dewitt, who are also natives of that country, where the father worked in
the coal mines and also operated a dairy. In 1880 he decided to try the business o'ppor-
tunities offered in the new world and with his family crossed the Atlantic, making his way
to Wisconsin, where he carried on farming for a brief period. He then removed to North
Dakota and located on a preemption near Jamestown, giving the succeeding five years
to the development and improvement of that place. Ho then sold out and removed to
Lamoure county, where he engaged in farming for ten years and on the expiration of that
period he established his home in Logan county, where he engaged in ranching for six
years. His next removal took him to the northwestern part of the state, where he pur-
chased eleven hundred and twenty acres upon which he still resides, although he has now
reached the venerable age of seventy-nine years. His wife is also living and is seventy-four
years of age.
Thomas Dewitt was still an infant when brought to .\merica and was rearcil upon the
home farm near .Tamestown, while the public schools afTordcd him his educational priv-
ileges. When not busy with his textbooks he assisted in the work of the fields and remained
with his parents until he reached the age of twenty-two years, when he married and
removed to his wife's homestead in Logan county. He ke])t on buying land from time to
time as favorable opportunity offered and his financial resources permitted, and ultimately
he became the owner of eleven hundred and twenty acres, constituting a very valuable and
productive farm property. He afterward sold a portion of this, b\it still retains the owner-
ship of five and one-half quarter sections or eight hundred and eighty acres. He now
cultivates part of his land, but rents the remainder and derives therefrom a very gratifying
and substantial annual income. In 1912 he removed to Alfred and built a nice home
which he has since occupied. He also built another residence in the town and in connection
with R. A. Werner and others he organized the First State Bank of .Mfred. of which he
has since been the vice president.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 743
On the loth of April, 1899, Mi-. Dewitt was married to Miss Barbara Kulndt, a daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Kulndt, who were natives of Germany and in early life came to
America. They settled in South Dakota and after a time removed to North Dakota, estab-
lishing their home in Logan county, where Mr. Kulndt bought land which he cultivated
for a number of years. He is now retired and makes his home with his son, while his wife
passed away in 1898. Mr. and Mrs. Dewitt are the parents of three chlldi-en, Harry, Alice
and Alvin.
In politics he maintains an independent course, while his religious faith is that of
the Baptist church. Reared amid the environment of the west, he early became imbued with
its enterprising spirit, and opportunity has ever been to him a call to arms, finding him
ready for that control and direction of business affairs wliich leads ultimately to prosperity.
AUGUST E. JOHNSON.
Although born in Sweden, August E. Johnson has spent the greater part of his life
in North Dakota and is thus thoroughly familiar with the history of its development and with
its still unrealized possibilities. He has taken a prominent part in various lines of activity
in McLean county, being connected with important real estate operations, with a number of
banks and with public affairs. The major portion of his attention, however, is given to his
duties as cashier of the First National Bank of Washburn. He was born in Sweden of the
marriage of Andrew and Anna (Beck) Johnson, both of whom died in that country. The
father was by occupation a farmer.
August E. Johnson, who is the third in order of birth in a family of five children, all
of whom survive, accompanied his maternal uncle, Andrew Beck, to the L'nited States in
1882 and after residing in Pennsylvania for a year came to McLean county, North Dakota,
where he completed his education. At length he entered the employ of J. E. Britten, pub-
lisher of the McLean County Mail, and remained in the printing business for ten years,
being within that time connected with newspapers in a number of Dakota towns and
cities, including Bismarck and Washburn. At one time he was part owner of the Steele
Ozone, an up-to-date and well patronized weekly journal. In 1896 he was elected auditor
of McLean county, which office he filled for six years, and during that time he also engaged
in farming and cattle raising upon a tract of land adjoining Washburn which he had pur-
chased. Early in 1890 he entered the real estate field in partnership with Mr. Klein, and is
still financially interested in the Klein Land Agency, which has its headquarters at Wash-
burn and is one of the foremost concerns of the kind in this section of the state. He has
also dealt in land independently, and there are few if any men in McLean county better
informed on all points of the real estate business than he. In 1912 he became cashier of
the First National Bank of Washburn, in which position he has since served. The institu-
tion was organized in 1902 with a capital of twenty-five thousand dollars and now has a
surplus of equal amount. Realizing that the success of a bank depends primarily on the
confidence of the public, he has made it his first care to conduct the institution upon safe
and conservative lines, although extending credit when he could do so without jeopardizing
the funds of depositors or stockholders. He is interested financially in the McLean County
State Bank of Wilton and in the Baldwin State Bank at Baldwin.
Mr. Johnson was married in 1899 to Miss Clara M. Patterson, a resident of Steele,
North Dakota, and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. D. Patterson, pioneers of that city. Her
father has passed away, but her mother survives. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have two children,
Louise and Hugh.
Tlie republican party has a stalwart supporter in Mr. Johnson, and he has taken quite
an active part in local politics. As previously' mentioned, he served for six years as auditor
of McLean county, and in 1902 and again in 1906 he was chosen state senator. As a
member of the upper house of the legislature he fully justified the trust which his fellow
citizens had reposed in him, working consistently for the general good. In 1912 he was
honored by election as a delegate to the national convention of his party, and he at all
times keeps closely in touch with the political situation. In addition to the offices men-
744 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
tioned he has been called to fill a number of township offices. He belongs to the Klks at
Bismarck and to the Knights of Pj-thias at Washburn, in which he has passed through all
of the chairs. His religious faith is indicated by liis membersliip in the Lutheran diurch,
and ill business as in other relations of life he lias conformed to the highest standards.
GEORGE AUSTIN McFARLAND.
George Austin McFarland, president of tlie State Normal School at Valley City, has
tlnoughout his career as an educator held to high ideals and utilized progressive methods.
Since 1S84 he has been identified with educational interests in the Dakotas after having
a short time previously graduated from Hiram College in Ohio, his native state. He was
born at Cluigiin Falls, April S, IS.'iS, a son of Johnson and IsabcUe (Watson) McFarland,
botli of whom were natives of Ireland, as was the paternal grandfather, James McFarland,
will) in 1S4:! came to the new world, settling at Chagrin Falls, where he lived to |,lie age
of eiglity-six years. His son, Johnson McFarland, followed farming in the vicinity of the
town and there spent his entire life after coming to the new world. The McFarlands
were originally Presbyterians but in this country became connected with the Disciples
of Christ. Johnson McFarland was very active in local political circles, holding stanchly
to democratic principles while living in a republican stronghold. He reached the age of
seventy-one years.
Professor McFarland, an only son and with but one sister, was reared on tlie old home-
stead in Ohio and after attending tlie public schools and comjilcting the high scliool course
at Bedford, Ohio, attended Hiram College, where he won the Bachelor of Science degree
in 1883, while in 1886 the Master of Arts degree was conferred upon him. In 1884 he
secured the position of superintendent of schools in Scotland, Dakota, now South Dakota,
where he remained for three years and afterward became secretary of the territorial board
of education by appointment of the governor. After occupying that position for two and
one-half years he was made professor of pedagogy and history at Madison, South Dakota,
and was the first democratic candidate for state superintendent of education in that state,
which was strongly republican. Although he failed of election, he polled a large vote
indicative of his personal popularity and tlie confidence reposed in him. In 1803 he became
president of the Valley City Normal School, which he aided in organizing, and he also had
supervision in part over the erection of the buildings. He has stood by the school through
all of its vicissitudes, watching and directing its splendid development and making it an
institution of which the state has every reason to be proud.
On the 17th of August, 1884, Professor McFarland was married to Miss Duella Harris,
of F'ayette county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Jacob Harris, a representative of one of
the old colonial families connected with the famous Rittenhouse family of that time. The
■children of this marriage are: KIsie, now the wife of J. R. McLean, of Las Vegas, New
Mexico; Genevieve, the wife of E. B. Cox, living in Courtcnay, North Dakota; Kugene H.,
an architect of Valley Cit}'; R. Kenneth, a photographer of Valley City; Dorothy, who is
teaching in the schools of Bismarck; and Pauline, who is yet in scliool. The children have
all been provided with good educational privileges, for Professor McFarland has always
felt, as Horace Mann has expressed it, that "education is capital to the poor man and
interest to the rich man." After attending the public schools his children became students
in the State Normal and passed on to advanced university work.
Professor McFarland is a Knights Templar Mason and in the Odd Fellows lodge passed
through all the chairs. He is an active worker in the Congregational church, in which he
has served as a deacon for a number of years, but naturally his efl'orts have been concentrated
most largely >ipon education and his labors have been most splendidly resultant. In 1887
lie became the founder and editor of the Dakota Educator and continued its publication for
five years, during which time the circulation rapidly increased as the value of the paper
became recognized. It is still published in South Dakota and is the oldest educational
publication of the Dakotas. Wliile editor of the paper Professor McFarland was on the
"territorial board of education. Since 1887 he has been continuously a member of the
GEORGE A. McFARLAND
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA • 747
National Educational Association, has been a member of the State Teachers Association
since 1892 and has served as its president and is a member of the state board of education.
In 1902 he founded the State Summer School at the Valley City Normal and his plan
lias since been ndopted all over tlie state. The report which the educational board made
in 1889 was the inspiration of the school laws in both North and South Dakota. This
report covered teacliers' institutes, organization of school districts and most, if not all, of
the advanced school laws now in use. It was Professor McFarland who suggested to the
Commercial Club of Valley City the feasibility of a Chautauqua and, acting on his sugges-
tion, it was organized and has become a great and beneficial institution. From the begin-
ning he has served on its board and done much to bring to its sessions men and women
of high reputation in their especial fields, making the programs both educational and enter-
taining. Professor McFarland is continually reaching out along broadening lines, actuated
by a spirit of progress, and the worth of his work is evidenced in the high scholarsliip of
the school and in the splendid endorsement given to it by his colleagues and contemporaries.
HON. THOJIAS E. FOX.
Hon. Thomas E. Fox, a well known business man, was a foremost figure in the early
development of North Dakota and still remains an active factor in commercial circles in
Bantry, McHenry county. In more recent years, however, by reason of the success he has
already acquired, he has found time for the enjoyment of those interests which leisure permits
and lias spent much time in travel, gleaning therefrom not only pleasure and recreation but
also the broad general knowledge and culture which only travel can bring. England claims him
as a native son. He was born in SheflSeld, April 13, 1862, a son of Robert and Margaret
(Alexander) Fox, the former a native of England and the latter of Scotland. The paternal
grandfatlier, John Fox, was one of the last survivors of the Scotch Grays, the famous regiment
that made the brilliant charge at the battle of Waterloo. He died at the notable old age
of one hundred and six years. Robert Fox in 1866, accompanied by his wife and seven
cliildren, came to the United States and established his home in Grand Rapids, Michigan,
where he engaged in contracting and building. His last days were spent in Howard City,
Michigan, where he passed away in 1897 at the age of seventy-three years. His widow
survived until 1905 and departed this life in Howard City at the age of eighty-two years.
Tlionias E. Fox acquired his education in the schools of Michigan and supplemented his
high school course at Howard City by a commercial course in a Grand Rapids business college.
When liis textbooks were put aside he came to North Dakota in August, 1883, settling first
at Pembina, where he was employed in various ways. In March, 1885, he went to what was
then the Northwest territory and engaged in freighting for the Canadian government during
tlie Riel rebellion. In April, 1886, he arrived in the Mouse River valley and took up a home-
stead where Towner now stands. In 1886 and 1887 he was one of the contractors engaged
in tlie building of the Great Northern Railroad from Devils Lake, North Dakota, to Great
I''alls, Montana, and later he turned his attention to the live stock business in McHenry,
being prominently identified with that undertaking up to the time of the settlement of the
land by homesteaders in 1904. All through the intervening years he had been a most active
and prominent figure in promoting the development and progress of the state and was
also well known in connection with his public service, for his recognized ability and public
spirit had led to his selection for a number of important official positions. He was post-
master of Willow City from 1900 until 1902. when he resigned. In 1901 he was appointed
a member of the first state pardon board by Governor Frank Wliite and in 1903 he was
appointed a receiver in the United States land office at Minot during the gi-eat land rush,
serving in that capacity for four and one-half years.
In 1908 Mr. Fox removed to Bantry, where he established a hardware store and also
engaged in farming. He has extensive land holdings, owning eight hundred acres, and he
also holds an equity in other lands. His investments have been carefully and judiciously
made and his property is continually advancing in value. He is also identified with the
Vol n— 39
^■i8 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Union Bank of Baiitry and liis imiiuitaiit business connections place him among the foremost
citizens of JIcHcnry county.
In 190S Mr. Vox was united in marriage to Jliss Bertha A. Husscy, of Miuot, North
Dakota, a daughter of John and Susan (Ballard) Husscy, who removed to this state in 1900
and settled in Des Lacs, Ward county. Her father served for three and a half years in the
Civil war as a member of Company G, Ninety-ninth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. He en-
listed as a private but was mustered out as a second lieutenant. Mr. and Mrs. Fo.k have a.
son, Robert Alexander. Fraternally he is identified with the ilasons, belonging to Willow
Lodge, No. 47, A. F. & A. M., of Willow City; Mystic Chapter, No. 13, R. A. M.^ of Towner,
North Dakota; De Molay Commandcry, K. T., of Minot; Dakota Consistory, No. 1, A. & A.
S. R., of Fargo; and Kem Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Grand Forks, North Dakota. He is
likewise a member of Bantry Lodge, K. P. Ur. and Mrs. Fo.\ are members of the Episcopal
church and are interested in all those forces which work for the uplift of humanity and the
betterment of city and state along the lines of civic progress and virtue. Mr. Fox has
been a broad traveler, having visited nearly all the European countries as well as Central
and South America, while the states of the Union are thoroughly familiar to him. In
his travels he holds his mind ever in a receptive attitude toward those impressions which
make the memory a storehouse of interesting reminiscences, which enrich conversation anil
take one out of the narrow confines of a community into the broader reaches of world
thought and purpose.
JOHN A. BECIi.
John A. Beck, president of the First National Bank of McClusky and regarded as one-
of the most progressive business men of the town, was born in Germany in 18G3, a son of
Andrew and Catherina (Paul) Beck, who were also natives of that country. The father, \vho
engaged in general farming, came to the United States in 1868, settling in Stearns county,
Minnesota, where he spent his remaining days. He followed farming there for many years,
but both he and his wife have now passed away.
Jolin A. Beck was the sixth in order of birth in a family of nine children, eight of
whom are yet living. He was educated in the Minnesota schools and remained with his
father on the home farm until he attained his majority. He then took >ip general merchan-
dising at Wendell, Minnesota, in which business he continued for thirteen years, selling out
at that place in 1900. He then removed to McLean county. North Dakota, where he be"an
dealing in cattle and horses, in which business he engaged for a period of four years. He-
then took up his abode in McClusky, where he established a real estate ofliee in connection
with F. J. Newman. In 1907 he was elected sheriff of Jk-Lean county and occupied the
office for four years, being chosen to that position on the republican ticket. He remained
in the real estate business for a period of three years and operated quite successfully in that
field. After retiring from the position of county sheriff he returned to McClusky and. being
financially interested in the Farmers & Merchants Bank, he then became an active factor
in its management. This bank was organized by E. B. Robertson and others in 1906 under
the name of the Farmers &. Merchants State Bank. In 1913 Mr. Robertson withdrew and
Mr. Beck took over the active management of the bank, which in 1907 was converted into the
First National Bank of McClusky. The bank is capitalized for twenty-five thousand dollars
and has a surplus of twenty-five hundred dollars. 3Mr. Beck is also interested in farming,
having property in Sheridan county to which he gives direct oversight, and he also owns-
land in other parts of the state. He has almost an entire section under cultivation in
Sheridan county devoted to diversified farming, including the raising of cereals, cattle, horses
and hogs. He is a very progressive agriculturist and is doing much to advance and improve
farming conditions in his part of the state. He has indicated by his own success what
can be accomplished with the North Dakota soil. He studies and utilizes scientific methods
and his example is one well worthy of emulation. His interest perhaps centers more largely
in scientific farming than in the l)anking business and he has won prizes on barley and'
other grains, which indicates that his work is of a most practical and resultant character.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA . 749
He is also txtensively engaged in raising cattle, horses and hogs and that branch of his
business is proving very profitable.
On the 8th of January, 1895, Mr. Beck ^vas united in marriage to Miss Anna M. Thelen,
a native of Germany, who was reared, however, in the United States. Her parents, Servatius
and Maria Thelen, have both passed away. To Mr. and Mrs. Beck have been born three
children, namely: Albert, whose birth occurred on the 4th of December, 1901; Andrew,
whose natal day was February 29, 1904; and Francis, born January 8, 1907.
Mr. Beck gives his political allegiance to the republican party and in the spring of 1916
he was the fortunate one of three candidates to receive his party's nomination for the
office of state senator. He holds membership with the Modern Woodmen camp of McClusky,
of which he is now banker, and he is a member of the Catholic church. His life work is
being attended with excellent results, bringing to him substantial success by reason of his
keen discrimination and unabating diligence.
KARL KLEIN.
The Klein-Johnson Company of Washburn, McLean county, is widely known throughout
this section of North Dakota, in the development of which it has played an important
part. Hs assets reach the one hundred thousand dollar mark and it has been largely instru-
mental in bringing about the settlement of the district but is now transferring its activities
largely to the banking field. Its president is Karl Klein, who was born December 15, 1876, in
southern Russia, where he remained until seventeen years of age. He came to the United
States with his parents, Gottlob and Katharine (Bischof) Klein, and the family settled at
Fessenden, North Dakota. In 1909 the parents retired and took up their residence in Wash-
burn, where they are now living.
Karl Klein received a good education in his native country and secured a certificate to
teacli in the schools there although at that time he was only in his teens. After his removal
to North Dakota he attended school at Fessenden, thus perfecting his knowledge of English,
and later he took a commercial course in a business college at Minneapolis, from which he
was graduated in 1912. Recognizing the great value of a knowledge of the law to the
business man, he took a legal course in the night school of the law department of the
University of Minnesota. In 1898 he came to Washburn, McLean county, and established
a real estate business under the firm name of the Klein Land Agency. He was alone for
six months but at the end of that time admitted to partnership August E. Johnson and
the business was incorporated as the Klein Land Agency, under which name it was con-
ducted until 1915, when it became the Klein-Johnson Company with a capital of thirty
thousand dollars. The corporation has also a large surplus and its total assets amount to
one hundred thousand dollars. It is very active in promoting emigration to North Dakota
and many of the people now living in the central part of the state came here and became
landowners through this agency. In 1902 it organized the First National Bank of Wash-
burn, in 1910 established the Baldwin State Bank and in 1915 bought the Wilton State
Bank, and the activities of the company are gradually being turned into the banking field.
In addition to the institutions mentioned the company has organized the Farmers State
Bank of Malcolm, the Emmet State Bank of Emmet and the Security State Bank of
Blackwater. Mr. Klein is vice president of the Baldwin State Bank and the Wilton State
Bank and is a director in the First National Bank of Washburn. He owns individually
about three thousand acres of land near Washburn, which he is farming on an extensive
scale, and his varied and well managed interests yield him a handsome income. In 1909
he was admitted under Judge Winchester to the bar as a land attorney.
Mr. Klein was married in 1901 to Miss Emilia Bibelheimer, a native of southern Russia,
who, when five years of age was taken by her parents to Selby, South Dakota, where she lived
until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Klein have a son and daughter, Ernst E. and Violet
Dorothy.
Mr. Klein is a progressive in politics and is now serving as the head of the city govern-
ment of Washburn, in which capacity he is proving as efficient as in the management of his
750 • HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
private business affairs. He is also tilling the odice of police magistrate, of wliicli lie has
been the incumbent for the past six years. In religious faith he is a Lutheran and in spite
of his many business and political interests finds time to devote to the work of the church.
For many years he has resided in Washburn, and his foresight, energy and sound judgment
have been felt in the life of the community in many ways.
JOSEPH SIM.
Joseph Sim, who holds title to seventeen hundred and sixty acres of valuable land in
Kelso township and is president of the Farmers Elevator at Grandin, is one of the leaders
in business and agricultural circles of Traill county. He was born in Oxford county,
Ontario province, Canada, on the 2d of May, 1853, of the marriage of Francis and Elizabeth
(Cousins) Sim, the former a native of Scotland and the latter of England. Both removed
to Canada in their youth and there the mother passed away. The father died in Traill
county, Xorth Dakota, while visiting his son. Ten of their fourteen children are still
living.
Joseph Sim was reared under the parental roof and received his education in the
public schools of Canada, where he remained until 1878. In that year he came to Xorth
Dakota, having heard much concerning the advantages offered the agriculturist here, and
located on section 26, Kelso township, Traill county. He has erected excellent buildings upon
his farm, where he still resides, and has purchased additional land from time to time until
he now holds title to seventeen hundred and sixty acres, all of which is in a high state of
cultivation. He raises an immense amount of grain each year, but has not confined his
attention exclusively to grain farming as he recognizes the value of stock-raising, and he
derives a gratifying addition to his income from that branch of his business. He is also
a large stockholder in the Farmers Elevator at Grandin, of which he is the president.
Mr. Sim was married in 1884 to Miss Maria Lockhart, also a native of the Dominion,
•where her parents, James and Margaret Lockhart, both passed away. To Mr. and Mrs.
Sim have been born six children: Blanche; Gertrude; Lida; Gordon, deceased; Milton, who
is attending the Fargo College, and Frances.
Mr. Sim has given his political allegiance to the republican party since becoming a
naturalized citizen of the United States, and for thirty years has been a member of the
board of county supervisors and chairman for over twenty years, a record which indicates
the high esteem in which he is held. He has also served on the school board for a long
period of time. He is a thirty-second degree Mason and is also identified with the For-
esters. He has given strict attention to the management of his afTairs, and his energy,
foresight and good judgment have been richly rewarded, as he is now one of the well-to-do
men of his section. He has also found time to cooperate with others in tlie promotion of
the interests of his community, and has always had the greatest faith in the future of the
county and state. He is widely known and his ability and integrity are universally
acknowledged.
JUDGE JOHN T. BERDAHL.
Judge John T. Berdahl, of Rugby, who is judge of the probate <(.urt of Pierce county,
was born on the 28th of April, 1872, in Xorway. a son of Torkcl L. and Kari (Helleland)
Berdal. The spelling of the family name has been changed from the Xorwegian to the
American form. The father was a farmer by occupation and he and his wife spent their
entire lives in their native country, the former passing away in 1910, at the age of seventy-
three years, while the latter reached the age of but forty-four years, her death occurring in
188C.
Judge Berdahl attended the common schools and also the Amtskole (Folkehoiskole) of
Norwaj', an institution similar to the state colleges of this country. After arriving in the
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 751
new -worlfl he also studied in tlie public schools and in the Bruflat Academy at Portland,
North Dakota, completing his education with a commercial post graduate course in a
Minneapolis college. It was in 1891, when a 3-outh of nineteen years, that he crossed the
Atlantic and for one month was located at De Forest, Dane county, Wisconsin, from which
point he made his way westward to Jlilton, Xorth Dakota, where he was employed at farm
work. He also taught in a Norwegian parochial school through the following two years and
later he worked as a clerk in mercantile establishments in various towns while completing
his studies, earning the money that enabled him to advance his education. In 1901 he
arrived in Pierce county and filed on a homestead covering what is now the southwest quarter
of section 15, Jefferson township. Thereon he took up his abode and also secured a position
in the store of Nels Jacobson in Rugby, serving as bookkeeper and clerk. He worked there
through the summer and in the following winter occupied the position of deimty in the
office of the county treasurer under Karl Julsrud. In the summer of 1902 he wa3 appointed
deputy county auditor under .lohn Kellesvig and so served until January 1, 1905. In the
November election of 1904 he was a candidate for the office of county judge and popular
franchise called him to the position, the duties of which he assumed on the 1st of January
following. He has continuously sat upon the bench, having been elected for six consecutive
terms, and at the primary of 1916 he was again nominated without opposition, so that he
will be continued upon the bench for the seventh term — a record of which he has every
reason to be proud, for it indicates his personal popularity, the confidence reposed in him
and the ability, fidelity and impartiality which he has displayed in the discharge of his
judicial duties. He still retains the ownership of three hundred and sixty acres of valuable
farm land in Pierce county and has also made judicious investment in city property.
In 1905 Judge Berdahl was married to Miss Britha Aafedt, of Pierce county, but a native
of Norway. He and his wife attend the Lutheran church and in politics he is a stanch
republican, having supported the party since becoming a naturalized American citizen. The
record of perhaps no resident of Pierce county more clearly indicates the American spirit
and no native son of this land is more true and loyal to the principles of our democratic
government. The record of scarcely an official of Pierce county has extended over so long a
period and none has been more faultless in honor, fearless in conduct or stainless in repu-
tation.
A. J. HELGERSON.
A. .J. Helgerson, manager of the Farmers elevator at Westhope, was born in Deuel
county, .South Dakota, in 1881, a son of Andrew and Andrea (Dale) Helgerson. The father is
a native of Norway and came to the United States in young manhood, settling in Wisconsin,
where he was married. Two children were born ere the removal of the family to Mmne-
sota and from that state they went to South Dakota, the father homesteading in Deuel
county. For many years he was engaged in merchandising in Brandt in addition to operating
his farm. In 1901 he came to North Dakota and for thirteen years was numbered among
the leading and progressive merchants of Laiula. In 1914 he retired from active business
life and has since lived with his children.
At the usual age A. J. Helgerson began attending the district schools and his initial
training as a grain buyer was received when he was in his thirteenth year, for at that time
he was employed in driving the horse in a horse power elevator at Brandt, South Dakota.
Proving capable and faithful, he was advanced to the position of second man in the elevator
and in 1899 he became buyer in his brother's elevator at Maynard, Minnesota. Two years
later he arrived in Bottineau county, North Dakota, reaching his destination on the 29th
of July, 1901. For four years thereafter he bought grain for the Imperial Elevatar Company
at Bottineau and in 1905 he removed to Westhope to take charge of the Farmers elevator
upon the organization of the Farmers Elevator Company. In that capacity he has since
continued and has built up a large business for the company, being today one of the well
known grain men of Bottineau county, controlling and promoting important interests.
Watchful of opportunities for judicious investment in lands, he is now the owner of six
hundred and forty acres in his county and he also has a half interest in a half section and
752 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
> third interest in another half section, so that his landed possessions are now extensive
and return to liim a gratifying annual income.
On the 23d of July, 1904, Mr. Hflfterson was united in niarriafjo to iliss Minnie Thomp-
son, of Toronto, Soutli Dakota, by whom he has four cliililrcn, namely: Kutli, Arthur, Vivian
and Kenneth Werdell.
In fraternal relations Mr. Helgerson is a Mason, belonging to Westhope Lodge, No. 74,
F. & A. M.; and Phoenicia Chapter, No. 17, R. A. M. He is also connected with the Modern
Woodmen of America and he and his wife attend the Methodist Episcopal church, of
which he is one of the trustees. His political endorsement is given to the republican party
and for two years he was a member of the city council of Westhope, in which connection
he exercised his official prerogatives in support of all the plans and measures which he
deemed of value in relation to municipal affairs. In a business way he has gradually worked
his way upward and his enterprise and energy have enabled him to overcome all dilTuiiltics and
obstacles in his path.
HON. H. F. EMERY.
The purpose of life is to afford opportunity and the successful man is he who seas
and utilizes that opportunity, directing his elTorts along lines which achieve individual
success and at the same time contribute to public welfare and progress. Such has been
the record of Hon. H. F. Emery, the present mayor of Fargo and one of its foremost citizens,
who in business connections is well known as the secretary of the Western Realty Com-
pany. He has never been so busy with his own concerns, however, that he has had no
time for public duties and there is none perhaps who understands more fully the obliga-
tions that rest upon the citizen or who more fully meets these obligations in p\il)lic
service.
Mr. Emery is a native of Bradford, Pennsylvania, born June 12, 1862, and is a son
of Elam M. and Cynthia J. (Hammond) Emery, who were also born in the Keystone
state. The father was a farmer by occupation but at the time of the Civil war put aside
all personal interests and considerations and immediately after the outbreak of hostilities
between the north and the south joined the Union army. He died in a hospital during the
service and was laid to rest between Richmond and Norfolk on the banks of the St. James
river. His widow, with her family consisting of three sons and two daughters, came to
Dakota territory in 1869. settling upon a farm in Clay county. Subsequently a removal
was made to Turner, where they lived in the first house that was built in the town. Later
Mrs. Emery used her soldier's widow's right in taking up a homestead.
Her son, H. F. Emery, has now been a witness of Dakota'^ growth and development
for forty-eight years. At the time of the family's arrival, Sioux City, Iowa, was the nearest
point reached by rail adjoining the territory on the southeast corner, and St. Paul was the
nearest point reached by rail to the north. Pioneer conditions everywhere existed and the
most farsighted could scarcelj' have dreamed of the wonderful changes soon to be wrought.
The first permanent schoolhouse was at Vermillion, where Mr. Emery lived, and it is
known as the log schoolhouse of the territory of Dakota. In the period of his early man-
hood he assisted his mother and eighteen years ago removed to Fargo to engage in the hard-
ware business, opening a business on First street, where for twelve years he conducted a large,
growing and profitable trade. On the 1st of January, lOlO, at the advice of his physician he
sold his store and took a much needed rest but this lasted for only four months, for at the
end of that period JIayor Elliott appointed him city treasurer.
When the question of voting upon a commission form of government was adcl|)tcd, Mr.
Emery took an active part in the discission of the question and upon the adoption of the
commission plan he was unanimously chosen asFargo's first mayor under this form of govern-
ment and is now the diief executive of the city. He is carefully directing public interests
after having thoroughly studied municipal needs and opportunities and in the exercise of
his official prerogatives he has furthered many plans and measures for the public good.
In the meantime Mr. Emery has remained more or less active in business, dealing always
HON. H. F. EMERY
u
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 755
to a greater or less extent in real estate since coming to Fargo. He is also a director of the
Northwestern Savings & Loan association and is a member of the firm of Emery & Johnson,
dealers in firearms and sporting goods.
In the year 1887 Mr. Emery was united in marriage to Jliss Ida Kemp, of JIattoon,
Illinois, and to them have been born a son and daughter. Tlie former, Floyd H., is now a
student in Fargo College, while Jennie Frances, after graduating from Fargo College with
the class of 1913, took a special course in elocution and reading at Madison, Wisconsin. Both
children are still at home with their parents.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Emery is a well known :Mason, having taken the degrees
of the consistory and of the Mystic Shrine. He belongs to the Ancient Order of United
Workmen and is a member of the Commercial Club, cooperating heartily in those plans for the
upbuilding of this city and the extension of its trade relations. He is also a trustee of the
First Congregational church. His political allegiance has always been given to tlie republican
party but he recognizes that there is something liigher than partisanship — American citizen-
ship— and he never sacrifices the public welfare to party or the general good to personal
aggrandizement. He has led a busy life, yet has found time to assist others and aid in the
upbuilding of the great northwest. For several years he has been a trustee of the Young
Men's Cliristian Association of Fargo and for one year was its president. He was one of the
incorporators of Fargo College and is serving on its board of trustees. In April, 1915, he was
appointed by Judge Pollock as one of the members of the new board to take over the
property of the North Dakota Improvement Company and later was elected secretary of
the company. During his residence of forty-eight years in the northwest he has seen a deso-
late and largely unpopulated territory transformed into two states — North and South Dakota
^and he believes that no part of the country affords better opportunity for rich and poor. As
mayor he receives letters from all over the country asking about North Dakota and hia
answer is always this: "There is plenty of room and opportunity for the man who is willing
to work." He knows from experience that activity does not tire, that it hardens, gives resist-
ing power, and the exercise of effort is keeping him alert. He has never allowed personal
interest or ambition to dwarf his public spirit and his labors have found culmination in the
development of his city and state.
WILLIAM H. LACKEY.
One of tlie most prominent business men and inlluential citizens of Westhope is William
H. Lackey, who is proprietor of a large hardware establishment at that place. He is a native
of Wisconsin, his birth occurring in Westfield, July 25, 18G1, and his parents being Philo
and Mary (.'•itewart) Lackey. The father was born in Vermont but the mother's birth
occurred across the line in Ontario, Canada. By trade Philo Lackey was a wagon and carriage
maker. He removed to Wisconsin about 1840 and was engaged in wagon making at
Westfield when the Civil war broke out. Feeling that his country needed his services he
enlisted in a Wisconsin regiment and remained at the front for one year. He then returned
to Westticld and continued to reside there until called from this life in May, 1885. His
wife had passed away in March, 1876.
Reared to manhood in Wisconsin, William H. Lackey is indebted to the public schools
of Westfield for his early education, which was completed in the Curtiss Business College
of Minneapolis. He learned wagon and carriage making under his father, with whom he
worked about seven years, and succeeded him in business which he conducted until the summer
of 1885, when he sold out and went to Minneapolis. He was subsequently engaged in the
real estate business there for twelve years and while there took a very active and prominent
part in public affairs, serving as a member of the city council of Jlinneapolis for four years.
In 1897 Mr. Lackey removed to Langdon, North Dakota, and entered the employ of F. H.
Stoltze in the lumber business, remaining there one year. He next went to Devils Lake
in the interest of the same company, and in December, 1903, established a lumberyard for
Mr. Stoltze at Westhope, Bottineau county. He had charge of the same until May, 1907,
wlien he severed his connection with tlie company and embarked in the hardware business at
756 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
VVestliope on liis own account. He has since purchased the building which he now occupies
and he carries a well selected stock of both shelf and heavy hardware, for which he finds
a ready sale in the town and surrounding country.
Mr. Lackey was married in November, 1893, to Miss Sadie Adanison, of St. Paul, Minne-
sota, and tliey have become the parents of four children, namely: Isabellc, born in Minne-
apolis, March 29, 1895; Stella, born in Minneapolis, March 5, 1897; Esther, born in Devils
Lake, North Dakota, August 22, 1899; and William, born in Westhopc, December 22, 1906.
The democratic party has always found in Mr. Lackej' a stanch supporter of its principles
and he is now serving as a member of the democratic state committee from Bottineau county.
He has served on the school board of Westhope and was president of the county association
of school boards for four years. He was also a member of the town council one year and ran
for state senator on his party ticket in 1908 but was defeated by forty votes. He was the
first master of the Masonic lodge at Westhope and is also a member of the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, the Yeomen and the Modern \\'oodmen of America. In religious faith
he is a Presbyterian and is now serving as a member of the board of trustees of the church
to which he belongs. No man in the community is held in higher regard or exerts a greater
influence in local affairs than the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. In business
affairs he is always prompt and reliable and no trust reposed in him has ever been betrayed.
LEWIS H. RUUD.
Lewis H. Euud, manager of the Langwortliy Lumber Company at Ileimdal, North
Dakota, was born in Coffeyville, Kansas, on the 20th of June, 1871, and began his education
in the public schools of that state. He subsequently attended high school in Decorah,
Iowa, and also Luther College at the same place. Having thus acquired an excellent education
he was well fitted for the responsible duties of life when starting on his business career.
In 1891 Jlr. Ruud removed to Grand Forks, North Dakota, where he was variously
employed for a time, and later conducted a livery stable at Mayville, this state, for five
years. On selling that establishment he removed to Fessenden, where he worked for the
McCormick Harvester Company for one year, and was then appointed deputy sheriff of
Wells county, in which capacity he served for live years. He next worked at the carpenter's
trade until 1912, when he went to Heimdal as manager for the Langwortliy Lumber Company,
which position he has since filled most satisfactorily. He erected all the company's build-
ings at that place, hauling the lumber for the same from Harvey, and in the control of
their interests has displayed excellent business and executive ability.
Mr. Ruud was married in 1901 to Miss Mamie Larson, by whom he has three children,
namely: Halver, Curtis and Marlys. He takes an active interest in educational affairs
and for the [)ast three years has efficiently served as chairman of the school board of
Heimdal. For some years he has held school ofiiees and he has also served as justice of
the peace. In politics he is a republican and in religious faith is a Lutheran. He is a
member of the Yeomen lodge at Harvey and is held in high regard by all who know him.
CARL L. SMETTE.
Carl L. Smettc. a merchant at Upham, McHcnry county, was born in Traill county.
North Dakota, December 3, 1878, a son of H. C. and R. (Finneseth) Smette. the former
a native of Norway and the latter of Minnesota. It was in 1866 that H. C. Smette came to
the United States and established his home in Fillmore county, Minnesota, where he was
employed at farm labor and also taught school for a time. He afterward engaged in
merchandising for two years and in 1878 he removed to Traill county, North Dakota,
where he secured a preemption claim, upon which he has since engaged in general farming,
being numbered among the representative agriculturists of that district.
While spending his youthful days under the parental roof Carl L. Smette acquired his cdu-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 757
cation in the schools of Traill county and in periods of vacation worked in the fields, so that he
early became familiar with all the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist.
Thinking to find other pursuits more congenial, he began clerking in stores, spending four
years in that employment. He next secured a homestead in JIcHenry county and spent four
years in developing and improving the property, since which time he has rented it. In 1905
he was joined by his brother, Louis C. Smette, and they embarked in general merchandising
at Upham. For eleven years they have now conducted their store and throughout the entire
period have enjoyed a large and growing trade. They erected a fine two story double store
building and carry an extensive stock, their interests being conducted under the name of
the Upham Mercantile Company. The brothers are also proprietors of a general store at
Newburg and were the owners of a store at Bantry until 1916, when they sold out at that
.place. Carl L. Smette is also a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company of Upham.
In November, 1904, Mr. Smette was united in marriage to Miss Lina Lund and they
have become the parents of four children, George, Robert, Lillian and Adeline. Mr. and Mrs.
Smette hold membership in the Lutheran church and his membership relations also extend
to the Brotherhood of American Yeomen and the Sons of Norway. His study of the
political questions and issues of the day has led to his support of the republican party.
His chief interest, however, is his business and along the lines of steady progression he
has developed his commercial activities, which are now important, while the capable manage-
ment of his business aflairs has brought to him a well deserved and constantly growing
measure of success.
EDWIN HENRY HEADLAND.
The healthfulness of business conditions in a given community is largely indicated by
the substantial cliaracter of its financial institutions, and Litchville has no hesitancy in being
judged w'ith the First State Bank of the town as a standard of its business life, for it is
a very reliable institution, back of which stand men of well known business ability, enter-
])rise and integrity. The cashier of the institution is Edwin Henry Headland, who is one
of North Dakota's native sons, his birth having occurred near Fargo on the 31st of March.
1881. His parents, 0. E. and Bertha (Berdhl) Headland, were natives of Bergen, Norway,
and about 1872 came to America, first establishing their home five miles southwest of Fargo,
in which locality they were among the earliest settlers. There the father engaged in farming
successfully up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1910, when he was sixty-seven
years of age.
In a family of eleven children E. H. Headland was the seventh in order of birth. His
youthful days were spent in the usual manner of farm lads and after he had mastered the
branches of learning taught in the public schools of his home neighborhood he attended
Concordia College at Moorhead, Minnesota, and later pursued a year's course in the Dakota
Business College at Fargo. He started in the business, world as a clerk in a store at
De Lamere and at the end of three months accepted a position in a bank at Fingal, in which
he was employed for three years. He afterward became bookkeeper in the First State
Bank at Litchville and two years later was advanced to the position of cashier, in which
capacity he has since continued. This bank was organized when the town was started in
1900 by Thomas Casey and C. E. Batcheller. It has had a steady growth from the beginning,
there being nothing spasmodic or spectacular in its development. In 1909 the present bank
building, a two-story brick structure with stone trimmings, was erected, the bank occupj'ing
the first floor, which is fitted up with modern banking equipment. The desks and counters
are of oak and .there are burglar proof vaults and safes. The present officers of the bank
are: John M. Olson, president; Lewis M. Olson, vice president; E. H. Headland, cashier; and
H. O. Hanson, assistant cashier. On the 1st of May, 1916, the loans and discounts of the
bank amounted to one hundred and eighty-seven thousand one hundred and twenty-nine
dollars and its deposits to two hundred and sixteen thousand and fifty dollars. The capital
stock of the bank is all paid in and the surplus and undivided profits amount to ten thousand
and thirty-nine dollars. Something of the growth of the institution is indicated in the fact
758 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
that the deposits May 1, 1913, were one luiiulied and eight thousand seven liundicd and fifteen
dollars, whieh sum has been doubled in the succeeding four years.
On the 10th of June, 1908, Mr. Headland was united in marriage to Miss Olga Strand,
of Wisconsin, a daughter of B. F. and Maria (Knutson) Strand, who removed from Blair,
Wisconsin, to Gary, Minnesota, where they now make their home. Mr. and Mrs. Headland
have had four children, namely: Beatrice Marie; Edwin H., Jr.; Oliver Wendell, who is
deceased; and Leslie Warren.
Mr. Headland holds membership with the Sons of Norway and also with the Ancient
Order of United Workmen, while in the Masonic fraternity he has attained high rank
in the York Rite, being now a member of lodge, chapter and commandery, while he has
also crossed the sands of the desert with the Xobles of the Mystic Shrine. His entire life
has been spent in this state and the spirit of enterprise which has led to the rapid develop-
ment of this great commonwealth in the northwest has been manifest in his business career.
GEORGE PAUL HOMNES.
George Paul Homnes, states attorney of Divide county, residing at Crosby, was born in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, October 9, 1873, a son of Gunerius and Grethe (Vibe) Homnes, who
were natives of Norway. When a young man the father went to sea and for twenty years
was a sailor. He was therefore in middle age when he came to America, after which he estab-
lished his home in Milwaukee and sailed on Lake Michigart. In 1881 he removed to Monfort
township, Grant county, Wisconsin, settling near what was the town of Castle Rock, there
purchasing one hundred and sixty acres of land, which he developed and improved from 1881
until 1912, when he retired from active life and soon after passed away. In young woman-
hood Grethe Vibe had come to the United States and they were married in ililwaukee in 1870.
She is still living on the old homestead farm in Grant county, Wisconsin.
George P. Homnes began his education in the city schools of ililwaukee but when seven
years of age went with his parents to the farm, after which he attended district school and
also pursued a business course in Valder's Business College at Uecorah, Iowa. Later he
returned to the old homestead in Wisconsin and afterward spent six months as a pupil in a
private academy at Mount Horeb, that state. Still later he became a student in St. Olaf
College at Northfield, Minnesota, spending two years in the preparatory department and four
years In the college, winning the degree of Bachelor of Arts upon his graduation with the
class of 1903. In that year lie removed to Williams county, North Dakota, and filed on a home-
stead in what is now Divide county. Later in the same year he matriculated in the law-
department of the University of Minnesota and was graduated therefrom with the class of
190G. During vacation periods he lived upon his homestead and loUowing his graduation, at
Avhich time he won the Bachelor of Laws degree, he returned to the homestead, securing the
title thereto in the fall of 1907. At the latter date he took an examination at Fargo, North
Dakota, and was admitted to the bar on the 7th of December of that year, at which time he
located for practice in Ciosby, where he has since remained. He is an able lawyer, having dis-
played marked ability in coping with intricate legal problems. He is always very careful
and thorough in the preparation of his cases and is devoted to the interests of his clients.
On the 17th of June, 1909, at Northfield, Minnesota, Mr. Homnes wedded Miss Frida Mag-
dalene Bue, who was born at Ostrander, Fillmore county, Minnesota, a daughter of the Rev. Ole
A. and Caroline (Hjort) Bue, who were natives of Norway and were there married. Rev. Bue
was educated for the ministry in his native country and on coming to America first settled
in Fillmore county, Minnesota. He afterward was in charge of the church at Ostrander, Min-
nesota, for more than thirty years, but at length retired from the ministry a,nd is now living
upon a farm near Northfield, and upon that farm his wife passed away October 5, 1912.
Mrs. Homnes attended the public schools of Ostrander, was graduated from the high school
at Spring Valley, Minnesota, and from St. Olaf College at Northfield, where she won the
Bachelor of Arts degree in 1902. She was aftenvard a teacher of the German, Latin and Nor-
wegian languages in tliat sdiool for five years. In 1907 she returned home and there remained
until her marriage.
GEORGE P. HOMNES
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 761
The young couple began their domestic life at Crosby, wliere Mr. Homnes had erected
a substantial and pleasant residence. He has sold his old homestead but owns considerable
farm land in Divide countj', from which he derives a good rental. He is serving as a member
of the park board of Crosby and he is interested in everything that pertains to the welfare
and upbuilding of the town, taking an active and helpful part in promoting its civic improve-
ment. He was largely instrumental in setting off Divide from Williams county and he became
one of the organizers of the Divide County Publishing Company, which publishes the Divide
County Journal. He is president of the corporation and he conducts the editorial department,
for which the paper is noted. In 1916 he became one of the organizers of the Divide County
Fair Association, of which he is the secretary, and he was instrumental in starting the move-
ment to organize the Commercial Club of Crosby, of which he was the president for the first
year. Before the division of the counties he was elected to represent the forty-first district,
comprising Williams and McKenzie counties, in the state legislature in 1908 and was reelected
in 1910, capably serving for two terms, during which he gave earnest consideration to the
settlement of many important questions and used his legislative powers for the benefit and
upbuilding of the commonwealth. He did much important committee work, being a member
of the judiciary committee for both terms and its chairman during the second term, while
on other committees he was also active and prominent. He was an earnest supporter of the
corrupt practice act and was identified with much other progressive legislation which has had
to do with bringing about cleaner and better conditions in the body politic. In 1912 he was
elected states attorney for Divide county and was reelected in 1914. He is the present
incumbent in the office. His religious faith is that of the Norwegian Lutheran church and~its
teachings have guided him in all of the relations of life, making him a man whom to know is
to respect and honor. There are many opportunities for the citizens of a new district to build
along progressive lines and, recognizing this fact, Mr. Homnes has ever labored for the welfare
of the city and county in which he makes his home.
HON. E. GILBERTSON.
Hon. E, Gilbertson has on various occasions been called to public office in Cass county
and has ever proved most loyal to the trust and confidence reposed in him. He is, moreover,
an enterprising farmer and stockraiser and owns excellent farm property in Pleasant
township. He was born in Norway, March 5, 1853, and is a son of Gulbrand and Kari
Gilbertson, who were also natives of that country. The father died in the land of the mid-
night sun, after which the mother came to the new world in 1871, our subject having pre-
ceded her to this country two years. She resided in Jlinnesota until 1882, when she and a
son and daughter came to Cass county. North Dakota, where our subject had located in
1879. Here her remaining days were passed. In the family were four children, of whom
three are yet living, namely: E.; .lulius; and Mrs, R. Evingson, of Kindred, North Dakota.
E. Gilbertson was a youth of sixteen years when he came alone to the new world in
1869 and was twenty-six years of age at the time of his removal to North Dakota. He
was reared to the occupation of farming and has always made it his life work, and owns
the farm whereon he resides on section 21, Pleasant township. He has improved the property
with substantial and commodious buildings, has set out a fine grove and has an excellent farm,
equipped with all modern accessories and conveniences. His place comprises four hundred
acres of land and all has been brought under cultivation. His labors are attended with
substantial success, for he practices the rotation of crops, studies the condition of the soil
and meets every requirement of modern farming. Moreover, he is known in other business
connections, being a director of the local telephone company and secretary of the Farmers
Elevator Company. He has ever recognized the value of industry as a moving force in the
attainment of success and along well defined lines of labor has met with prosperity.
In 1889 Mr. Gilbertson was married to Miss Agnes Hanson, a native of Norway and a
daughter of Ole and Olina Hanson, who came to America in 1882 and settled on a farm in
Cass county. The mother died while living in North Dakota, after which the father removed
westward to Washington, where his death occurred and where two sons and two daughters
762 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
live. ilr. and JIis. Gilbertson boeanio tlie parents of eight children: Mabel H., who is a
graduate of the A'alley City Normal School and is now engaged in teaching at Jamestown,
North Dakota; Ovidia A., who is a normal school graduate and is now successfully teaching;
Clara, who was giaduated from the schools of Fargo and is also teaching; Bernice, who has
completed a musical course and is now teaching the art of music; George and Elmer, both
deceased; Walter; and Carlott.
The parents are members of the Lutheran church and are interested in all that tends
to advance the moral progress of the community. Mr. Gilbertson exercises his right of
franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party and has held various
local offices. For four years he filled the position of county treasurer, has been assessor for
twenty-fuur years and was school clerk for a similar period. In 1895 he was elected to rejjre-
sent his district in the state legislature and served until 1897. He has ever regarded a public
office as a public trust and has discharged his duties with credit to himself and satisfaction to
his constituents. He is never so busy that he neglects the duties of citizenship and feels that
every individual owes to the public a service in connection with the advancement of those
plans and projects which contribute most to the general welfare.
A. M. BERGET.
A. M. Berget, deputy county auditor of McHenry county and a resident of Towner,
was born in Boyd, Minnesota, May 23, 1892, a son of Anton P. and Mary I. (Teigen) Berget,
both of whom were natives of Norway. The father is one of the well known and leading
grain buyers of Towner, being manager of the Towner elevator, owned by the Andrews
Grain Company.
Brought to Towner in his boyhood days, A. JI. Berget completed a high school course
by graduation with the class of 1910 and soon afterward he entered the county auditor's
office as clerk, in which capacity he served until 1913, when he was appointed to the position
of deputy county auditor, in which connection he has since served, loyally and capably per-
forming the duties that devolve upon him in this connection.
In 1915 Mr. Berget wedded Miss Marissa J. Pitts, a daughter of William R. Pitts, of
Towner, one of the earliest of the pioneers in this section of (he state. Mr. Berget exercises
his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party and has
been city auditor of Towner since 1913. Fraternally, he is connected with Mouse River
Lodge, No. 43, F. & A. M., of Towner. Jlystic Chapter, No. 13, R. A. M. of Towner and
Lebanon Council, No. 2, R. & S. M., of Rugby. He is likewise identified with Towner Camp,
No. 3777, M. W. A. His religious faith is that of the Lutheran church, while his wife belongs
to the Episcopal church, and in the social circles of their city they occupy an enviable
position. Jlr. Berget is a prominent representative of the younger generation of Towner's
citizens and his worth is acknowledged by all, for he lias proven himself loyal to his public
duties and faithful to the trust reposed in him.
J. P. SllAlIAMC.
J. P. Shaliane, postmaster of Souris, was born in Ireland, July G, 18G4, a son of William
and Catherine (Fogerty) Shahane, who came to Canada in 1865 and in 1878 crossed the
border into the United States, settling in Pembina county, North Dakota. The father was
the first of the pioneers to file on a homestead out on the prairie and with characteristic
energy he there began the development of a farm, which continued to be his place of residence
until his death in 1911, when he was eighty-six years of age. His wife passed away in
1904, at the age of sixty years.
J. P. Shahane received but limited educational privileges. His entire opportunities
along that line possibly could have been encompassed within a twelvemonth. His training
at farm work, however, was not meager and he soon became familiar with every phase of
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 763
farm life. He continued to work with his fatlier on the old homestead until his twenty-fifth
year and subsequently he took up farming on his own account, following that pursuit in
Pembina county for seven or eight years. In 1897 he engaged in the hardware business in the
town of Backoo, Pembina county, and in 1903 he removed to Souris, where he again opened
a hardware store which he conducted until the spring of 1916, when he sold his stock and
has since given his attention to the duties of postmaster, to which office he was appointed in
1914.
In 1902 Mr. Shahane was united in marriage to Mrs. E. Mountain, who bore the maiden
name of Essie Cook and has two children by her former marriage, namely: Elma, the wife
of Everett Dempsey, a farmer of Bottineau county; and Marion, who is a teacher in the
schools of Overly, North Dakota.
In his political views Mr. Shahane is a democrat but has never been a politician in the
usually accepted sense of office seeking. He belongs to the Catholic church and to the
Knights of Columbus, while his wife is a member of the Episcopal church. He is classed
with the representative men of Souris and he has a wide and favorable acquaintance in
the community in which he makes his home.
ROBERT CLENDENING.
Robert Clendening is a man of large business and financial interests at Wimbledon,
where he is connected with real estate interests, also makes fann loans and collections, is a
grain broker and elevator owner. His activities have constituted an important element in
business progi-ess and prosperity in that section of the state. A native of Canada, he was
born in Hru'on county, Ontario, on the 19th of August, 1858, a son of William and Isabelle
(Dunbar) Clendening. The father was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, and the mother in
Inverness, Scotland. In early life they crossed the Atlantic to Canada and were there mar-
ried, maintaining their home at Goodrich, Huron county, until they were called to their final
rest. The father, who devoted his entire life to farming, died in 1883 but the mother sur-
vived until 1913. In their family were fourteen children, all of whom reached adult age.
Those living are Isaac, James, Mary Ann, .John, William, George, Robert and Janet; but the
following have passed away, Eliza, Sarah .Jane, Wilson, Joseph, Isabella and Donald.
In the schools of his native county Robert Clendening pursued his education while
spending his youthful daj's under the parental roof, completing a high school course at Good-
rich by graduation. He continued at home until twenty-four years of age and in 1883
crossed the border into the United States, where competition is greater but where advance-
ment is more quickly secured. He made his way to Wheatland, North Dakota, and in March
of that year established a general store which he conducted for six years, when he sold out
and removed to Dazey, North Dakota, where he entered into partnership with A. E. Clenden-
ing, his cousin, for the sale of general merchandise, hardware and farm implements under the
firm style of A. E. and R. Clendening. For about ten years he was actively connected with com-
mercial interests at Dazey, after which he sold out to his partner and removed to Duluth, Min-
nesota. There he embarked in the wholesale candy business in connection with the firm of J. S.
Shinners & Company, with which he was associated for two years. On the expiration of
that period he disposed of his interest in the business and returned to North Dakota,
spending a short time at Fargo. He afterward became interested in the Moorhead National
Bank and in the Fred Kruger Company, proprietors of a general store, but in 1900 removed
to Wimbledon and in the fall of that year entered the Merchants State Bank. Two years
later he organized the Merchants National Bank, of which he was president from the begin-
ning until 1911, when he sold his stock. Soon after removing to Wimbledon he purchased
a grain elevator which has since been conducted under the name of the R. Clendening & Com-
pany elevator. He also built the Midland elevator of Wimbledon in 1914 and is conducting an
extensive grain business. He is also heavily interested in merchandising as a member of a
corporation called the Merchants Investment Company, in which he is associated with D. J.
Burns of Minneapolis. This company controls nine stores — at Kensal, Carrington, Plaza,
.lamestown, Woodworth, Edgeley, Fargo, Clementsville and Wimbledon. In association
764 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
with its other interests the Merchants Investment Company deals in farms and elevators.
Mr. Clendening has many large local investments, having financed various enterprises in his
part of the state. He is a business man of keen sagacity and notably sound judgment
and in all business affairs readily discriminates between the essential and the nonessential.
In June, 1900, Mr. Clendening was married to Miss Grace E. Ingraham, a native of
Winona, Minnesota, and they have become parents of two children: Robert, born in 1905;
and Janet, in 1908. The parents hold membership in the Unitarian church and Mr. Clen-
dening is a prominent Mason, belonging to the blue lodge at Wimbledon, the chapter at
Casselton, the commandery and the Mystic Shrine at Fargo. He is likewise connected with
the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In politics he is a recognized leader in republican
circles and in 1905 was elected to the state legislature, in which he represented the fifteenth
district. His ability and varied talents well fit him for leadership along many lines and the
soundness of his judgment has caused him to have marked influence over public tliought
and action.
THADDEUS C. MICHAEL.
Thaddeus C. Michael, engaged in newspaper publication at Willow City, was born in
Hocking count}', Ohio, February 8, 1872, a son of George C. and Anna E. (McQuery) Michael.
The father, a native of West Virginia, removed to Ohio at an early period in the settlement
of that state and there engaged in mining and contracting. In 1881 he arrived in Dakota
territory and took up a homestead in Sanborn county, now in South Dakota, within two
miles of Woonsocket, at which time the nearest railroad point was ^Mitchell, South Dakota.
He improved this place and continued its cultivation until 1891, when he abandoned farming
on account of the drought. Removing to Woonsocket. he there resided imtil 1894, when
he became a resident of Missouri, where he made his home until his death, whicli occurred
in the winter of 1S97. His wife passed awaj- in May. 1913, having survived him for about
sixteen years.
Thaddeus C. Michael pursued his education in the public schools of South Dakota and
while still pursuing his studies learned the printer's trade, beginning work in that line when
twelve years of age under Colonel Knouse, who had been a Confederate army ollicer. Mr.
Michael afterward rode the range for five years, driving cattle from the Black Hills to Car-
bury, Nebraska, after which he returned to the printing business and has since devoted his
attention to that vocation. In 1895 he went to Bottineau, where he worked for two years,
and in July. 1897. he established his home in Willow City, where he purchased the North
Dakota Eagle, which he has since owned and published. This paper was established in
September, 1886, and Mr. Michael has made it a potent force in shaping public thought and
opinion in his locality. He keeps in touch with the trend of modern journalism and gives to
his readers a most interesting publication.
On the 3nd of October, 1897, Mr. Michael was united in marriage to Miss Lama McBain,
of Bottineau, who in 1882 came with her parents to North Dakota. Her sister was the first
white woman in Bottineau county, having arrived there several years prior to the removal
of the other members of the family. The parents, Alexander and Harriett (Bagsley) McBain.
were natives of New York but in early life went to Canada, where Mr. McBain engaged in
merchandising until he made his way to Bottineau county and secured a homestead which
included a part of the site of the town of Bottineau. Upon that land he continued to engage
in farming until his death, which occurred in 1906. His widow yet survives. To Mr. and
Mrs. Michael have been born four children, as follows: one who died in infancy: Norine E.,
who passed away on the 3rd of November, 1901 ; Cecil, whose birth occurred on the 18th of
July, 1904; and Lenore, whose natal day was September 18, 1911.
In politics Mr. Michael is a republican and is now serving as district deputy game warden,
which position he has occupied for two years. He has also been justice of the peace in Willow
City. Fraternally he is connected with the Masonic lodge and in liis life e.vemplifies the benefi-
cent spirit of the craft. He holds membership in the Presbyterian church, while his wife is a
member of the Baptist church. People of sterling worth, they enjoy the confidence and
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 765
goodwill of their fellow townsmen and have a large circle of warm friends in the community
where for many years Mr. Michael has now been a moving force in molding public thought
and opinion.
JUDGE GEORGE P. GIBSON.
.Judge George P. Gibson, who presides over the county court of McLean county, is one
of the honored residents of Washburn, where he has engaged in the practice of law for
a number of years. He was born in New London, Minnesota, March 30, 1874, of the marriage
of James and Evaline (Libby) Gibson. The father's birth occurred on the 9th of November,
1842, in Ayr, Canada. He was a physician and surgeon by profession and for thirty years
engaged in practice at Atwater. Minnesota, but passed away on the 22d of January, 1916, at
Wayzata, that state. The mother, whose natal day was March 10, 1847, was a native of
Illinois and died at Atwater in November, 1907. They were married in Minnesota and to them
were born three children, namely: George P.; Belle, now the wife of Charles Minnick; and
Edna, who married Max Goar and lives at Spokane, Washington.
George P. Gibson was graduated from the law school of the University of Minnesota
in 1895 and at once located at Langdon, North Dakota. In October of that year he took
the state bar examination and after his admission to practice opened an office of his own at
Langdon. After two years he went to Milton, North Dakota, where he practiced for a
similar length of time and where he was also active in politics. In 1900 he was appointed
clerk of tlie judiciary committee of the state senate and filled that position during the sessions
of 1900 and 1901. In May of the latter year he came to Washburn and has since been a
member of the local bar. He was retained as counsel in the greater number of cases tried
in the local courts and his record shows that he was very successful in winning favorable
verdicts. Since 1912 he has given the greater part of his time to the discharge of his duties
as county judge and is now republican nominee for third term with no opposition, this indicat-
ing the general satisfaction which his services have given.
On the 11th of February, 1908. occurred the marriage of .Judge Gibson and Josie Nelson,
A native of Minnesota. By her first husband she has two children, .Jeannette and Myrtle.
.Judge Gibson is a strong advocate of republican principles and in addition to the offices
mentioned served from 1903 to 1907 as states attorney of Oliver county, having been appointed
to that position bj- the county commissioners. For three years he has been president of the
board of education and has given a great deal of thought and effort to the advancement of
the schools of the city. He is a member of the Masonic blue lodge at Milton, North Dakota,
of the Knights of Pythias at Washburn and of the Independent Order of Foresters at Milton.
The principles which guide his conduct are found in the teachings of the Baptist church, of
which he is a member, and his character as well as his ability commands the respect of all
who know him.
PETER BORESON.
Peter Boreson, manager of the yards of the Imperial Lumber Company at Landa and
numbered among the pioneer settlers of Bottineau county, was born in Norway, .July 4, 1853,
a son of Borre Peterson and Martha Solberg, who came to the United States in 18G7, settling
at Spring Grove, Houston county, Minnesota. There the father took up a homestead
claim upon which he resided to the time of his death. His widow afterward removed to the
state of Washington, where she passed away.
Peter Boreson was a lad of fifteen years when he came with his parents to the United
States and in the public schools here he supplemented the educational training which he had
received in the public schools of his native country. His education, however, was somewhat
limited, for soon after his arrival in America he became a wage earner, working as a farm
hand at a, salary of thirteen dollars per month. Later when he was receiving eighteen
766 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
dollars per month, he thought he \vas reieiving a iiiiiiiilhent wage. In 1881 he Went to
llillsboro, Traill eounty, where he was employed for four years at the carpenter's trade, and
in 18S5 he received his initial training in the lumber business as an employe in the yard
of the Robertson Lumber Company at Hillsboro. A year later this company sold out to
the lirm of Beadier & Robertson, Mr. Roreson remaining with the latter for three years.
In 1889 he accepted the position of assistant postmaster of Hillsboro under C. W. Morgan,
and remained in that connection for about a year and a half. He then resumed connection
with the lumber trade as an employe of 0. C. Sarles in the yard now opened by the Valley
Lumber Company of Hillsboro. He remained with this firm for nine years and one month
and in March, lUOO, he went to Bottineau county, filing on a homestead four miles south of
the present town of Roth. On the 6th of April of the same year ho was placed in charge
of the Bottineau yards of the Imperial Lumber Company as manager. In 1901, when the
Great Northern Railroad was extended west to Souris, he went to that place to establish
a yard thert', making the trip from Bottineau to Souris on a bicycle, and on the night of
the 17th of July he slept in the lumber olTiee which he had erected after his arrival. This
was the first building erected in Souris. In 1904, when the railroad was extended west to
Westhope, he again did pioneer work by going to Landa to establish a yard for the Imperial
Lumber Company at that point. Their Landa office was the second building erected in the
town. Since then Mr. Boreson has renuiined in charge of the Landa yard and has there built
up a business of large and gratifying proportions. He is thoroughly acquainted with every
phase of the lumber trade and has made his service of great worth to the corporation which
he represents. Moreover, he has proven his faith in Dakota by his investment in property
and is now the owner of four hundred and eighty acres of land two miles from Landa, on
which he resides and which is operated under his personal direction and supervision.
In 1883 Mr. Boreson was united in marriage to Mrs. Anna Swcnson, who bore the
maiden name of Anna Gdstie and is a native of Norway. Mr. and Mrs. Boreson have six
children, three sons and three daughters, as follows: Benhardt, a farmer residing at Tamjiico,
Montana; Gildard, an agriculturist of Bottineau county, North Dakota; Alvin. who also fol-
lows farming in Bottineau county; .Jennie, the wife of Carl Pearson, of Tampico, Montana;
Ma 3% a high school student who is still under the parental roof; and Vera, also at home.
Fraternally Mr. Boreson is connected with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and
with the American Yeomen. In politics he is a republican and in religious faith he and his
wife are Lutherans. Gradually since making his initial step in the business world he has
worked his way upward, assuming larger responsibilities as the years have gone on and win-
ning success through persistent, earnest efTort.
HON. THOMAS HALL.
Prominent among the men who are guiding the destinies of North Dakota at the present
time is Thomas Ilall, now filling the office of secretary of state for the second term. He had
become well established in business at Fargo, and in public office had demonstrated his loy-
alty to the best interests of the commonwealth. His qualities therefore recommended him for
further official honors and distinction and he was chosen for the important position which he
is now acceptably filling. A native of Michigan, his birth occurred at Clifton, Keweenaw
county, Juno G, 1869, his parents being Richard and Ellon (Peters) Hall, natives of Redruth,
Cornwall, England. Coming to America they established their home in Michigan and after
acquiring his education in the common schools of that state, their son, Thomas Hall, continued
his studies in Concordia College at Moorhead, Minnesota. He was a youth of fourteen years
when in June, 1883, he came to North Dakota with his parents, who established their home
near Jamestown. He entered the employ of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company at that
place and was afterward transferred to Mandan, where he remained until 1892, when ho
removed to Fargo, where he resided for sixteen years. For a time he was employed as rail-
way clerk.
He afterwards entered newspaper circles at Fargo as a newspaper reporter and making
gradual advance along that line he ultimately became a publisher at Fargo, in 1898. As the
HON. THOJIAS HALL
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 769
newspaper is both the molder and mirror of public opinion it naturally followed that he
became a student of vital questions of general interest and through editorial expression had
marked influence in molding public thought and action. Naturally therefore he became a
political leader of the republican party, whose principles he endorsed and championed in stal-
wart fashion. He was first called to public office in 1908, when he was made secretary to the
board of railroad commissioners, in which capacity he served for four years, or until 1913,
when his name was placed upon the republican ticket in connection with the candidacy of
secretary of state. His party gave him a substantial majority, and endorsement of his first
term's service was received in his reelection. He does not lightly regard the duties that
devolve upon him in this connection. On the contrary, he meets every responsibility in a con-
scientious manner that results from his devotion to the general good and is the expression
of his public-spirited citizenship. That he is a recognized leader in political circles in the state
is indicated in the fact that he was chosen secretary of the progressive republican central com-
mittee in the campaigns of 1906, 1908 and 1910.
In Jamestown, NortTi Dakota, September 1, 1897, Mr. Hall was united in marriage to
Miss Anna M. Grafenstein, a daughter of Herman and Elizabeth Grafenstein. Their union has
been blessed with a son and three daughters, Richard, Lucile, Ellen and Edna, aged respectively
fifteen, thirteen, ten and eight years.
Mr. Hall has an interesting military record covering two periods of enlistment as a mem-
ber of Company B of the National Guard at Fargo. His fraternal relations are with the
Masons, his membership being in Shiloh Lodge, F. & A. M. at Fargo, of which he served as
master in 1907. He is justly accorded a place among the prominent and representative citi-
zens of his state. His course has ever been above suspicion. The good of the commonwealth
he places before partisanship and the welfare of his constituents before personal aggrandize-
ment. He commands the respect of his official colleagues and in his home town where he is
best known he forms personal friendships of unusual strength, while all who know him have
the highest admiration for his good qualities of heart and mind.
JOSEPH A. WIK.
On the roster of officials in McHenry county appears the name of Joseph A. Wik, who is
now occupying the position of sheriff, and in the discharge of the duties of the office he is
prompt, fearless and thoroughly reliable. He was born in Chippewa county, Minnesota,
November IS, 1879, his parents being Tollef and Sophia (Bay) Wik, the former a native of
Norway and the latter of Denmark. They came with their respective' parents to America in
their childhood days, the father when a little lad of but si.\ summers and the mother when
a maiden of fifteen years. Both families settled in Dodge county, Minnesota, where the
father and mother were reared and married, after which they established their home in
Chippewa county, where Mr. Wik filed on a homestead, on which he resided to the time of his
death on the 26th of December, 1911. He was then sixty-four years of age and for a little
more than a year had survived his wife, who passed away August 38, 1910, at the age of
fifty-six years.
Joseph A. Wik was educated in tlie public schools of Watson, Minnesota, but when only
twelve years of age became a wage earner. For a time he was employed in a butcher shop
and as clerk in a gi-ocery store and in 1899 he became identified with the grain trade as
second man in a grain elevator in Watson. In 1903 he removed to Granville, North Dakota,
where he became buyer for George Lippman, and while serving in the capacity of manager
of the elevator there he filed on a homestead near Deering, McHenry county. Complying with
the laws regarding occupancy and improvement, he secured title to his property, which
ultimately he sold. He then became manager of the Granville elevator and after two years
spent in that connection he went to Denbigh as manager of the Imperial Elevator, which
position he filled for two years. On the expiration of that period he bought an interest in
an elevator at Riga and for a year engaged in buying grain on his own account. He next
went to Upham as manager for the Imperial Elevator Company and a year later was elected
manager of the Farmers Elevator Company at that place, in which capacity he continued for
770 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
four voars. In 1913 he was appointed deputy .sheriff of MeHenry county and removed to
Towner. Tlie folU)wing year he was elected to the office of slicrill', in which capacity he is
now serving, and he luis proven himself a most popular official, one in whom the lawabidiiig
element has every confidence, wiiile the criminals recognize that he will put forth every pos-
sible effort to apprehend those who are guilty of misdemeanor or crime. In the discharge of
his duties he is prompt and fearless and his record is a creditable one.
On the 25th of September, 1907, Mr. Wik was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary McXickel,
of Granville, and they have three children, Florence E., Edna A. and Joseph A.
Mr. Wik is a republican voter and an active worker in the local ranks of the party. His
fraternal relations are with Mouse River Lodge, No. 43, F. & A. M., Mystic Chapter, No. 13,
R. A. M., Lebanon Council, No. 2, R. & S. M., De Moley Coniniandery, No. 10, K. T., of Minot,
and Kem Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., of Grand Forks. He also belongs to Minot Lodge.
No. 1089, B. P. 0. E., the Brotherhood of American Yeomen and the Sons of Norway. He
is well known and popular in these various organizations and is loyal to their teachings and
purposes. He still owns his farm of three hundred and twenty acres near U]>ham and he is
regarded as one of the representative and valued citizens of McHenry couutv bv reason
of the enterprise which he has displayed in business and his thorough reliability in office.
HENRY E. MAKTIN.
Henry E. Martin, postmaster at Newburg, where he is also station agent, an implement
dealer and proprietor of the electric light plant, was one of the early pioneers in the north-
western section of the state. He comes of English and German parentage, his birth having
occurred in Germany on the 28th of October, 1873. His father, A. C. Martin, was a veterinary
surgeon in the English army and went down with a vessel which sank at Havre, France, while
he w-as on a government mission in 1874. His son, Henry E., was then a babe of but six
months. The mother, who was a noted singer, was the daughter of Senator Adolph Testdorf,
of Hamburg, Germany. She died while her son Henry was but two and one-half years of
age and the boy then came under the guardianship of his grandfather, Senator Testdorf.
When he was six years of age he was placed in the care of the family of Max Kuehl and
by that family was brought to the United States. They settled on land that is now a part
of the city of Chicago and which had been jiurchased for them by Senator Testdorf.
At that place Henry E. Martin was reared to manhood and he pursued his education in
the old Fcrren school, which was the first school built south of Thirty-ninth street in Clii-
cago. It stood at the corner of Wabash avenue and Fifty-first street. When sc\i;nteen
years of age he entered the employ of C. K. G. Billings, the noted race horse man, for
whom he worked and drove for six years. In that connection he became acquainted with
many of the prominent men of Chicago. After leaving the employ of Mr. Billings in 1895
he made his way westward to North Dakota and entered the service of the Great Northern
Railroad Company, becoming the first station agent at Deslacs, in Ward county, where
arrived the first emigrant to settle west of Minot. Mr. Martin was located at that place
for ten years and while there he filed on a homestead near the town and proved up on his
property in 1902. His love of horses remained with him and he was always the owner of
some fine stock. The freedom of the boundless west appealed to him and by reason of his
love of sport he kept a pack of greyhounds, having as many as eighteen at a time. His
success in hunting the coyote gained for him the sobriquet of Coyote Hank. He trained
many horses in pioneer racing circles, among which was Irma's Choice, which w^as owned
by Martin .Tacobson, who broke the state record at Minot. In 1906 he went east to Cliar-
lotte, Michigan, to escape the rigors of the North Dakota winters but after three years
spent at that place in the capacity of ticket agent for the Grand Trunk he again heeded the
call of the west and returned to North Dakota, being made station agent at Newburg. He
has since served in that capacity but has greatly extended his efforts into other lines and is
now successfully engaged in the implement business, is also owner of the electric light plant
of the town and for the past seven years has been postmaster of Newburg. He is now serv-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 771
ing for liis fourth term as mayor of the town and lie does everything in his power to pro-
mote its progress.
Mr. Martin is a member of Russell Lodge, No. 89, A. F. & A. M., and he and his wife
hold membership in the Order of the Eastern Star, while he is also connected with the
Modern Woodmen of America. Both belong to the German Lutheran church and guide their
lives according to its teachings. In politics he is a republican. Those who know him, and
he has a constantly broadening circle of acquaintances, find in him a man whom to know is
to respect and honor, for his has been a well spent life which at all times has measured up to
high standards.
JAMES A. MURPHY.
James A. Murphy, of Jamestown, who is one of the able attorneys of Stutsman county
and is also engaged in the real estate and insurance business, was born in Clermont, Iowa,
on the 31st of June, 1863. His parents, Michael and Margaret (Houlihan) Murphy, were
both natives of Ireland but emigrated to this country many years ago and became pioneer
settlers of Iowa. James A. Murphy was reared under the parental roof and divided his
time during his boyhood and youth between attending the public schools and assisting in
the work of the home farm. He entered Bayliss College at Dubuque, Iowa, and following
his graduation therefrom in 1883 he removed to Fargo, Dakota territory, where he accepted
a position as bookkeeper for a machinery company. Later in the same year he went to
Foster county, taking up a homestead near Carrington. He also had charge of a machine
company at that place and while living there served as postmaster of Carrington and as
clerk of Foster county. In 1891-93 he served as county treasurer and in 1893 was appointed
deputy state insurance commissioner. In the meantime he had taken up the study of law
and, having been admitted to the bar, he located in Jamestown in 1895 and entered upon
the active practice of law. He has gained a commendable reputation as an attorney and
has also won gratifying success as a real estate and insurance agent. He owns valuable city
and farm property and is one of the substantial citizens of his county.
On the 19th of December, 1895, Mr. Murphy was united in marriage to Miss Minnie
B. Jones, of Sturgis, South Dakota, by whom he has two children, Louise and Jerome J.
Mr. Murphy is a republican and for many years has been a leader in state politics, serving
as a delegate to state conventions on several occasions. For a number of years he served
as city magistrate of Jamestown, discharging his duties with fairness and impartiality.
Fraternally he is well known, belonging to the Knights of Pythias, the Ancient Order of
United Workmen and the Knights of Columbus, his association with the last named
indicating his membership in the Roman Catholic church. He belongs to the Jamestown
Commercial Club and cooperates heartily with that organization in its efforts to advance
the interests of Jamestown and Stutsman county. He not only has the respect of all
with whom he has been associated but has also gained the warm friendship of many.
HON. C. I. F. WAGNER.
Hon. C- I. F. Wagner, cashier of the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Rolla, was born
in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in December, 1861, a son of the Rev. John M. and Sarah
F. (Voorhees) Wagner, the former a native of Germany and the latter of New Jersey.
In his boyhood days John M. Wagner crossed the Atlantic to America, settling in New
Brunswick, New Jersey, where he was educated for the ministry of the Dutch Reformed
church. He devoted his entire life to that holy calling and during his last twenty-five
years engaged in preaching in Brooklyn. The marriage ceremonies which he performed
and the funeral services which he attended exceeded the days of the year. He was a
very pojnilar minister, loved and honored by all who knew him. He passed away in Novem-
ber, 1894, and his wife died one week later.
772 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
C. I. F. Wagner was a pupil in Wright's Business College of Brooklyn, New York, after
attending the public schools and for a year he was employed in a wholesale commission
house in New York. In 1882 he arrived in the territory of Dakota, settling at Grand
Harbor, near Devils Lake, although there was no town there at the time. It was Mr.
Wagner and F. Eugene Farrell who in 1883 established the first newspaper in the district,
the Devils Lake Globe, which paper they conducted until 1884, when they removed to
Dunseith, North Dakota, a new town which had just been founded. Two years afterward
Mr. Wagner bought out his partner and continued the publication of the paper until 1S9G,
when he was elected register of deeds of Rolette county and entered upon the duties of
that position, in which he was continued for eight years. In 1904 he was again called
to ollice, being elected to represent his district in the state legislature, and in 1906 he
was made the representative of his district in the state senate. His public career has ever
been characterized by loyalty to duty, capability in office and strict adherence to high
ideals of citizenship.
In 1903 Mr. Wagner, in company with C. R. Gailfus organized the Rolette County
Abstract Company and within a year they had made money enough to erect the present
bank building. Mr. Wagner continued in the abstract business until 1907, when he returned
to Dunseith, where he established a hardware store which he conducted for three years.
At the end of that time he took charge of the Dunseith State Bank, of which he was manager
for three years, after which he was offered the position of cashier of the Farmers & Mer-
chants Bank of RoUa in 1913. He has since served in that capacity and his ability has
contributed much to the upbuilding and success of the institution. He also owns six hun-
dred and forty acres of land in Rolette county and likewise has landed interests in Canada
and in Florida.
Mr. Wagner has been married twice. On the 1st of May, 1886, ho wedded Leah
Nore De Esterre and they became the parents of seven children, namely: Martin, Norman
L., Charles, Leah C, Fred, James and Lucille. The son Charles is now fighting with the
French army in the great European war. The wife and mother passed away in November,
1903, and in March, 1906, Mr. Wagner was united in marriage to Miss Algie V. Stewart.
Mr. Wagner has always been a republican in his political views and aside from filling the
offices already mentioned he served as the first coroner of Rolette county and is the
present public administrator. He belongs to the ]\Iasouic fraternity and to the Eastern
Star, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Presbyterian church.
His activities have been of a nature that have contributed to the material upbuilding of
the state, to the attainment of better conditions in citizenship and to the upholding of higher
individual standards.
AUGUST L. KKUMM.
August L. Krumm is widely known throughout Cass county and is one of tlic foremost
residents of Durbin, where he is engaged in general merchandising and is also filling the
office of postmaster. He is likewise identified with agricultural interests as he owns eight
hundred acres of fine land in the county. A native of Germany, he was born on the 37th
of June, 1858, and is a son of John H. and Christina Krumm, who were lifelong residents of
the fatherland. To them were born seven children, of whom one is now deceased.
August L. Krumm was roared at home and received his education in his native land
but in 1880, when twenty-two years of age, he decided to try his fortune in America. lie at
once located in Cass county, North Dakota, whore he was employed on a farm until 1S82, when
he filed on a homestead, on which he resided for about a year. In 189.3 ho purcliased six
hundred and forty acres on sections 11 and 13, !Maple River township, and took up his
residence upon that place. He lived there for nine years, during which time he made
many improvements upon the farm, and subsequently he bought an additional one hundred
and sixty acres, making his holdings eight hundred acres in all. In 1904 he left the farm
and removed to Durbin, where he has since conducted a general store. He carries a well
selected stock and as he gives full value for the money received and strives to please hia
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 773
patrons he has met with gratifying success in his business. Since 1906 he has also served
as postmaster.
In 1895 Mr. Krumm was united in marriage to Misa Mary L. Kaut, a native of Wis-
consin, by whom he has had seven children: Jennie M., Emma L., Louisa M., John H.,
Francis W., Charles L. and Alice D. John H. is deceased.
Jlr. Krumm votes the republican ticket and for a number of years has been a member
of the school board. Both he and his wife belong to the Evangelical church. He is a typical
resident of the west, for he has the qualities of self-reliance, perseverance and the readiness
to take advantage of an opportunity. When he came to Cass county he was without money
and he has always relied upon his own resources but as the years have passed his capital has
steadily increased and he is now a man of independent means.
WILLIAM R. KELLOGG.
William E. Kellogg, editor of the Jamestown Alert, is one of the most widely known
journalists of the state, having been identified with newspaper publications here for a
third of a century. When statehood was being agitated he was one of the leaders in the
movement and has at all times been an advocate of progressive measures. He was born in
Pittsfield, Illinois, in 1857, a son of D. F. and Helen Kellogg, both members of old New England
families. They were pioneer settlers of Illinois and performed well their part in the develop-
ment of their section of the state.
After comoleting the course offered by the public schools of Pittsfield, William R.
Kellogg entered the Illinois College at Jacksonville, Illinois. In 1882, in early manhood, he
came to Dakota territory and became connected with the Fargo Argus under Major Edwards,
one of the pioneer publishers of the state. He worked on the Argus until 1885, when he
purchased the Jamestown Alert, which he has conducted during the three decades that have
intervened. He has made the paper one of the most influential dailies in the state and it has
time and time again been felt as a strong force making for advancement and civic righteous-
ness. Its progressiveness and the reliability of its news columns have gained it a wide and
representative circulation and it carries a large amount of high grade advertising.
0. W. GRAVES.
One of the most wide-awake and progressive business men of Bottineau county is C. W.
Graves, a well known druggist of Lansford and secretary of the Lansford Commercial Club,
of which he was one of the founders. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, December 26,
1883, and is a son of Thomas and Emma (Thruen) Graves, who are still living and now
reside in Warsaw, Minnesota. The mother is a native of Rice county, that state, but the
birth of the father occurred in Illinois. By occupation he is a carpenter and builder.
C. W. Graves completed his literary education in the Faribault high school and at the
age of fifteen years began his business career as a clerk in a drug store at Morristown,
Minnesota, where he received his first lessons in pharmacy. In 1900 he entered the pharma-
ceutical department of the University of Minnesota, where he was a student for two years,
and was later employed as a pharmacist in Minneapolis until 1905. In that year he left his
native state and removed to Lansford, North Dakota, where for two years he held the posi-
tion of pharmacist in the drug store of Samuel Turner. At the end of that time he and
James Dunn bought out his employer and connected the business under the firm name of
the Donnybrook Drug Company for two years. In 1909 Mr. Graves purchased his partner's
interest in the business, which he has since conducted independently with marked success.
Under his ownership the drug store has become one of the most modern pharmacies of
North Dakota. Besides this property he owns a good farm of one hundred and sixty acres
in Ward county.
Mr. Graves was married in 1907 to Miss Delia Fink, of Berthold, North Dakota, who was
774 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
at that time engaged in teaching in this state. Tliey liave become the parents of three
children, namely: lone A., Beryl K. and Truman F. Fraternally Mr. Graves is a member
of Lansford Lodge, Xo. 82, A. F. & A. M., and politically he afiiliates with the republican
party. As previously stated he is secretary of the Lansford Commercial Club and is one of
the must ]iublic-si)irited and progressive citizens of the town, taking a very active interest
in its development and upbuilding.
EDWARD WITHNELL.
Edward Withnell, postmaster of Nortonville and president of the North Dakota League
of Postmasters, was born in Lancashire, England, on the 38th of June, 1858, his parents
being Tlionias and ]':iiza (Nightingale) \\'ithncll. The father died during the boyhood of his
son Edward and in 1881 the mother followed two of her older sons to the United States,
passing away in Jamestown, North Dakota, in 1915, when she had reached the age of
seventy-nine years.
Edward Withnell was educated in the public schools of England and on reaching early
manhood found employment in a bleach works as a "maker up" but thinking to enjoy
better opportunities in the new world, he crossed the Atlantic in 1885 and made his way
direct to Jamestown, North Dakota, where he was first employed as a section hand on the
James River Valley Railroad, working in that way for eight days. He then secured the
position of material clerk with the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, having charge of the
material department. He filled that important position for six years and continued in
the employ of the Northern Pacific in other capacities until 1899, when lie arrived in
Lamoure county and purchased a half section of land two miles west of Nortonville. He
then turned his attention to farming, to which he devoted his energies until 1912, when
he retired and removed to Nortonville. On the 2Sth of February, 1913, on the establishment
of the postoffice in that town, he was appointed the first postmaster and is still acting in
that capacity.
In 1878 occurred the marriage of Mr. Withnell and Miss Anna Haslem, by whom
he had five children, of whom three are yet living: Emma, the wife of Arthur Harrington, a
farmer of Lamoure county; Alice, the wife of Jacob Vink, who farms in Lamoure county;
and May, the wife of Chester Denton, of Wilsall, Montana. The wife and mother passed
away in 1908 and Mr. Withnell subsequent!}' wedded Miss Rosena Bingley, of Edgeley.
Politically Mr. Withnell is a republican, believing firmly in the juinciples of the party,
and he has served as a member of the town board, while for several years he was a member
of the school board. He belongs to Jamestown Ixidge, No. 6. F. & A. M., and to Edgeley
Lodge, K. P., and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He
was honored at the meeting of the Postmasters' State League convention, held in Fargo
the last week of July, 1916, by being elected president of the organization, in which
connection one of the county papers said: "The honor conferred on :Mr. Withnell is a fitting
tribute to his executive ability and indeed justly placed. While Mr. Withnell may be
pleased by the action of his fellow members in honoring him with the olTice, his delight
could hardly be greater than that of his many Lamoure county friends, who are very
proud to know that the honor was conferred upon a fellow citizen."
HON. CHARLES O. HECKLE.
Hon. Charles 0. Heckle, a prominent attorney of Lisbon and ^(ate senator from the
fourteenth legislative district for the term of 1912-1916, is classed with the builders of Ran-
som county because of his well defined activity and progressiveness along lines which lead to
material and political progress. He was born in Dccorah, Iowa, on tlie Ktli of November, 18G5,
a son of John and Mary A. (Stewart) Heckle, the former a native of I'ennsylvania and the
latter of Ireland, whence she came to America with her parents when a maiden of nine
HON. CHARLES 0. HECKLE
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 777
summers. John Heckle cast in his lot with the pioneer residents of Iowa, where for many
years he followed the blacksmith's trade, which he had learned in early life. He resided in
Winneshiek county for almost sixty years and passed away at the home of his son in Burr
Oak, that county, at the very venerable age of ninety-three years, while his wife reached the
advanced age of eighty-seven.
Charles O. Heckle, after completing his studies in the Burr Oak high school, took up the
profession of teaching and on the 9th of July, 1886, arrived in North Dakota, where for seven
years he engaged in teaching school. He afterward served for four years as deputy county
treasurer and in 1898 he entered the law department of Highland Park College at Des Moines,
Iowa, from which he was graduated in the spring of 1901, receiving at that time his law
degree, his diploma bearing the date of May 9th of that year.
In the same month Mr. Heckle came to North Dakota, passed the required examination
before the supreme court at Fargo and made his way direct to Lisbon, where he has since
been located. His success as a barrister has been pronounced and he has risen to distinction
in his profession. His cases are always carefully analyzed and the judicial trend of his mind
enables him to readily understand the facts and legal principles bearing upon his cause and
precludes the possibility of presenting evidence that does not have a direct bearing upon the
point at issue. He is strong in argument, logical in his deductions and clear in his reasoning.
Not only has he been active in the interpretation of the law, but in 1910 was chosen to
represent his district in the state senate. His first election was for the short term and in
November, 1911, he was reelected for the four years' term. As a law maker he has left the
impress of his individuality upon the history of the state during that period, loyally support-
ing all those measures which he regards as beneficial to the commonwealth. His political
allegiance has ajways been given to the republican party, but he has never allowed partisan-
ship to stand before the public welfare.
Mr. Heckle is a member of Sheyenne Valley Lodge, No. 12, F. & A. M., and has attained
the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in the consistory, while his membership also
extends to the Mystic Shrine at Fargo. He is likewise a member of the Knights of Pythias
and of Mystic Lodge, No. 14, I. 0. 0. F. He has important business connections outside the
strict path of his profession, for he is a stockholder in the Farmers State Bank of Anselm
and he owns a valuable farm of three hundred and twenty acres northeast of Lisbon. He is
likewise secretary of the Lisbon Land & Loan Agency and thus in various business connec-
tions as well as in public life he is contributing to the material development of the district
in which he lives. There is no question as to the value of his citizenship and his patriotic
spirit and his fellow townsmen trust and honor him because of the course that he has followed
and because of what he has accomplished for the public weal.
DAVID M. HOLMES.
David M. Holmes, actively engaged in the insurance business in Grand Forks, in which
connection he has gained a large clientage, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 29,
1851. a son of Hugh and Jane (Love) Holmes. In the paternal line he represents one of
the old American families, the original progenitor coming to the new world in 1640, at
which time he settled in Massachusetts, while later a removal was made to Pennsylvania,
which has long been the ancestral home. The Love family came from the north of Ireland,
representatives arriving in America in 1708, when settlement was made in Pennsylvania. On
leaving the Keystone state Hugh Holmes removed to North Dakota in 1881. In early life
he engaged in railroad contracting and in blacksmithing but after coming to the northwest
retired from active business. He was born in 1807 and passed away in Grand Forks in 1883,
while his wife, who was born, reared, educated and married in Pennsylvania, died in Phila-
delphia in 1865, at the age of fifty-one years.
David M. Holmes is the last survivor of a family of five children, two sons and three
daughters, and was the youngest of the number. He attended school in Philadelphia and in
1865 went to Caledonia, Elk county, Pennsylvania, where he was connected with the lumber
business. He was only nineteen years of age when in 1871 he arrived in North Dakota and
778 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
took up the work of ilatboating on the Red river. After a brief period he engaged in govern-
ment work with a surveying crew, laying out the township and subdivision lines, spending
two years in that service. He next went to work for the Hudson's Bay Company, with which
he continued for a year, at the end of which time he was appointed manager at (jrand Forks
for the Western Union Telegraph Company. In 1S70 he went to the Black Hills and while
on that trip became involved in a combat with a band of Indians. He engaged in prospect-
ing all through the Black Hills from February until August, 1876, and then again went to
Grand Forks, where he was once more made manager for the Western Union Telegraph
Company. The city was at that time a tiny hamlet on the western frontier and in 1877
he established the first drug store of Grand Forks, continually developing the business until
1900, when he sold out. He was one of the earliest merchants of the city and for many
years has figured as one of the leading business men. After retiring from the drug trade-
he was elected county treasurer, which position he filled for four years, and in 1904 he was-
the candidate for governor on the democratic ticket but was defeated for that office. He next
entered the field of insurance, in which he has since operated, and his success has grown with
the passing of the years.
Again and again Mr. Holmes has been called to positions of public honor and trust and in
all such has proved his loyalty to the best interests and development of city and state. For
two terms he was mayor of Grand Forks and gave to the city a most businesslike and pro-
gressive administration. He was the first county surveyor of Grand Forks county and the
second county superintendent of schools. He also was made register of deeds and filled all
three offices at the same period. He served as deputy postmaster of Grand Forks and from
the ealiest period of development he has been closely associated with the upbuilding and
progress of the city.
On the 10th of March, 1879, Mr. Holmes was united in marriage to Miss Rebecca Schla-
berg, of Grand Forks, a daughter of ilr. and Mrs. Charles Schlaberg, of Iowa. They became
the parents of three children: Mrs. Jessie Fulton, of Great Falls, Montana, who has one-
child, Holmes Montgomery I*"ulton, of Great Falls; Frank, who was born in Grand Forks and
is now married and makes his home in Dcs Moines, Iowa, where he is connected with the
Bitulithic Paving Company; and Mrs. Vivian Hunter, of Grand Forks, who has two children,
David Kenneth Hunter and Ralph Hunter.
Mr. Holmes is a very prominent Mason and has been master of perfection of Carmel'
Lodge of Perfection, A. & A. S. R., for the past twenty-eight years. The honorary thirty-
third degree has been conferred upon him and he enjoys in highest measure the confidence
and regard of his fellow members of the craft. His acquaintance in the state is wide and
honors have come to him in recognition of his ability and patriotic loyalty to the best
interests of the state. He is familiar with every phase of North Dakota's development and
progress and has left the stamp of his individuality upon its upbuilding. No history of the
state would be complete without extended reference to this man, who was a pioneer of
Grand Forks and of the Black Hills country and was closely associated with all of those-
activities which m.-irked the early development of the district in wliiili he yet resides.
CHARLES GLITSCHKA.
Charles Glitschka. who is conducting a well patronized anuisement parlor in Bismarck,
was born in Carver, Minnesota, on the 28th of .January, 1863, a son of William and Elizabetlii
Glitschka. In 1877 the family came to North Dakota and settled at Bismarck, where the
father engaged in merchandising until his death on New Year's day, ISOS. His wife is also
deceased. They were the parents of nine children, four sons and five daughters.
Charles Glitschka was educated in the public schools and when fourteen years of age-
began his business career, becoming connected with merchandising at that time. He con-
tinued to follow mercantile pursuits in Bismarck until February, 1914, when he sold his
store, and he has since devoted his time and attention to the conduct of an amusement parlor.
His place is well equipped and is accorded a representative and profitable patronage. He-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 779
also has the agency for the Hollier eight-cylinder motor and owns considerable real estate
in North Dakota.
Mr. Glitschka is an adlierent of the democratic party and fraternally is a Knight of
Pythias and an Elk. At the time of the Spanish-American war he served as clerk in Company
A, First North Dakota Volunteers. He went with the regiment to the Philippines and was
at the front for seventeen months, serving during a year of that time as clerk. His com-
mand was in much hard fighting and he saw a great deal of active service. He has resided
in North Dakota for almost four decades and during that time has seen a development little
short of marvelous. AVlien he accompanied his parents to Bismarck in 1S77 there was only a
small town of tents and log cabins that gave little promise of developing into the capital
city of today. At that time the white settlement ceased at the Missouri river and even in
the eastern part of the state the pioneer villages were so far apart that each community had
to rely almost entirely on itself for protection from the Indians. These hard conditions of
early life developed in the settlers unusual hardihood and self-reliance. That our subject was
a true son of the frontier is indicated by the fact that when but a boy he made a trip of
one hundred and twenty-five miles during extremely cold weather and bought three thousand
dollars worth of furs for his father, who was engaged in the fur business. He was caught
in a severe storm and, to make matters worse, his horse gave out and it took him eleven days
to make the trip, but he was undaunted by difficulties and at length reached home in safety.
He has always retained a love of outdoor life and of manly sports, such as fishing and hunting,
and he likewise finds great pleasure in motoring. He has thoroughly identified his interests
with those of the state and no movement seeking its advancement or development lacks his
heartiest support.
ROBERT GETTY.
Commercial enterprise in Stutsman county finds a worthy representative in Robert Getty,
who owns and conducts a general store at Montpelier. A native of Ireland, he was born on
the 1st of December, 1875, a son of John and Margaret (Agnew) Getty, who are also natives
of the Emerald isle, on which they resided until 1880, when they left that country to seek
a home in the new world. Settling in Minnesota, they purchased land near Blue Earth and
there the father concentrated his efforts upon general farming, his work bringing to him
a measure of success that has enabled him to provide comfortably for his family. To Mr.
and Mrs. Getty were born six children, of whom Robert is the third, and the family circle
still remains unbroken by the hand of death.
Robert Getty was a little lad of but five summers when the voyage to the new world
was made and in the schools of Minnesota he pursued his education, while upon the home
farm he was trained to habits of industry, economy and perseverance. When not busy with
his textbooks his attention was given to the work of the fields and he continued to assist
his father until he attained his majority, when he began farming on his own account. The
year 1905 witnessed his arrival in North Dakota, at which time he settled in Kidder county,
where he homesteaded, thereafter giving his attention to general farming and stock raising
until 1910. His labors were manifest in the cultivation of the fields, which annually brought
forth good harvests. He worked diligently day after day in reclaiming the wild land and
converting it into productive fields. In April, 1911, he removed to Crystal Springs, where
he entered the general mercantile field, remaining there until November, 1914, when he
established a store at Montpelier, having disposed of his interests at Crystal Springs. At
both places his business was attended with a steady growth consequent upon his close applica-
tion and keen business discrimination. His stock of goods is attractive and in the manage-
ment of his store he is assisted by one clerk and also by his wife. He is still interested in
farm lands from the standpoint of a speculator and he owns property in Kidder county.
In 1900 Mr. Getty was married to Miss Edith Cook, who was born in Blue Earth,
Minnesota, May 21, 1876, a daughter of Silas and Hannah Cook, both early residents of
Minnesota. In their family were six children, of whom Mrs. Getty is the third. The father
is now deceased but the mother still resides at Blue Earth. Mr. and Mrs. Getty have three
780 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
children: Eva, born February 21, lUOG; Hazel, born May 18, 1909; aiul Berniec, born December
21, 1911.
In his political views Jlr. Getty is a reiniblican mul his fellow townsmen, ai)i)reciating
his worth and ability, have called him to several local ollices. He was formerly a member
of the town board and was president of the board in Tanner township, Kidder county, for two
terms. He also served on the school board of the same township for four years. He is an
exemplary representative of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to the lodge at Jamestown.
He attends the Presbyterian cliurch of Montpelier and the rules which have governed him
in all of his life's relations are those which measure up to high standards of manhood and
citizenship. Almost his entire life has been passed in the west and the spirit of enterprise
which has led to the rapid development of this section of the country has been manifest in
his entire career, gaining liim advancement along the lines of his chosen life work.
CLAYTON E. BRACE.
Clayton E. Brace, who is a well known member of the bar at Crosby and was elected
states attorney of Divide county in 191C, was born in Houston county, Minnesota, near the
present town of Mabel, Fillmore county, July 21, 1878, a son of Silas C. and Ella (Dibble)
Brace. The father was born in Cattaraugus county, New York, August 25, ISol, and in 1859
accompanied his parents to northeastern Iowa, where he was reared and acquired his pre-
liminary education. He afterward attended a private academy at Decorah, Iowa, and later
taught school in that state and in soutlieastern Minnesota. In 1S73 he removed to Jlinne-
sota and engaged in the lumber business in Mabel from the time of the establishment of the*
town until 1913. He then retired and removed to his farm near Backus, Minnesota, where
he now makes his home. His wife was born in New York, December 17, 1853, and in pioneer
times accompanied her parents to Brownsville, Minnesota, where her father conducted a
hotel at a period when all travel was principally by boat on the Mississippi river.
Clayton E. Brace was but eight years of age when his mother passed away. He had
been born upon the farm and was only two years of age wlien the family removed to Mabel,
where he attended the common schools. He was also a higli school jnipil in Preston, Jlinne-
sota, and following his graduation with the class of 1897 he took up the profession of teach-
ing, but regarded it merely as an initial step to other professional labor, as it was his desire
to become a member of the bar. With that end in view he studied law in the office of H. S.
Bassett at Preston for two and one-half years and then entered the University of Minne-
sota, being graduated from the law department with the class of 1901, at which time the
Bachelor of Laws degree was conferred upon him. He was then admitted to practice and
followed his profession in Mabel, Minnesota, for a year. Later he removed to Woods county,
Oklahoma, where he practiced law for a year and then returned to Mabel. In August, 1905,
he went to Westhope, North Dakota, and in 1909 opened an ollice at Ambrose, Williams
county. The following year he took active part in bringing about the division of the county,
whereby Divide county was created, and in that year he was appointed states attorney and
removed to Crosby, the county seat. He filled the office for one term and then resumed the
private practice of law in Crosby. In 1916 he was nominated and elected to the office of
states attorney and previously he served as city attorney of Westhope and of Crosby. He is
also vice president of the park board of CVosby and there is no phase of the city's develop-
ment in which he is not deeply interested, giving his aid and sujjport to many plans and
measures for the public good. The park board with which he is identified has through hard
work secured several plots of ground and has laid out a number of parks according to a
'"city beautiful" plan. This work has been conducted along the line of modern thought in
this connection, includes playgrounds for the children and embodies all the other ideas that
are built upon the need of mankind for recreation and outdoor life.
On the 24th of January, 190G, in Mabel, Minnesota, Mr. Brace was married to Miss
Minnie Redo, who was born at Lansing, Iowa, a daughter of Nels and Antoinette (Farrisen)
Redo. The father was born and educated in Sweden and in young manhood came to America,
following the stone mason's trade in Iowa until his death, wliich occurred when his daughter,
CLAYTON E. BEACE
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 783
Mrs. Brace, was but a little girl. The mother was born in Iowa and died prior to her hus-
band's death, thus leaving orphaned a family of seven children. After completing a high school
course Mrs. Brace taught school in Iowa, in and near Lansing, up to two years before her
marriage. She has become the mother of four children: Ella Antoinette, born in Westhope;
Clayton E., born in Ambrose, North Dakota; and Leona Redo and William Silas, born in
Crosby.
The religious faith of the family is that of the Presbyterian church and Mr. Brace is a
prominent member of Crosby Lodge, No. lOS, F. & A. M., of which he is now master, while
both he and his wife are connected with the Order of the Eastern Star, in which Mrs. Brace
is holding office. Mr. Brace was a prime mover in the organization of the Commercial Club,
of which he is now president, and is also president of the Divide County Fair Association, of
which he was one of the organizers. There is no feature of progressive public life in his com-
munity that does not elicit his support and his work in behalf of the city has been far-reach-
ing and resultant. He is a broad-minded man of liberal education and his love of learning
is indicated in the fact that he possesses the largest library in Crosby. In a word, he keeps
in touch with the best thinking men of the age on all sociological, political and economic
questions and at the same time he finds opportunity for mental culture and because of the
innate refinement of his nature is opposed to anything common.
CHARLES J. LEE.
Charles J. Lee, a Fargo capitalist numbered among Wisconsin's native sons, was born
at Arcadia, Trempealeau county, that state, January 9, 1869, and comes of a family who
largely followed the occupation of farming in Norway, where John Lee, father of Charles J.
Lee, was born in the year ISIO. Coming to America, he settled in Wisconsin in pioneer times,
securing a homestead claim where Winona now stands. He maiTied Miss Christina .Johnson
and later removed to Halfway Creek, now called Holmen. Subsequently he became a
resident of Trempealeau county and was the first settler in the district now known as
Lee Valley, there passing his remaining days, his death occurring in 1888. He was a
man of marked business energy and accumulated considerable land.
Charles .J. Lee was reared in the usual manner of farm lads, dividing his time between
the work of the fields on the home farm, the duties of the schoolroom and the pleasures of
the playground. He arrived in Barnes county in 1887, when a youth of eighteen years,
and for one year was employed as a farm hand after which he accepted a clerkship in a
store in Valley City and while thus employed also attended school. He realized the value
of educational training and in 1893 he entered the pharmaceutical department of the North-
western University at Chicago, from which he was graduated with the class of ISW. He
then returned to Valley City, where he embarked in the drug business, successfully conducting
his store until 1901, when he sold out to George Day. Having acquired considerable farm
land, he then gave his attention to his agricultural interests and he now owns and cul-
tivates seven sections of land, thus becoming one of the most extensive farmers of Barnes
county. He likewise owns considerable property in Valley City and he has contributed
to the substantial improvement of the place by the erection of the Valley Hotel, a two-
story structure and finished basement, seventy-five by one hundred feet, and containing
sixty-five rooms. It is a thoroughly modern structure supplied with hot and cold wafer
in each room and other up-to-date conveniences. He has also erected other buildings in
Valley City and he was one of the organizers and the president of the Equity Rural
Credit Association, having its head offices in Fargo. He was likewise a leader in the pro-
motion of the Equity International Bank, which was opened at Fargo in 1916 and of which
he became the first president. He has removed to Fargo to take an active part in the
management of those two concerns and of other equity enterprises. He also organized
the American National Bank of Valley City, of which he has been a director from the
beginning.
In 1887 Mr. Lee wast married to Miss Mary Halverson, a native of Trempealeau county,
784 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Wisconsin, and their children are: Carl John, attending the Valley City State Xormal; and
Victor Jolin, Edwin Howard, Junette Marion and CliH'ord Marvin, all in school.
Mr. Loe several times served as alderman of Valley City and was the father of the
present waterworks system, which is considered the best in the northwest. He it was who
suggested and promoted the municipal ownership of the electric light plant and also of the
new sewerage system. He has closely studied the question of public utilities and believes
strongly in municipal ownership. He has been honored with the presidency of the North
Dakota Pharmaceutical Association and fraternally he is connected with the Elks and the
Knights of Pythias.
HON. H. M. ERICKSON.
Hon. H. M. Eriokson, cashier of the Security State Bank of Upham, was born in Norway,
September 10, 1875, and was therefore but six years of age when in 1881 his parents,
Hans and Bertha (Knudson) Erickson, brought their family to the United States. They
established their home in Jones county, Iowa, and after three years removed to Fillmore
county, Minnesota, where the father engaged in farming throughout his remaining days,
becoming one of the representative agriculturists of that locality. He died in April, 1911,
and his widow now makes her home with a daughter in Fillmore county.
Mr. Erickson acquired his education in the public schools of Mabel, Minnesota, sup-
plemented by a business course in the Valder Business College at Decorah, Iowa, from which
institution he was graduated with the class of 1896. He then returned home, assisting
his father in the work of the farm for a year, at the end of which time he went to
Grand Forks, where he pursued a course in stenography under private instruction. He
then became identified with the abstract, titlCj real estate and insurance business of H.
Bendeke & Company of Grand Forks, remaining in the employ of that firm until 1905, after
which he went to Grafton, North Dakota, and organized an abstract, title and insurance
business, which he conducted until 1906, when he sold out to H. A. McConnell. On the
1st of November of that year he removed to Upham and became interested in banking as
cashier of the Security State Bank, in which capacity he has since continued, and the
success and growth of the institution are attributable in no small measure to his careful
management, close application and progressive methods.
In 1902 Mr. Erickson was married to !Miss Hilda Dahl, of East Grand Forks, Minnesota,
and they have become the parents of two children, Doris E. and Hamilton. Mr. and Mrs.
Erickson hold membership in the Norwegian Lutheran church and he also belongs to the
Sons of Norway. He is likewise well known in IMasonic circles, holding membership in
Meadow Lodge, No. 85. F. & A. M., Mystic Chapter, No 13, R. A. M., Loraine Commandery,
K. T., of Bottineau, and Kem Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., of Grand Forks. He is likewise
a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge at Grand Forks and of the American Yeomen.
His political allegiance is given to the republican party and in 1914 he was chosen to rep-
resent his district in the state legislature, of which he is yet a member.
CHARLES SUMNER BUCK.
Charles Sumner Buck, who is engaged in the practice of law in .Jamestown, was born at
Steamburg, New York, on the 16th of March, 1868, a son of Amasa and Lucy (Hayward)
Buck. The paternal ancestors came from England in 1635 and the maternal ancestors from
the same country in 1640. Representatives of the family in both lines were found in the
war of the Revolution. Amasa Buck was born at Bath, New Hampshire, and served as a
soldier in the Civil war, becoming a member of Company H, Sixty-fourth New York
Volunteer Infantry with which he continued for three years and three months. He died in
1879, while his wife, who was born at Sodus, New York, March 7, 1837, passed away in 1891.
Charles Sumner Buck attended Chamberlain Institute at Randolph, New York, from
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 785
which he was graduated with the class of 1887. In 1893 he removed to North Dakota,
locating at New Rockford and two years later he came to Jamestown. He afterward
became a student in the University of Minnesota, at Minneapolis, and was graduated
therefrom in 1902 with the degree of LL. B., having there prepared for the bar. In the
meantime he had worked on the home farm as a boy and had later clerked in a drug
store for seven years. He then became a commercial traveler in North Dakota, spending
three years in that way and since 1903 he has continuously practiced law in this state.
He was also cashier of a bank for two years and a half but the major part of his atten-
tion for the past decade and a half has been given to his law practice. For five years he
has been general attorney for the Midland Continental Railroad and his private practice
has been of an important and distinctly representative character. For four years he has
been a director of the Midland Continental Railroad and he is a director of the Jamestown
Gas Company.
At Minneapolis, Minnesota, on the 29th of August, 1900, Mr. Buck was united in
marriage to Miss Nellie M. Lenhart, a daughter of W. and Mary Lenhart. Her father
was a soldier of the Civil war and one of the early pioneers of Iowa and North Dakota.
The children of this marriage are Lucy Elizabeth, who was born April 4, 1902; Charles
Sumner, Jr., born July 1, 1905; and Marian Luella, born April 6, 1907.
Tlie religious faith of the family is that of the Presbyterian church and Mr. Buck
has served as one of the elders of the church since 1909. He was one of the committee of
five that organized the pi'esent Young Men's Christian Association in Jamestown, and is one
of its directors and takes an active part in its work. Fraternally he is connected with the
Masons, the Elks and the Knights of Pythias, Politically he is a republican of the con'ier-
vative, progressive type. He believes in protective tariff and in a reasonable military pre-
paredness, a preparedness for defence rather than for attack. In 1913 he was elected a
member of the North Dakota legislature and as both lawmaker and lawyer he has made
an excellent record, doing much to uphold the legal and political status of the state and to
further advance intellectual and moral progress.
FRANK C. NYE.
Frank C. Nye, owner and editor of the Lansford .Journal, published at Lansford, Bottineau
county, is a representative of the spirit of modern journalism which has made the weekly
paper of the northwest a rival in content and interest of many of the city dailies. Minne-
sota claims Mr. Nye as a native son, his birth having occurred at Wells, September 4, 1878.
His parents, Joseph M. and Esther (Roberts) Nye, were both natives of Quebec, Canada,
and when a youth of sixteen years the former crossed the border into the United States
and during the period of the Civil war served for two years as a military telegraph operator.
He afterward worked as telegraph operator at the Stock Exchange in New Y''ork for three
ye.Trs and in the meantime was married and about 1873 removed to Jlinnesota, settling at
Wells, where he became train dispatcher for the Southern Minnesota Railroad, now a part of
the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul system. He occupied that position for several years
and then engaged in the banking business, but failure overtook him in that connection and he
afterward established a drug store. Eventually he was elected county superintendent of
schools at Faribault, Minnesota, and occupied that position for eight years, the school system
being greatly improved under his direction. In 1901 he reniovec^ to Inkster, North Dakota,
■where he lived retired until his death in February, 1903. His widow still survives and now
makes her home in Park River.
Frank C. Nye was largely reared and educated in Wells, Minnesota, and he. too, turned
to the profession of teaching in early manhood, devoting five years to that work. He
afterward learned the printer's trade, at which he was employed in Wells until 1903, when
he became a resident of Inkster, Grand Forks county. North Dakota. He then purchased a
printing plant and engaged in business along that line until 1913, when he went to Grand
Forks and spent a year in connection with the Herald. On the expiration of that period he
removed to Lansford, Bottineau county, and purchased the Lansford Journal, which he has
786 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
since owned and publislied. lie luis a well eqnippod newspaper ollice, supplied with modern
presses and all equipment for doing exeellent job work as well as newspa|)er publieation.
On the 1st of November, lUUi, Mr. Nye was married to Miss Myrtle I'ritehard and to
them have been born two children: Chester F., born March 10, 1911; and William M., born
May 3, 1913.
IVlr. Nye is a stalw^art advocate of the republican party and publishes his paper in its
support. He served as justice of tlie peace in Grand Forks county for six years and his
decisions were strictly fair and impartial but he lias never been an aspirant for public office,
being content to do his duties in citizenship in a private capacity. Fraternally he is con-
nected with the Odd Fellows lodge and the Rebecca degree and he also lias membership with
the Yeomen and the Modern Woodmen of America. He and his wife belong to the Episcopal
church and their inlluence is always on the side of right, truth, progress and improvement.
GEORGE F. PETERSON.
George F. Peterson, cashier of the First State Bank of Russell, is a native of the
neighboring state of Minnesota, his birth having occurred in Kandiyohi county on the 28th
of February, 1885. His parents, Charles A. and Ellen (Johnson) Peterson, are natives
of Sweden and in boyhood and girlhood da^'S came with their respective parents to the United
States, being reared in Minnesota, where they were married Soon afterward the.v estab-
lished their home upon a farm in Kandiyohi county, where they still reside.
Reared under the parental roof, George F. Peterson attended the public schools of
Atwater, Minnesota, and later matriculated in the Willniar Seminary, in which he pursued the
commercial course. Following the completion of his studies he went to Twin Valley,
Minnesota, and entered upon his business career as an employee of the First National Bank.
He started as bookkeeper and subsequently was made assistant cashier of that institution
and his fidelity, capability and loyalty are indicated in the fact that he remained with
the bank for eight years. Ambitious to make advancement in the business world, he
went to Russell, North Dakota, in February, 1910, to accept the position of cashier of the
First State Bank of that place and has since acted in that capacity. His loyalty to the
institution and his broad experience have made him a valuable oflicial and his etlorts have
contributed in substantial measure to its success.
In 1911 Mr. Peterson was united in marriage to Miss Rae Balin, of Russell. He gives
his political allegiance to the republican party and fraternally is identified with Russell
Lodge, No. 89, A. F. & A. M., of which he served as secretary for one year. The nature
and breadth of his interests make him one of the representative citizens of his town and
one whose etlorts have been a contributing factor to public progress and improvement.
GEORGE E. GILLMORE.
George E. Gillmore is a member of the linn of Gillmore & Tyvand, dealers in agri-
cultural implements, lumber and coal nt Barton. He is also the vice president of the
Farmers & Merchants Bank of Barton and is extensively engaged in farming. The variety
and importance of Ills l)usiness connections thus render him .a leading factor in the material
development of the district in which he lives. He was born in Norwood, St. Lawrence county,
New York, September 16, 1865, and is a son of Alfred and Margaret (Woster) Gillmore, the
former a native of Norwood, New Y'ork, and the latter of Ci'own Point, New York. The
father became a farmer of St. Lawrence comity, there carrying on general agricultural
pur.suits until his death, which occurred in 1895, his widow surviving him until lOi:'..
George E. Gillmore was educated in the district schools and in the Norwood high school
and through the summer months aided in the work of the home farm. He continued under
the parental roof until 1888, when he came to Dakota territory, settling first at Devils I.«nke,
where he worked for two j'cars as a farm hand. Subsequently he entered the employ of the
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 787
St. Anthony & Dakota Elevator Company as a grain buyer at Barton, in wliich capacity
he served for about fourteen years, and later he spent a year as traveling auditor witli the
firm. In 1903 he went to California, vi'here he remained for a year, returning to Barton in
June, 1904. In the fall of 1905 he became associated with James A. Tyvand in the establish-
ment of a lumberyard at Barton, which was the beginning of a fight to the death with the
old line yards; but after Mr. Gillmore and Mr. Tyvand had carried the fight into other
territory, establishing a yard at Rugby, the opponents were more than glad to make peace
on Mr. Gillmore's terms. As a consequence the firm of Gillmore & Tyvand absorbed one of
the old line yards and some years later acquired the St. Anthony & Dakota elevator at
Barton, which they have since operated. In 1903 they opened the Farmers & Merchants
Bank of Barton, of which Mr. Gillmore became and still remains the vice president. He is
a man of resourceful business ability, enterprising and alert and constantly watchful of
opportunities. As the years have gone on he has used his time and talents wisely and well
and, accomplishing what he has undertaken, has made for himself a most creditable position
in commercial and financial circles.
In 1893 Mr. Gillmore was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Olson, a native of Sweden,
by wliom he has seven children, namely: Alfred, Esther, Bertha, Pearl, Harvey, Myrtle and
Cal. Fraternally Mr. Gillmore is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America and his
wife is a member of the Lutheran church. In politics he is a stalwart republican but has
always refused public office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his individual inter-
ests. Forceful and resourceful, he is ever ready to meet any emergency, and when one avenue
of opportunity seems closed he marks out another path whereby he may reach the desired
goal. His determination is unfaltering and his persistency of purpose has ever been coupled
with the most honorable business dealings.
FRANIC E. STOTT.
Frank E. Stott, proprietor of a general store at Montpelier and thus identified with a
business activity which is proving an element in the material development of the state, was
born in Kirksville, Missouri, January 8, 1886, a son of Charles and Louise (Hayden) Stott,
who were farming people. Tluoughout the period of his minority the son remained under
the parental roof and in the acquirement of his education attended the high school of
Kirksville, the State Normal School of that place and the Kirksville Business College, in
which he pursued a commercial course. When not busy with his textbooks his attention
was given to the work of the home farm and his early practical experience along that line
proved of marked value to him when in 1898 he came to North Dakota and homesteaded a
quarter section in Lamoure county, obtaining the southwest quarter of section 4, township
136, range 64. He proved up on that property and occupied it for seven years, his unre-
mitting labor converting the raw prairie land into rich and productive fields.
In 1905 Mr. Stott traded his farm for the general store of which he is now the owner.
It was located at the corner of Bailey and Front streets, in Montpelier, and the building
was included in the trade. He continued to conduct business there for eight years but in
1913 sold the building and erected a new business block of two stories on Bailey street con-
siderably larger than the one which he first occupied. He accordingly increased his stock and
now carries a large and carefully selected line of general merchandise, including dry goods,
ladies' and men's furnishings, groceries and in fact everything but hardware. In 1912 he
was joined in a partnership by H. A. Hughes but Mr. Stott still remains the active head
of the business. This store was established by William Campbell in 1905 but had only
been conducted for six months when it was taken over by Mr. Stott, who has proven one
of the progressive merchants of Stutsman county, possessing marked energy and enterprise
leading to substantial success. He has also engaged in farming near the village in which
he lives and he^has other important business connections, being a stockholder and president
of the board of directors of the Montpelier Farmers Elevator Company, and a stockholder,
director and treasurer of the Montpelier Telephone Company.
Mr. Stott exercises his right of fianchise in support of the men and measures of the
788 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
republican party and lias filled various local offices in the township and village, the duties
of which he discharged so promptly and faithfully that he was again called to positions of
public trust. He belongs to the Modern Woodmen camp and to the Odd Fellows lodge in
Montpelier and his cooperation in any movement is considered of value.
HON. WALTER MUIR.
Walter Miiir, deceased, who was a pioneer citizen of Hunter and for many years one
of tlie most prominent figures in North Dakota politics, being known as the father of popu-
lism in this state, in all public connections manifested a devotion to duty that rested upon
a clear understanding of the obligations of mankind in public service as well as in private
life. A native of Scotland, he was born on the 22d of April, 1836, and had therefore almost
reached the eightieth milestone of life's journey when his death occurred in January, 1916.
His parents were William and Agnes (Strong) Muir. The mother died in Scotland and some
time afterward the father married Miss Klizabeth Simms and with her came to the United
States in 1848, settling at Eoundout, New York. Later a removal was made to Chicago and
subsequently they took up their abode upon a farm in Lake county, Illinois, where they
remained until called to their final rest.
Walter Muir was a lad of twelve years at the time of the removal of the family fiom
Scotland to the new world and he supplemented his public school education by study in the
Waiiconda Academy at Waueonda, Hlinois. He afterward worked in the shipyards in Cliicago
and while in that city began reading law but on attaining his majority heeded the advice
of Horace Greeley — "Go west, young man, go west" — and made his way to Pike's Peak at
the time of the gold rush. From that point he proceeded to Denver, at which period there
were not two completed houses in the city. He later went to Fort Kearney, where he estab-
lished himself on a ranch and also engaged in merchandising. In the fall of 18C0 he returned
to Chicago and began work in the shipyards as a ship carpenter. In his boyhood he had
learned the trade under his father, who was a shipbuilder and calker, and he had worked on
Roundout Creek in New York. On the outbreak of the Civil war he sent his tools home and
enlisted for active service at the front, joining the army in response to the first call for troops
in April, 1861, to serve for three months. The company, however, arrived too late to join the
regiment in Freeport, Illinois, where they had rendezvoused, and later 'Mr. Muir was mustered
into the Fifteenth Illinois Infantry as a member of Company I, of which he was soon made
orderly sergeant. He served until the close of the war, being mustered out in June, 1865.
He took part in the battles of Fort Pemberton and Island No. 10 and also in the last engage-
ment of the war, the battle of Mobile, together with various other engagements during the
period of his service. His command furnished twenty-three men to help man the Jlississippi
squadron under the general order of General Halleck, and Mr. Muir was among the number.
This squadron was transferred to the navy and Mr. Muir was for a short time in charge of
the postofHee department for the fleet. Subsequently he was promoted to master's mate and
was sent with Captain Sanford up to JeiTerson, Indiana, for service on the new gunboat
Chillicothe. He was made fourth master and later acting ensign, and when the question
arose as to the availability of a man to take charge of the forward battery on the gunboat
Cincinnati, Mr. Muir was selected and under sjjecial order was placed in charge at Cairo. He
remained with that vessel in the taking of Mobile and in its various activities u]i to the
close of the war, resigning his position in .lune, 1865. He had made a most creditable record
by his continuous and faithful performance of duty and he was complimented very highly
by the secretary of the navy for his clear and neatly written reports.
Mr. Muir, at the close of the war, returned home and soon afterward purchased a farm
in Steele county, Minnesota, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits for about fifteen
years, carefully and wisely directing the interests of his business. At the same time he took
an active part in public alfairs and the strong and admirable traits wliich he showed in citi-
zenship lc<i to his selection on two different occasions as representative from his district in
the state legislature. In 1379 he came to North Dakota and took up a homestead in what
is now Hunter township, Cass county. He proved up his property, which he afterward sold,
r
HON. \\Ai/n:K Jium
MRS. \\' ALTER MUIR
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 793
and after gaining title to liis first farm lie filed on a preemption and lat^r took up a tree
claim. Until 1881 he continued to occupy and improve his farm and then removed to Hunter
that he might give his children better educational advantages. He was the owner of all that
part of the town site of Hunter west of the railroad, having purchased forty acres there.
He owned at the time of his death a little more than a section of land and from his farm
property derived a substantial annual income.
On the 20th of June, 1863, Mr. Muir was united in marriage to Miss Lovisa L. Wheeloek,
of McHeury county, Illinois, a lady of liberal culture and natural refinement who had been
a teacher in Lake and McHenry counties of Illinois. Mr. Muir was also known in the role of
teacher of penmanship in Illinois and Minnesota. To this worthy couple were born seven
children, four of whom survive, as follows: Marion, who is the wife of William H. Simmons,
of Minneapolis; William C, a graduate of the State University of Minnesota, who follows
farming and is also engaged in the real estate business at Hunter, North Dakota; Edwin S., a
graduate of the State University of Minnesota, who is a successful practicing physician S.nd
surgeon of Winona, Minnesota, where for two terms he filled the office of mayor; and Robert
W., a graduate of the University of Minnesota and a resident of Hunter, who pursued a law
course in the University of North Dakota and is not only now engaged in the practice of
law but is also acting as principal of the high school of his city. As is indicated, Mr. Muir
was ever most deeply interested in the cause of education, providing his children with the
best possible advantages in that direction. In this connection it is interesting to note that
two of his grandchildren are also graduates of the State University, while three more are
now students there.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Muir were member of the Presbyterian church, in which he served
as an elder from the organization of the Hunter church in 1883. In politics Mr. Muir was
independent. In ante-bellum days he was an Abraham Lincoln republican, believing firmly in
the teachings of the martyr president. During the early days of North Dakota's statehood
he felt that the conditions were such that there should be some changes and he organized
the Farmers' Alliance in the state, being made president of the organization and becoming
one of its foremost leaders when it was merged in the populist party. His wife, too, also
took an active part in the affairs of the populist party and was elected to attend" the con-
vention at Omaha in 1892 as a delegate, which she did, exercising her delegate prerogatives
in that meeting. For eighteen months Mr. and Jlrs. Muir had charge of the populist news-
paper, The Independent. At the convention held in Grand Forks he was named the candi-
date for governor on the independent ticket and he was later also a candidate for congress
as the opponent of N. M. Johnson. He was also twice a candidate for the United States
senate and once came within three votes of being elected. He did much to mold public
thought and action, for while his party did not win victory at the polls, it had a strong
influence in curbing the actions of the other parties and in awakening the people to an under-
standing of political situations. Throughout his entire life Mr. Muir was actuated by a
public-spirited devotion to the general good, manifesting in days of peace the same loyalty
to his country which he displayed when he followed the stars and stripes upon the battlefields
of the south, and thus it was that when death called bim on the 17th of January, 1916, his
demise occasioned most deep and widespread regret, the commonwealth feeling that it hai"
lost one of its most valued and representative citizens.
WILLIAM H. ALEXANDER.
William H. Alexander, city auditor of Grand Forks, was born at Wanstead, Ontario.
February 7, 1874. His father, Thomas Alexander, also a native of Ontario, was descended
from a Canadian family of Scotch-Irish origin. Frank Alexander, the grandfather, became
the founder of the family in Canada, where he took up his abode about 1830. His son,
Thomas Alexander, was a farmer by occupation and became a pioneer settler of North
Dakota, taking up his abode at Grand Forks in March, 1877. A week later, however, he went
to Minto, where he took up a tree claim and thereon resided until 1883. when he passed
away. The family endured many hardships incident to life on the frontier and experienced
794 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
all tlie (lillkultii's ami privations of pioiu'iT life. Tlicy had to use their cows for plowing
and other farm work, as tliey liad no money with whieli to buy horses. After a year the
father secured an ox team, which was a valuable asset in the farm work. During the first
year five acres of the land was broken, on which was raised forty-live bushels of wheat to
the acre, and for this he was paid a dollar and thirty-three cents per bushel. The first
home of the family was a little sod house on the bank of the Forest river and within the
present corporation limits of Minto. The father died when but thirty nine years of age.
His wife, who bore the maiden name of llary Carson, is a native of London, Ontario, and
a daughter of Andrew Carson, one of the old-time settlers of North Dakota who for fifty
years was connected with the Grand Trunk Kailway Company, acting as foreman in road
building. He lived to the notable old age of ninety-three years and passed away at Sarnia,
Ontario. His daughter, Mrs. Alexander, survives and makes her homo at St. Paul, Minne-
sota.
• William H. Alexander, the eldest of lier nine cliildren, spent two winter seasons in
attending district schools in Walsh county, North Dakota, walking a distance of three miles.
WTien but nine years of age he began to earn his own living, being first employed in the
printing oHice of the Minto Journal. There he learned the printer's trade and when sixteen
years of age he had the opportunity to attend school for another year. He continued to
engage in the printing business as a journeyman until 1906. when he became one of the
founders of the Evening Times of Grand Forks. He was chosen for the ])osition of secretary
and circulation manager and was thus connected with the Times until its discontiiuiance
six months later. Previously he had been connected with the Courier of Buffalo, New
York, from 1804 until 1904, the company doing a large share of the printing in that city.
In the latter year he returned to Grand Forks, where he secured employment with the G. F.
Ice Companv as general manager, and it was subsequent to this that he became one of the
promoters of the Grand Forks Times. In 190,S and 1909 he filled the position of city auditor
and was then made deputy county treasurer, which position he occupied until 1914. In the
latter year he was reappointed city auditor and has since occni)ied that position. He has
made an excellent record in public office by his fidelity and ia|iability and Grand Forks
recognizes in him one of its substantial and valued citizens.
At Buffalo, New York, on the ?,d of October, 1899, ilr. Alexander was married to Miss
Edith Rice McLean, a native of that city and a daughter of the late Rev. McLean. 'Mi. and
.Mrs. Alexander hold membershii) in the Episcopal church and he also belongs to the various
Masonic bodies, having attained the Knights Templar degree in the York Rite. He is also
identified with the Mystic Slirine and the Heiievolent Protective Order of Elks. The Com-
mercial Club of Grand Forks finds in him a worthy representative and one who is deeply
interested in the accomplishment of its purposes. In jiolitics he is an active, earnest repub-
lican and since 1914 lias been secretary of the rejuiblican central committee of Grand Forks
county, to which position he was reelected in the summer of 1916. !Mr. Alexander is indeed a
self-made man and is as well self-educated. His opportunities in youth were extremely
limited and from the age of nine years he has never had a chance to attend school save
when he provided for his own expenses. His boyhood was a period of earnest, unremitting
toil and his entire life has been an active one in which persistency of purpose has brought
its reward.
CHRIST .J. CHRLSTIANSON.
One of the attractive modern residences of Roger is the home of Girist .J. Cliri.st-
ianson, who was formerly extensively engaged in farming in Barnes county, cultivating nearly-
one thousand acres of land. Desiring to be relieved of muoh of the Inirden of large business
interests, he has since disposed of the greater part of his holdings, retaining only one hundred
and sixty acres. He was born in Fillmore county, Minnesota, .Tanuary 1, 1859. His father,
John Christianson, a native of Norway. Ix-came a resident of Minnesota in IS.'JC, when the
state was upon the "far western frontier." He took up his abode in Fillmore county and
there det'oted his attention to farming until May 13, 1881, when he became a resident of
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 795
Barnes county, North Dakota. He had lost his wife in 1863 and he came to this state with
his two sons, Thomas and Christ J., the father and Christ J. eacli securing a homestead
claim. The latter preempted four miles north of Roger and upon that place made his
home for a few years, after which he sold out and he and his brother Thomas bought a
half section, on which the brother now resides, Ave and one-half miles northwest of Roger.
Christ J. Christiansen also invested in a farm on section 33, Edna township, and later
added thereto another half section, becoming in all the owner of nearly one thousand acres
which he developed and improved for about three decades, continuing actively in farm work
until 1915. He then sold eight hundred acres of his land but still retains one hundred and
sLxty acres, which constitutes one of the well developed farms of Barnes county. In 1906
he removed his residence to Roger, where he has since lived, occupying an attractive modern
hoine there.
In 1886 Mr. Christianson was married to Jliss JVIary Mason, a native of Dodge county,
Wisconsin, and a sister of Matts, Sim, Mart and Oscar Mason, all of Valley City. Mr.
Christianson has served on the city school board and the town board of education and has
ever given strong endorsement to progressive measures for the benefit of the schools.
Since removing to Roger he has been a member of the town board and in 1889, following the
admission of the state into the Union, he was elected a member of the legislature and was
reelected to the second general assembly, serving in all for four years, during which time
he gave thoughtful and earnest consideration to the many vital problems which arose in
connection with the work of shaping the policy of the newly organized commonwealth.
He was elected to the legislature on the republican ticket but is now affiliated with the
democratic party. While in the house he served on the judiciary committee through both
terms. He is a man of keen intellect who readily recognizes both the strong and weak
points of every situation, is thoroughly American in spirit and interests, and the energy
and ability with which he has attacked all his public duties mark him as a citizen of ster-
ling worth.
GEORGE A. WESTON.
George A. Weston, owner and publisher of the Montpelier Magnet and otherwise actively
identified with the interests of the town of Montpelier, claims Maine as the state of his
nativity, his birth having there occurred in Orono, February 18, 1870, his parents being
A. J. and Elizabeth (Wilkey) Weston, the former a native of Maine and the latter of
Quebec, Canada. The father died in 1904, having long survived his wife, who passed away
in 1879. He was a millwright by trade and in 18S0 removed westward to Stillwater,
Minnesota, while later he became a resident of Detroit, Minnesota, where he spent his
remaining days.
George A. Weston was the fifth in a family of six children, three of whom are yet
living. He began his education in the schools of the Pine Tree state and afterward continued
his studies in Canada, finishing in a St. Paul business college. After leaving school he
entered the printing establishment of Baker, Collins &. Company at St. Paul and there
remained for a period of five years, tlioroughly learning the trade while in that estab-
lishment. He next became an employe of the firm of Brown & Traeey, with whom he
continued for eight years, and no higher testimonial of his capability and fidelity can be
given than the fact that he was so long retained in the service of both companies. He
next went to Wabasha, Minnesota, where he was made foreman of the Wabasha County
Herald, in which position he continued for a period of five and one-half years. Removino- to
North Dakota in 1904, he settled at Grand Forks, where he resumed active connection with
the printing trade as an employe. After leaving Grand Forks he went to Dickey, North
Dakota, where he remained for two years, and in May, 1914, he arrived in Montpelier, where
he founded the Montpelier Magnet, which he has made a successful enterprise. The paper
now has a circulation of five hundred and its patronage is continually growing. He is
also accorded a good advertising patronage and he does everything to make the Magnet
an attractive and readable paper, embodying high ideals of modern journalism.
796 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
In 1891 ilr. Weston was married to iliss Jeunie Lockwood, who was boru in Ontario,
Canada, in 1875, a daughter of John and Clementine B. (Allen) Lockwood, the latter a native
of Glasgow, Scotland, and the former of Cornwall, England. The father, who was an
engineer, emigrated to the United States and entered the employ of the Northern Pacific
Kaihoad Company, with which he was connected during the greater part of his life. Mrs.
Weston is one of a family of twelve children and by her marriage has become the mother
of two sons: Lawrence, born in 1892; and Hugh, in 1897. Mr. Weston is a republican and
issues his paper in support of the principles of that party. He is not bitterly partisan,
however, and the Magnet is characterized by a fair and impartial discussion of public
questions.
JOHN KENT.
John Kent, engaged in the undertaking business in Lansford, was born in Shiawassee
county, Michigan, August 4, 1875, a son of Jacob and Mary (Readson) Kent, the former
a native of New York and the latter of Michigan. The father was a farmer by occupation and
in early life removed westward to Michigan, where he purchased land whereon he engaged
in farming throughout his remaining days. He died in the year 1898, while his wife passed
away in 1900.
John Kent was reared and educated in Michigan and remained with his parents until
they passed away. In 1901 he became a resident of Bottineau county. North Dakota, and
for a year was employed at day labor. He then filed on a homestead and broke the first
furrows in his fields, converting the tract of wild prairie land into a rich and productive
farm. After living upon that place for six years he sold out and established his home in
Lansford, where he opened a furniture store and undertaking business, continuing active
along those lines for five years. On the expiration of that period he sold the furuitui-e
store but has since continued active in connection with the undertaking business and he
is now also engaged in the sale of pianos.
On the 22d of January, 1902, Mr. Kent was united in marriage to iliss Bertha
M. Hamblin and they have become parents of two sons: John William, born November
20, 1902; and Charles H., born September 3, 1904.
In his political views Mr. Kent has always been an earnest republican and has served
as a menibi'r of the town council of Lansford, while for three and one-half years he was chief
of the fire department. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, of which he is an exemplary
representative, and he is a consistent member of the Methodist church, possessing many ster-
ling qualities which have won for him the warm regard, confidence and goodwill of his
fellow townsmen.
RASMUS MILLER.
Rasmus Miller, of Tolley, was born in Schleswig, Germany, in the town of Norhus,
December 1, 1875, a son of J. C. and Andrea (Holm) Miller, who were also natives of Germany.
The father followed the profession of school teaching and died in his native country, after
which his widow became the wife of Peter Wibeck, with whom she came to the United
States, settling first in Winona county, Minnesota, in 1882. After seven years they removed
to Buena Vista county, Iowa, where Mr. Wibeck engaged in farming.
Rasmus Miller came with his mother and stepfather to the new world and largely
acquired his education in the public schools of this country. When a youth of fourteen years
he started to earn his living as clerk in a grocery store at Alta, Iowa, where he remained
for three s'ears. Later he was employed on different farms in that state until he reached
his twenty-fourth year, when he came to North Dakota and on the 26th of May, 1899,
homesteaded in Ward County. He proved up on that property and converted the tract of
wild prairie into richly cultivated fields, devoting six years to the development and im-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 797
provement of tlje land. In the fall of 1906 he removed to Tolley, where he purchased
an implement business from E. C. Tollej-, and through the intervening years he has given
his attention to the development of his trade in that line. He also handles the Velie
automobile and he is likewise a stockholder in the Great Northern Life Insurance Com-
pany of Grand Forks, of which he is one of the directors. In addition to his varied com-
inercial and financial interests he owns a half section of land near Tolley, which he rents.
On the 16th of May, 1900, at Minot, Mr. Miller was united in marriage to Miss Bena
Jensen, a daughter of Jorgen and Stina (Jensen) .Jensen, who resided near Donnybrook,
North Dakota. There are three children by this marriage: Harold .Jesse, Gladys Ethlyn and
Irene Ada, all of whom are attending school.
Mr. Miller is a Mason, belonging to the blue lodge at Mohall, and he also has mem-
bership in the Elks lodge at Minot. In politics he is a republican and for four terms capably
filled the office of president of the village board, while at the present time he is one of the
school directors. He belongs to the Commercial Club and is serving on its directorate,
and through cooperation with that organization he is doing everything possible to further
tile welfare and promote the progress of the city in which he lives.
■WILLIAM F. THIELE.
William F. Thiele, cashier of the Rolette State Bank since 1913, was born in Chicago,
Illinois, September 8, 1887, a son of Henry and Frieda (Bettge) Thiele, who are natives of
Germany. The father came to America in early life and settled in Proviso, a suburb of
Chicago. He was a contractor and builder and afterward in government employ spent some
time in Alabama, building locks in a river. He and his wife are now residents of South
Bend. Indiana.
William F. Thiele was reared and educated in Nebraska, where his parents resided for
a number of years. In 1906 he became a clerk in a store in North Dakota, spending six
months in that connection. He then went to Seattle and was employed in the general
offices of the Pacific Coast Condensed ^lilk Company for a year. In 1908 he returned to
North Dakota, settling at Bisbee, where he entered the Citizens State Bank as assistant
cashier, a position which he occupied for a year. He later spent six months in the Towner
County Bank at Perth, North Dakota, and was assistant cashier in the Rolette County Bank at
Saint John for two and one-half years. On the expiration of that period he accepted the
assistant cashiership of the Rolette State Bank and in 1913 was advanced to the position
of cashier, in wliich capacity he has since continued. The officers are Theodore Albrccht.
president, and William F. Thiele^ vice president and cashier. The bank is capitalized for
fifteen thousand dollars and has a surplus of three thousand dollars, while its deposits amount
to one hundred and ninetj' tliousand dollars. The bank was organized in 1905 by David H.
Beecher, of Grand Forks, North Dakota. In addition to his banking interests Mr. Thiele
is the owner of eight hundred and eighty acres of improved land in Rolette count}' and in
this connection is contributing much to the agricultural development of the district.
In September, 1915, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Thiele and iliss Cora L. Dubay.
He is a member of the Presbyterian church, while his wife is of the Catholic faith. In
ilasonic circles he is prominent, having attained high rank in the order, while with the
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert. His political allegiance
is given to the lepublican party and he is never found remiss in the duties of citizenship.
J. W. N. FISHER.
.1. W. N. Fisher, cashier of the First State Bank of Balfour, was born in Nassau, on the
Bahama islands. .July 17, 1884, a son of the Rev. .Tames H. and Evelyn (Burnside) Fisher,
the former a native of Jamaica and the latter of Nassau. They never canu to the United
States. The father was an Episcopal minister and for fifty years occupied one jnilpit.
798 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
J. W. N. FisluT tomiik'tuil liis t'duiution in Nassau (.olle^'v, fioiu «likli lie was graduated
ill 1903. He siieiit three years in tlie service of tiie United States eonsul 'at Nassau and
then came to this country, making iiis way to Carrington, North Dakota, where he entered
the eiiiidny of the Ross-Davidson Uanking t'oinpan}-, witli wliich he lias since remained,
although the liiisiiiess has been reorganized under the name of the Hankers Investment
L'oinpany, both Mr. Ross and Mr. Davidson having passed away. In Carrington, Mr. Fisher
occupied the [losition of bookkeeper and upon his removal to Balfour in lOlO was made
assistant cashier, in which capacity he continued to serve until I'Jlfi. when he was chosen
cashier and is now acting in that odicial capacity.
On the 8th of August, 1915, Mr. F'isher was married to ,\lis» Amelia liuber, of Dogden,
North Dakota, a daughter of J. P. Huber. In his political views Jlr. Fisher is a republican
and. while never an office seeker, he was appointed and is serving as treasurer of the
Balfour schools. He is a Knights Templar Mason, holding membership in De Molay Coin-
mandery. Xo. 10. K. T., of Minot. and he also has membership in the Odd Fellows lodge
of linlfour. His many substantial (pialities have gained for him high regard. Well
descended and well bred, he is recognized as a citizen of worth in the comimiiiity in which
he resides and in his business career his course has been marked by steady progress.
HON. ALPHEUS E. RANKY.
Hon. Alpheus E. Raney, who has been a member of the state legislature of North Dakota,
is extensively engaged in dealing in farm lands and is also president of the First State Bank
of Jud, Lamoure county recognizing him as one of its foremost citizens. He was born in
Noble county, Ohio, on the 9th of February, 185S, and is a son of Elias and Nancy (Poston)
Raney, who were also natives of Noble county and were representatives of early families of
West Virginia. In 1866 they removed to Jasper county, Iowa, where the father purchased
a farm four miles north of Colfax, there remaining for twenty-eight years or until 1894.
when lie came to North Dakota and filed on a homestead in Lamoure county. He afterward
returned to Iowa with the intention of removing to this state, but became ill and died at
his Iowa home soon after his return. He was a veteran of the ( ivil war, having served in the
Seventh Ohio Cavalry in defense of the Union.
Alpheus E. Raney, spending his youthful days under the parental roof, supplemented a
public school education by study in the Mitchellville Seminary and in the Southern Iowa
Normal School at Bloomfield. He afterward took up the profession of teaching and for two
years was principal of the city schools of Greencastle, Iowa. His brother Joseph had
previously come to North Dakota and had selected two quarter sections of land in Lamoure
county in 1882. In April of the following year A. E. Raney suspended his educational work
and made his way to this state, after which he and his brother filed on the two quarter sec-
tions as preemptions. They lived on these claims for four years and in 1887 they went to
what is now Raney township, which was so named in honor of the two brothers. Each took
up a homestead and a tree claim and also bought adjoining lands until their holdings com-
prised two thousand and eighty acres of land, which they operated extensively as a cattle
and horse ranch, while later they cultivated five or six hundred acres. The partnership
between the brothers was continued until 1906, when they sold out and Joseph Raney went
to Arkansas. After roving around the country for a year or more A. E. Raney returned to
Lamoure county and settled in .Tud. where he has since been engaged extensively in the sale
of farm lands. On the organization of the First State Bank of .Jud in the winter of 1905-6
he became one of the stockholders and soon after the institution was opened for business
he was elected president of the bank, in which office he has since continued, being the direct-
ing head of the institution and largely shaping its policy.
Voting with the democratic party, J[r. Rsmey gives stalwart support to its principles,
while his fellow townsmen, appreciative of his worth and ability, have called him to some
local offices. For three years he served as county commissioner and for two years was county
treasurer of Lamoure county, and then in 1912 still higher political honors were conferred
upon him liy election to the state legislature, in which his record was characterized by unfal-
HOX. ALPHEUS E. EANEY
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 801
teiing devotion to the best interests of the commonwealth, based upon a careful consideration
of the vital questions which came up for settlement. Mr. Raney is well known in Masonic
circles, belonging to Maple River Lodge, Xo. 41, F. & A. M., of Edgeley; Dakota Consistory,
No. 1, A. & A. S. R.; and El Zagal Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S. Dependent upon his own
resources from early manhood, whatever success he has achieved is the result of intelligently
directed effort and judicious investment, and his fellow townsmen recognize in him a man of
excellent business qualifications.
D. J. McLennan.
D. J. McLennan, attorney at law practicing in Rolette, was born in Cottonwood, Minne-
sota, November 30, 1879, a son of John F. and Jessie (McKinley) McLennan. The father
was an architect and followed that profession for a number of years in Duluth but sub-
sequently engaged in farming in Lyon county, Minnesota, where he resided up to the time
of his death in 1905. His widow is still living and now makes her home in Marshall,
Minnesota.
D. .J. McLennan became a pupil in the Jlarskall high school, from which he was grad-
uated with the class of 1900. He afterward attended the University of Minnesota for two
years and later spent a year in the North Dakota State University, in which he completed his
law course, being graduated with the LL. B. degree in the class of 1903. Following his
graduation he located for practice at Lidgerwood, where he became the associate and part-
ner of C. M. Parsons, forming the law firm of Parsons & McLennan. A year later he re-
moved to Rolette, where he has since practiced independently and now has an extensive
clientage, connecting him with much of the important litigation tried in the courts of his
district. He is thorough and painstaking in the preparation of his cases and his ability
is evidenced in the success which attends his efforts in the presentation of a cause before
the courts. He is also the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land in Blaine
county, Montana, which is improved and stocked with horses.
In 1908 Mr. McLennan was united in marriage to Miss Maude McCutcheon, of Bottineau,
North Dakota, by whom he has two children, lone V. and Maxine E. Politically Mr.
McLennan is a democrat and in 1910 and 1911 served as prosecuting attorney of Rolette
county. He has also been city attorney and clerk of the school board and has taken an
active part in civic affairs. Fraternally he is connected with Doric Lodge, F. & A. M., of
Rolette; Rugby Chapter, R. A. M.. the Modern Woodmen of America; and the Modern
Brotherhood of America, while he and his wife attend the Presbyterian church. During the
period of his residence in Rolette county he has gained a wide acquaintance and wherever
known is lidd in high regard by reason of both his professional and personal worth.
C. C. BANKS.
C. C. Banks, now acceptably serving as mayor of Lansford, is the leading merchant of
that town and one of its foremost citizens. His birth occurred in Bancroft. Michigan, on
the 29th of December, 1871, and his parents were Henry D. and Emma (Cornell) Banks, the
former also a native of Michigan and the latter of New York. They were married in the
Badger state, whence the mother had removed with her parents at an early age. There
the father followed farming until 1900. when he came to North Dakota and filed on a home-
tead near Kramer in Bottineau county. He subsequently sold that place and removed to
Lansford, where he lived retired until his death, which occurred in 1908. For four years he
served his country during the Civil war, being a member of the Second Michigan Volunteer
Infantry and corporal of his company. The mother of our subject is still living and con-
tinues to reside in Lansford.
During his boyhood C. C. Banks attended the public schools of Bancroft, Michigan, and
was graduated from the high school of that place with the class of 1894. After completing
802 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
liis literary cilucatioii he began his training in mercantile pursuits as a clerk in a general
stwe in Montrose, Michigan. In 1900 he came to North Dakota and secured a clerkship in
a store in Bottineau, where he was employed for three years. In 1903 he removed to Lans-
ford and embarked in the mercantile business on his own account. His success in this field
would lead one to draw the conclusion that his training had been under competent masters
for he is today one of the foremost business men of Bottineau county. He also owns a
farm of three hundred and twenty acres four miles from Lansford and in all his undertakings
is meeting with marked success.
In 1909 Mr. Banks was united in marriage to Miss Helen M. MacMillen, of Bottineau,
by whom he has two children, Mildred and Dorothy. In politics he is an ardent republican,
taking an active and influential part in public affairs. He served as postmaster of Lansford
from 1903 to 1913 and is the present chief executive of the village, now filling the. oflilce of
mayor for the second term. He was one of the organizers of the Lansford Commercial Club
and served as its president for two terms. He never withholds his support from any enter-
prise which he believes will prove of public benefit, giving liberally of his time and means. He
is an honored member of Lansford Lodge, No. 82, A. F. & A. M. ; Minot Oiapter. R. A. M.;
Minot Conimandery. K. T.; and Kern Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., of Grand Forks, North
Dakota. He also belongs to Minot Lodge, No. 1089, B. P. 0. E. He is one of the representa-
tive and prominent citizens of Bottineau county and wherever known is held in the highest
regard.
GILBERT R. HORTON.
(iilbert K. Horton, wlio makes liis lionic in .lamestown, Stutsman county, is one of the
best known architects in his part of the state and has erected many important buildings,
especially school buildings. He was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, on the 10th of November,
1888, a son of Gilbert L. and Annie (Napier) Horton. The father, who is a traveling sales-
man, is living in Litchfield, Minnesota, but the mother is deceased.
Gilbert R. Horton attended the public and high schools of Litchfield, Minnesota, the
L^nivcrsity of Minnesota and the University of Washington, adding to his general education
the study of mechanical engineering. Since leaving school he has gained gratif.ving success as
an architect. In the spring of 1911 he located in Jamestown, where he lias since remained.
Among the buildings which he has erected are the following: the Consolidated school of
Montpelier and the Consolidated Hebron school in Wells county; schools at Woodworth,
Goodrich, Warwick, Nortonville, Wilton, Coleharbor, Mercer, Streeter, McKenzie and
Edmunds; (ho graded and high schools at Ellendale; the high schools at Medina, Mandan,
and Linton, and at Veblen, South Dakota; the hospital at Carrington; the residences of
H. C. Flint, 7>. W. A. Gerrish and A. Sundahl. and of W. T. 'Martin at Edgcley and J. A.
Buchanan, of Buchanan; a store and office buildings for the W. B. S. Trimble Company at
Jamestown and L. W. Blaisdell at Medina; and bank buildings at Edmunds and Clemontsville.
He has remodeled and built an addition to the following: the Northside high school at
Jamestown; the .State Bank at Kimball, Minnesota; and the public school at Denhoff.
He has also built an addition to St. Mary's Episcopal church and to the business building
owned by A. D. Grant and Morris Beck and has remodeled the offices of the Dakota Meat
Company, the office of the firm of Movius & Wood, the passenger and freight depots for
the Alidland Continental Railroad at .Taniestown and a garage building for .J. E. Anderson.
He has likewise installed tlie mechanical equi|inient in the Carrington high school and in
many other buildings. He has specialized to a considerable extent in schools and besides
those schools mentioned has erected many one room schoolliouscs.
Mr. Horton was married on the 10th of November, 1913, to Miss Evangclyn M. Koberts,
a daughter of R. A. RolK'rts, of Jamestown, and they have one son, Gilbert E.
Mr. Horton is a republican in politics and takes an active interest in affairs of public
concern. He is especially active in the good roads movement, as he realizes tlie close
connection between the development of a district and its highways. He is fond of all
outdoor sports and finds much recreation in baseball and motoring. His religious faith is
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 803
that of the Protestant Episcopal chuioh and at all times he strives to conform his conduct
to high standards. He is one of the youngest architects in the state and is also one of the
most successful, having gained an enviable reputation in his chosen profession.
ANDREW GEISTEE.
Coming to this country in limited circumstances, Andi-ew Geister has steadily worked
his way upward until he has. become one of the substantial citizens and leading business men
of Bottineau county. He is now manager and treasurer of the Lansford Mill Company, one
of the important milling concerns of the state, located at Lansford, where he makes his home.
He was born on the 9th of November, 1869, in Germany, of which country his parents,
Andrew and Margaret (Kleifges) Geister, were lifelong residents. The father was also
a miller by trade and it was under his direction that our subject began his apprenticeship.
He continued to work in his father's mill in Budesheim, Germany, until 1893, which year
witnessed his arrival in the new world.
Mr. Geister first located in Wahpeton, North Dakota, where he became associated with
Math Braun & Companj- as second miller, and remained in the employ of that firm for
nine years. At the end of that time he went to Fertile, Minnesota, as head miller in the
Garfield Roller Mills, serving in that position for four years, and in 1906 removed to Lans-
ford, North Dakota, where he assisted in organizing the Lansford Mill Company and built
the present mill and elevator of that concern. Mr. Geister has since served as treasurer
and manager of the company, which now does an extensive business. Their mill has a daily
capacity of from one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five barrels per day and turns
out the finest product that the market affords. Mr. Geister is also interested in farming
and owns four hundred and eighty acres of land in Bottineau county.
In 1903 he was united in marriage to Miss Anna Klemik, of Melville, Minnesota, and
they have become the pftrents of four children, namely: Leo T., Erna, Allen and Agatha.
They are faithful members of the Catholic church and Mr. Geister also belongs to the
Catholic Order of Foresters. His political support is given the men and measures of the
republican party. He is a business man of much more than ordinary ability and his success
in life is due entirely to his own industry, enterprise and good management, for he came to
America empty handed.
I. M. INGEBEETSON.
L JI. Ingebretson. county treasurer of Rolette count}' and now engaged in the breeding
of thoroughbred shorthorn cattle, resides on a farm on section 34, Leonard precinct, two
miles south of the town of Rolette. He was born in Norway on the 30th of July, 1864,
^nd is a son of Ingebret and Melinda (Hetland) Ingebretson, who came to the United States
in 1870. After spending two years in Chicago, during which period he worked at the trade
of coopering, which he had previously learned in his native country, the father removed to
Ottertail county, ilinnesota, where he purchased a farm and thereon resided for two years.
He ne.xt took up a homestead claim across the line in Claj- county, Minnesota, and there
resided for thirteen years. In 1888 he arrived in Rolette county. North Dakota, where he
filed on a preemption and tree claim, devoting his remaining days to the further develop-
ment and improvement of that property. He died in 1903, while his wife passed away in 1914.
I. M. Ingebretson was but six jears of age on coming to the United States and the
common schools of Chicago and Minnesota afforded him his educational opportunities. In
1886 he came to North Dakota to begin business life on his own account and filed on a tree
claim and a preemption, making his home on the latter. In 1891 he homesteaded and located
upon that tract, on which he has since lived. He has more recently purchased another quarter
section, so that he owns an entire section or six hundred and forty acres of rich and productive
land which responds readily to the care and cultivation he bestows upon it. In 1903 he
804 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
bejjaii tliu bret'dinj; of tlioiouylibifcl slioitliorn eattlc and lia.s built up an enviable rej)utatiou
in tliat line. At the present writing he has forty-two registered animals and has bred some
of the best cattle in the state. He thoroughly understands every phase of seientilie stock
raising and has done much to improve the grade of stock raised in Kolette county and
throughout North Dakota. He is seldom, if ever, mistaken in the value of an animal and
he has thus been able to make judicious ])urchases and |)rolitable sales. He is also connected
with commercial interests as president of the Farmers elevator at Rolette.
In 1891 ilr. Ingobretson was united in nuirriage to Miss .Tennie Selveg. of Rolette county,
who was born in Xorwaj' and by whom he has ten children, as follows: Dora, who is the
wife of Edward Roen, a Montana ranchman: and Mary. .Julia. Ingvall. .\nna, -lohn. Stella,
Marvin, Herbert and Stanley, all at home.
Air. Ingebretson belongs to Doric Lodge, No. 100, V. & A. M.. and he and his family are
members of the Lutheran church. He is recognized as one of the local leaders of the republi-
can party and in 1900 was elected county treasurer, which position he filled for two years. In
1910 he was chosen county commissioner and served in that capacity for four years, at the
end of which time, or in 1914, he was again elected county treasurer and is now the incumbent
in that office, making a most creditable record as a capable custodian of the i)ublic funds.
His devotion to public interests is ]iriinouncc(l ;ind he cooperates in all plans and measures to
promote the general welfare.
GEORGE ELHARD.
Logan county probably has no more jirogressive or public-spirited citizen than George
Elhard — the founder of the town of Gackle, where he now makes his home. His early home,
however, was on the other side of the Atlantic, for he was born in Russia, July 7, 1867, and
is a son of Phillip and Elizabeth (Gackle) Elhard, who were likewise natives of that country
but were of German descent. The father continued to farm in Russia until 1897, when he
came to America and on reaching this country proceeded at once to Xorth Dakota. He filed
on a homestead south of Alfred and engaged in the cultivation of his land for some time but
at length removed to Gackle, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying on the 28th of
.June, 1914. His wife had passed away in May, 1908.
In his native land George Elhard was reared and educated and after leaving school
engaged in farming there until 1894, which year witnessed his arrival in the new world.
Coming direct to North Dakota, he filed on a homestead in Logan county where the town of
Gackle now stands and to the improvement and cultivation of his land he devoted his energies
for some time. He was also employed in a general store at Kulm luitil 1903 and thus gained
a practical knowledge of business affiairs whicli has been of great benefit to him. On
resigning his position in 1903 he and his cousin. George Gackle, opened a general store seven
miles south of the present site of Gackle but tlie following year moved their stock of goods
to where the village now stands. Jlr. Elhard may be called the father of the town, which
was established upon his land and he has twice moved the town site. He served as its post-
master for four years and has done everything within his power to promote its interests.
In 1907 he was elected to the state legislature and acceptably filled that position for one term.
He continued to conduct his store until 190S, when he sold out and organized (he State Bank
of Gackle, of which he was president for five years. He then disposed of his interest in that
establishment and for the following year was again engaged in the general mercantile business.
At the jiresent time, however, he is devoting his attention princii)ally to the real estate, fire
and life insurance business and also handles Hour and feed. His home is the finest residence in
fJaekle and besides the property already mentioned be owns three hundred acres of oil land
in Te.\as and is a stockholder in an oil company in that state and also In the Home Life
Insurance Company of Bismarck, North Dakota.
On the 22d of April, 1904, Mr. Elhard was united in marriage to Miss Emma Ammon, a
daughter of .fohn and Caroline (Von Wolmersdorf) Ammon, also natives of Russia, where the
father died. The mother afterward came to America and now makes her home in (iackle,
North Dakota. Of the five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Elhard, three— Anna, Bertha and
GEORGE ELHARD
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 807
Flora — all died of scarlet fever in one week, between the IJtli and 21st of May, 1911, Those
livin<i are Henry Ooorge, born October 29, 1911; and Robert Bernhard, born April 29, 1913.
In religious faith ilr. Elhard is a Congregationalist and in politics he is a republican.
He is a man of prominence in his community, and has always taken a commendable interest
in public affairs. He possesses good business and executive ability and has not only pro-
moted ills own interests but has been an influential factor in advancing the public welfare.
LOUIS E. FEINSTEIN,
Louis E. Feinstein, who is successfully engaged in merchandising in Zeeland, North
Dakota, was born in New York city in October, 1882, his parents being Adolph and Sarah
M. (Pleno) Feinstein, both natives of Odessa, Russia. In that country the father learned
the baker's trade, at which he worked for some years, but after coming to America in
1880 found employment in an overall factory in New York city. In 1882 he removed to
South Dakota, where he found work as a farm hand and soon became thoroughly familiar
with agricultural pursuits. He took up a homestead in Campbell county. North Dakota, in
1884, and was engaged in the improvement and cultivation of that place until 1901, when
he sold his farm and removed to Zeeland, where he conducted a general store until 1912,
Since that time he has lived retired in Zeeland and has now reached the age of seventy-two
years. His \vife is also living.
Louis E. Feinstein was only a snuill child when the family came to North Dakota and
here he grew to manhood, completing his education in the schools of Eureka. He remained
with his parents until they left the farm and removed to Zeeland, where he was in partner-
ship with his father in the mercantile business for some time. Since 1914 he has been
alone in business and is now conducting an up-to-date store, carrying a well selected stock
of general merchandise, for which he finds a ready sale in the village and surrounding
country. He owns the building in which he does business and is today numbered among
the substantial men of his community.
In August, 1912, Mr. Feinstein married Miss Sadie Mackoff, by whom he has two chil-
dren, Stella and Esther. He is of the .Jewish faith and politically is identified with the
republican party, which he supports at the polls. He was a member of the Modern Woodmen
camp at Zeeland until its dissolution and has served his fellow citizens on the town board
with credit to himself and to their entire satisfaction.
NELS P. FALK.
Nels P. Falk, a haidwarc merchiuit of Moiitpelier, was born near Skfine, Sweden, on
the 8th of April, 1866, and the first twenty years of his life were spent in the land of his
nativity, during which period he pursued his education and worked on the home farm for
his father. He is a son of Peter S. and Elna F'alk, both of whom have now passed away,
the former in 1888 and the latter in 1910. Their family numbered four children. Swan, Nels
P., Martin and Anna, but Nels P. is the only one who ever came to the United States.
It was in May, 1887, that he bade adieu to friends and native land and crossed the
Atlantic to the new world, settling at Wilmar, Minnesota, when a young man of twenty-one
years. He resided in that locality for two years, working at farm labor and also attending
school. In 1889 he arrived in North Dakota, settling in .Jamestown, where he was em-
ployed for four years, but desirous of engaging in business on his own account, he
rented laud north of Jlontpclier in 1894 and in 1896 took up a homestead claim on
section 26, township 136, range 63, in Stutsman county. He at once began to develop
and improve the property and in time was given title to the land. For seven years he re-
mained upon that farm, converting it into a neat and attractive tract of land, but in
1906 he removed to Montpelier and has since been identified with its commercial interests.
Here he purchased a hardware business — a small stock in a small building. Concentrating
808 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
his energies upon the development of the trade, success attended his efforts and in 1910
he erected a large building and now carries an extensive and complete line of hardware,
implements and harness. He has a good trade and his business is constantly growing in a
satisfactory manner. He has ever realized that satisfied patrons are tlie best advertisement,
and he lias done everything to please his customers. Aside from his mercantile interests
he is interested in the Montpelier Farmers Elevator Company as one of its stockholders
and he is farminj: about three-fourths of a section of land, thus being actively and prom-
inent I}- connected with agricultural interests in Stutsman count)-. Upon iiis place he has
one hundred and ten head of full blooded Dui-oc-Jersey hogs, also shorthorn Durham cattle,
and he utilizes both horses and a tractor for his farm work. In fact he follows the most
modern and progressive methods and accordingly wins most substantial results. In the
early days he met many hardships and with some difficulty gained a business start, in fact
he had to go to the woods of Minnesota and secure work there in order to obtain a little
ready money, but he combined industry with perseverance and with diligence and deter-
mination at length overcame all difficulties and obstacles in his path, so that he is now on
the road to success and fortune. He certainly deserves all that he has acquired, for it has
come to him as the merited reward of persistent, earnest and honorable labor.
ASMUNDUH BENSON.
Aamundur Benson, an attorney at law practicing at Bottineau, was born in Pembina
county, North Dakota, .luly 38, 1885, a son of Thordur and Maria (Sveinson) Benson, who
were natives of Iceland. They came to North Dakota in 1883, settling in Pembina county,
where the father filed on land and with characteristic energy began to cultivate and improve
the property. He resided upon that farm until 1896, and then removed to McHenry county,
where he spent his remaining days, his death occurring in 1903. His widow is now living at
Upham, North Dakota.
Asmundur Benson pursued his education in the schools of Pembina and McHenry coun-
ties and in the State University, from which he was giaduated on the completion of the
arts course as a member of the class of 1913. He continued there as a law student and won
his Bachelor of Laws degree upon graduation with the class of 191,>. Immediatoly afterward
he settled at Bottineau, where he opened a law office and has since engaged in practice.
Although advancement at the bar is proverbially slow he has already won a creditable
position in connection with his chosen life work and his practice is steadily increasing.
On the 29th of March, 1916, Mr. Benson was united in marriage to Miss Lilja Freeman,
a daughter of George and Gudbjorg (Goodman) Freeman, who were natives of Iceland and
in early life became residents of Michigan. In 1885 they removed to McHenry county,
North Dakota, where the father homesteaded and is still engaged in farming. Mr. and
Mrs. Benson hold nienibersliip in the Lutheran church and his political allegiance is given to
the republican party.
vnr.n .t. bohnet.
A most progressive business enterprise is that conducted by Bohnet Brothers at Kief.
Their large store with its well selected stock wo\ild be a credit to a city of much greater size
and the business methods of the house measure up to the highest standards of modern
commercialism. Fred .1. Bohnet. a partner in the undertaking, was born in Roumania, .lanu-
ary 2, 188", a son of Martin and Katherine Bohnet, who were natives of Prussia. The
father followed farming and milling in his native country until 1887 and then crossed the
Atlantic with his family, establishing his home in Wells county, North Dakota, where he
entered a claim. This he at once began to develop and improve and thereon engaged in
general farming until 1902, when he retired from active business life and removed to Fes-
senden, North Dakota, where he and his wife are now making their home.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 809
Fred J. Bohnet, brought to the new world in his infancy, was reared on the old home-
stead in Wells county with the usual experiences of the farm bred boy, early becoming
familiar with all the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. He sup-
plemented his public school training by study in a business college in B'argo and thus well
trained for commercial pursuits he and his brothers engaged in general merchandising at
Fessenden from 1903 until 1909. In the latter year he and his brother, Emil W. Bohnet,
removed to Kief, McHenry county, and established another store. They erected a double
store building and carry a mammoth stock of goods for a town of that size. They are
accorded a very liberal patronage and their trade is constantly growing as the population
increases, for their reliable business methods commend them to the continued patronage of
the public. In addition to his mercantile interests Fred J. Bohnet is a stockholder in the
First State Bank of Kief.
On the -Ith of .June, 1908, Mr. Bohnet was united in marriage to Miss Pauline Orlowski
and they become the parents of two children: Harold, born March 6, 1909, and Herbert,
born in September, 1911.
The religious faith of the family is that of the Baptist church, and in his political
views Mr. Bohnet is a republican, giving stalwart support to party principles. He has
served as township clerk for two years and as township treasurer for a year and is now
filling the position of township supervisor. He makes a capable officer, for he is always
loyal to any ti'ust reposed in him, and his deep interest in the welfare of the community
is indicated by his hearty cooperation in all movements for the public good. In business
circles he is alert and enterprising, carrying forward to successful completion what he under-
takes, for in his vocabulary there is no such word as fail. He realizes that when one
avenue of opportunity seems closed he can carve out another path which will bring him to
the desii-ed goal.
HUBERT V. NICHOLS.
Hubert V. Nichols, postmaster and a merchant of Ypsilanti, was born in Brandon, Min-
nesota, in 1S71, a son of Valentine and Antoinette (Stephenson) Nichols, the former born
in Lagi'ange county, Indiana, in 1845, and the latter in New York in 1846. They were mar-
ried in 1868 and had a family of nine children, eight of whom are yet living. The mother
passed away in 1877 and in 1878 the father wedded Catherine L. Bartos. He is living in
California, where he engaged in fruit growing and farming, but is now living retired.
Hubert V. Nichols, who was the second of the nine children, was educated in Brandon,
Minnesota, and remained upon his father's farm until he attained his majority, being trained
to habits of industry in connection with the work of the fields, wherein his labors began
almost as soon as he was old enough to reach the plow handles. His residence in North
Dakota dates from 1893, in which year he settled in Pingree, where he remained for three
years, working on the railroad. In the fall of 1896 he went to Ypsilanti and was made
section gang foreman on the Northern Pacific Railroad, continuing in that position for ten
years. He then started in the elevator business, managing elevators at Woods, Coburn,
Sheldon and Buchanan, devoting six years to that business, after which he returned to
Ypsilanti and entered into partnership with M. 0. Ruud for the conduct of a general mer-
chandise establishment. Throughout his entire business life he has made good use of every
opportunity that has been presented and steadily and persistently has worked his way
upward, winning his success by honorable, earnest and indefatigable effort.
On the 22d of November, 1910, Mi'. Nichols was married to Miss Alice Egan, who was
born at Lowe, Canada, in 1878, a daughter of Patrick and Eleanor Egan, both of whom
have passed away. They were the parents of eight children. To Mr. and Mrs. Nichols was
born a son, Marcus, on the 21st of March, 1912, and on the loth of October, 1915, the wife
and mother passed away. She had been reared in Minnesota, where she completed her educa-
tion by study in the Glenwood Academy. She afterward devoted thirteen years to school
teaching in Minnesota and in North Dakota. She was a member of the Catholic church
and was laid to rest in Calvary cemetery at Jamestown, her death being the occasion of
deep and widespread regret among the friends whom she had won in Stutsman county.
810 HISTORY OF XORTII DAKOTA
In liis political views Mr. Xic-liols is a stalwart rcinibliian iUid has held several local
ollices, including that of township clerk of Convin township, while at the present time ho
is postmaster of Ypsilanti, to which office he was appointed in March, 1916. Fraternally
he is connected with the Woodmen and with the Knights of the Maccabees at Jamestown
and is a charter member of the Yeomen lodge at Sheldon. His religious faith is indicated
by his membership in the Jamestown Presbyterian church. The marked characteristics
which he has always displayed are designated as sterling by his friends. He has proven
his worth in many connections and his business advancement has been the expression of
stronir and honorable ]iuri)Ose and indefatifiable effort.
HON. WILL FREEMAN.
Hon. Will Freeman, banker, farmer and leading citizen of Maxbass, is occupying the
position of cashier of the State Bank in that town, and not only has contributed toward
shaping the destiny and promoting the policy of town and county, but has also aided in
framing the legislation of the state as a member of the North Dakota general assembly.
The name of Freeman has long been associated with the history of the northwest. His
grandfather, John Freeman, bought furs in North Dakota for the Hudson's Bay Company
more than ninety years ago. He was a Welshman by birth and when a youth of fifteen
years crossed the Atlantic to Canada, after which he spent a quarter of a century in the
employ of the Hudson's Bay Company — a member of that band of fearless hunters and
trappers who upon the western frontier constituted the vanguard of civilization. His son,
Charles Freeman, was born in Ogdensburg, New York, where he was reared to the occupation
of farming. At the time of the Civil war he responded to the country's call for troops as
a member of the One Hundred and Forty-second Regiment of New Y'ork Volunteer Infantry,
with which he served as first sergeant. After the close of the war he went west to Wis-
consin, settling at River Falls, where he was engaged in farming and blacksmithing until
1877. He then removed to the Red river valley of North Dakota and fded on a homestead in
Grand Forks county, thirteen miles south of Grand Forks, on which he established his
home, there residing to the time of his death. In the meantime, however, he had purchased
other land adjoining the home place and at one time was the owner of eight hundred acres
constituting a very valuable farm property. He was always active in support of measures
for the public good and at one time served as county commissioner of Grand Forks county.
In early manhood he wedded Sarah I'urves, also a native of Ogdensburg, New York, born
on the farm adjoining that on which her husband's birth occurred, and both passed away
in the year 1898.
Their son, Hon. Will Freeman, was born May 30, 1801, on the farm at Ogdensburg, which
was the birthplace of his father. He was reared, however, in Wisconsin, where he attended
public schools and also the State Normal School at River Falls, that state. As a youth he
learned the blacksmith's trade under the direction of his father and followed that pursuit
for five years. Subsequently he spent three years in the railway mail service and for
eight years thereafter was engaged in farming. He then became associated with the grain
trade and spent ten years in buying grain for the ^Minneapolis & Northern Railway Com-
pany, during which period he carefully saved his earnings until he felt that his capital was
sufilcient to justify his engaging in business on his own account. In 1902 he opened a store
in Old Renville, Bottineau county, and when four years later the railroad was built into
Maxbass he made that point the seat of his operations, erecting the first store building
there and opening the first store in the town. For four years he continued to engage in
general merchandising at that place, meeting with very substantial success and gaining
thereby the capital whicli enabled him to embark in the banking business in 1910. In that
year he entered the State Bank of Maxbass as cashier of the institution and has since
presided over the financial policies of the bank, carefully directing its interests along lines
that do not hamptr progressiveness and yet hold to a conservative policy that safeguards
the interests of the institution in every way. Under his guidance the business of the bank
has continually increased and he is also giving personal supervision to the operation of
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 811
twenty quarter sections of farm land for the bank, all of which is located in the vicinity
of Maxbass.
In 1884 Mr. Freeman was married to Miss Eugenia Harris, a native of Illinois, and
they have become parents of two daughters: Edith, the wife of Theodore Thompson, of
Grand Forks; and Clare, the wife of Perry N. Johnson, an attorney also of Grand Forks.
Mr. Freeman belongs to Lansford Lodge, A. F. & A. M. His political support is given the
republican party and he has served as a member of the town board of Maxbass, while at
all times he is interested in every local movement for the benefit and upbuilding of the
community. In 1906 he was chosen to represent his district in the state legislature and
served through the tenth general assembly, giving careful consideration to the important
questions which came up for settlement during that period. His prescience recognizes the
opportunities of the northwest and his spirit responds to the call to action. Energy,
industry and ambition are numbered among his salient characteristics and have constituted
him one of the alert, diligent and progressive business men of the northern part of the
state.
MARION EDWARDS.
Marion Edwards, postmaster at Rolette, has been identified with that town since its
organization, was a pioneer banker there and has been active in the field of real estate
operation. He belongs to that alert and progressive type of men who are contributing in
large measure to the upbuilding of that section of the state. His birth occurred at Knox-
ville, Iowa, December 10, 1871, his parents being William H. and Elizabeth (Gibson) Ed-
wards, who were natives of Bureau county, Illinois, The father followed farming in Iowa
throughout his entire active business career, but is now living retired, lie and his wife
making their home in Winterset, Iowa.
Marion Edwards was reared in Madison county, Iowa, and supplemented his public school
education there acquired by study in Des Moines. He early became familiar with all the
duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist and for several years engaged in
farming in Madison county, but in the spring of 1903 removed to Rolla, Rolette county,
North Dakota, where he established the State Bank of Rolla, which he conducted for two
years. He afterward became proprietor of a country store at Fisher, where he remained
for a year, and with the establishment of the town of Rolette he took up his abode there
in August, 1905, and helped to organize the First National Bank. He became cashier of
the institution and was cashier and president for some time. He is still one of its stock-
holders, but is not now active in its management. He has been engaged in the real estate
business since retiring from his bank position and is the owner of fifteen hundred acres
of land in Rolette county. On the 5th of October, 1915, he 'was appointed postmaster of
Rolette and is now filling that position.
In November, 1904, Mr. Edwards was united in marriage to Miss Mildred Whitaker,
by whom he has a daughter, Doris C, who was born May 9, 1908. Politically Mr. Edwards
has always been a democrat and for years has been an active worker in party circles, serving
for a long period as a member of the democratic state central committee. His religious faith
is that of the Presbyterian church. He is a member of all the Masonic bodies, also of the
Mystic Shrine, and is likewise connected with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
JOHN M. HERBERG.
For over four decades John M. Herbcrg, a farmer of Herberg township, has resided in
Traill county, and he is recognized as one of the leading citizens of the county. He began
his career empty handed, but through the exercise of sound judgment, determination and
industry he has gained financial independence and now holds title to five hundred acres of
excellent land. A native of Norway, he was born on the 15th of February, 1839, of the mar-
riage of Thomas and Bertha Herberg, both natives of that country, where they lived and
812 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
died. To them were born ten children, of whom only two now survive, our subject and a
sister, Bertha Benedickson, who is living in Norway.
John M. Herberg was reared and educated in his native land and remained there until
18T0, when he came to America and, making his way into the interior of the country, settled
in Minnesota. The following year, however, he came to North Dakota and located on a
claim near Fargo, which he soon afterward sold. He then removed to Traill county and
took up a homestead on section 36, Herberg township, where he has since resided. The
place was totally unimproved when it came into his possession, and as soon as possible he
erected a small log cabin, which was covered with a sod roof and which had only the
ground for the floor. For some time this primitive structure was his only Iiome, but later
he built a substantial and attractive frame residence. He has also erected good barns and
other necessary farm buildings and the improvements upon his place compare favorably
with those on adjoining farrtis. He has brought his land to a high state of development, has
carefully conserved its fertility and has seldom failed to harvest large crops. From time to
time he has purchased additional land and now owns five hundred acres. He was one of the
pioneers of the county and has always been among the leaders in movements for the com-
munity welfare, and the high esteem in which he is held by the early settlers of the county
is evidenced by the fact that Herberg townsliip, in which he lives, was named in his
honor. The school district was also given his name.
Mr. Herberg was married in Norway to Miss Magel Serine Kolsto, and they have
become the parents of ten children, namely, Thomas, Tracy, Olof, Bertha, Albert, Olga,
Edward, Thorolf, Herbert, and one who is deceased.
Since becoming a naturalized American citizen Mr. Herberg has stanchly supported the
republican party and he has been called to office, having served acceptably as supervisor
and as treasurer of his township. Both he and his wife hold membership in the Lutheran
church, and take a commendable interest in the moral advancement of their comnuinity.
He is a fine representative of those self-reliant, determined and public-spirited men who
in a generation transformed the state of North Dakota from a wild, uninviting and sparsely
settled region to a prosperous and highly developed commonwealth.
J. C. PETERS.
There is probably no more wide-awake or enterprising business man in Kenvillp county
than J. C. Peters, the present cashier of the Mohall State Bank and one of its principal stock
holders. He does not confine his attention, however, to the banking business for he is inter-
ested in a number of other enterprises and in nil his undertakings is meeting witli marked
success.
Mr. Peters was born in Cottonwood county, Minnesota, on the 2d of October, 1884, and
is a son of Cornelius and Helena (Foth) Peters, natives of Germany, where they were reared
and married and where they continued to reside until after the birth of four of their children.
About 1875 the family sailed for the United States and first located in New Ulm, Minnesota,
where the father followed the carpenter's trade, which he had previously learned, for seven
years. At the end of that time he located on a farm in Cottonwood county, the same state,
and continued to follow argicultural pursuits throughout the remainder of liis life. His
death occurred in I'JOl, but the mother of our subject is still living and resides in Mountain
Lake, Minnesota.
During his boyhood J. C. Peters pursued his studies in the public schools of Mountain
Lake and later took a business course at the Mankato Commercial College. At the age of
nineteen years he began his business training as a delivery boy for a mercantile house in
Mountain Lake, with which he was connected for six years, gradually advancing during that
time to the position of manager as his employers recognized his worth and ability. On
resigning that position he attended the Mankato Commercial College as previously stated and
then accepted the management of the silk department and tlie position of window trimmer
of Richard Brothers Glass Block of Mankato, remaining with that firm for nine months. He
resigned to come to North Dakota as manager of the dry goods department of the Harvey
F. W. WIEBE
W. W. BERGMAN
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 815
Mercantile Company of Harvey and filled tliat position for one year. Since the end of that
time he has been identified with the banking business, first as bookkeeper of the First
National Bank of Harvey for one year; later as assistant cashier of the First State Bank of
Martin, North Dakota; and now as cashier of the Mohall State Bank, having accepted that
position in the fall of 1913. Over the financial policies of the last named institution he has
since presided and now owns a fourth interest in the business. During his connection with
the bank tlie deposits have increased from thirty-one thousand dollars to about a quarter of
a million. Mr. Peters is also president of the Northern Investment Company, capitalized at
fifty thousand dollars, and holds a third interest in the Patalas addition to Mohall besides
other valuable city real estate. He is agent for the Ford automobile at Mohall and in the
past year sold one hundred and twent3'-cight cars. He is also county chairman of the
Insurance Federation of North Dakota.
In 1911 Mr. Peters was united in marriage to Miss Anna Litke, of Owatonna, Minnesota,
and they have two daughters: Lourraine Ellen and Marcella Jeanette. The parents hold
membership in the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Peters is independent in politics, though
he favors the republican party. In the fall of 1913 he organized the Mohall Concert Band
and has since acted as president and general manager of that organization, which has become
quite prominent in musical circles. He is one of the foremost bankers in the northwestern
part of the state and his prominence in business circles is unquestioned.
F. VV. WIEBE.
F. W. Wiebe is a well known representative of the banking interests of Renville county,
now serving as vice president of the Mohall State Bank of Mohall. He was born in Cotton-
wood county, Minnesota, May 16, 1879, his parents being Wilhelm and Elizabeth (Dickman)
Wiebe, who are natives of Germany but removed to Russia after their marriage and remained
there until coming to America in 1875. They located in Cottonwood county, Minnesota,
where the father homesteaded eighty acres and subsequently purchased more land. Meeting
with success in his farming operations he is now able to live retired at Mountain Lake,
Minnesota.
At the usual age F. W. Wiebe began his education in the district schools of his native
county and he took work in the La Salle Extension University of Chicago. At the early age
of ten years he became a wage earner, receiving only thirty dollars, however, for his first
year's work. He was employed on farms up to the time he attained his majority and in 1901
went on the road in the interests of the Golden Valley Land & Cattle Company of St. Paul,
which corporation was at that time opening up the Golden Valley in Billings county. North
Dakota, on the Montana state line. Mr. Wiebe remained with them for two years and in 1904
went to Harvey, North Dakota, where he was employed as clerk in a mercantile establishment
for five years. It was in 1909 that he became identified with the banking business, being
appointed assistant cashier of the Hurdsfield State Bank at Hurdsfield, North Dakota, where
he remained for four years. In 1913 he went to Montana as a homesteader, filing on a
claim in Hill county, which he subsequently proved up, and in 1914 came to Mohall, North
Dakota. In June of the latter year he bought an interest in the Mohall State Bank and was
made vice president of the institution, which today ranks among the leading banks of Ren-
ville county. Mr. Wiebe was placed in charge of the collection and insurance departments
and has since built up the largest insurance business in the northwestern part of the state.
He is also treasurer of the Northern Investment Company, which is a fifty thousand dollar
corporation, and has been one of the dominant factors in its development. He holds a third
interest in the Patalas addition to Jloliall and has farm land in Renville county and in
Montana.
Mr. Wiebe was married June 8, 1902, to Miss Agatha Peters, of Mountain Lake, Minne-
sota, a sister of J. C. Peters, cashier of the Mohall State Bank, a sketch of whom appears
above. To this union four children have been born, of whom Hilda, born May 3, 1903, is
deceased, those still living being Laura Isabelle, born October 29, 1906; Luella Helen, born
September 25, 1913; and Walter Wilhelm, born February 1, 1915. Mr. and Mrs. Wiebe are
Vol. n— 42
816 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
earnest and consistent members of the Congregational church and he is an ardent republican
in politics. He is one of the leading citizens and prominent business men of this part of the
state and is held in the warmest esteem by all who know him.
W. W. BERGMAN.
W. W. Bergman, assistant cashier of the Mohall State Bank and one of the representa-
tive young business men of Mohall, North Dakota, was born in Fort Atkinson, \\'isconsin,
on the 24th of July, 1S95, his parents being William and Minnie (Keson) Bergman. For
many years his father has been prominently identified with the live stock business both in
Wisconsin and Minnesota but is now practically living retired in St. James of the latter state
:Mr. Bergman of this review obtained his early education in the public and high schools
of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, and subsequently attended St. .John's University of Collegeville,
Minnesota, where he completed a business course in the spring of 1914. During the following
summer he went to Mohall, North Dakota, as teller of the Mohall State Bank and is now
acting as assistant cashier of that institution, in which he purchased a fourth interest in 1916.
It is one of tlie most substantial banks of that part of the state and its deposits now amount
fo about a quarter of a million dollars. Mr. Bergman is also secretary of the Northern
Investment Company, which has a capital of fifty thousand dollars, and holds a third interest
in the Patalas subdivision of Mohall. Although only twenty-one years of age he has already
attained an enviable position in business circles and undoubtedly greater success will be his
in the future. He owns an equity in the farm land holdings of the Mohall State Bank and is a
prosperous young business man, upright, honorable and farsighted.
G. E. METOALF.
G. E. Metcalf, grain buyer and proprietor of tlie G. E. Metcalf elevator at Kusscll,
Bottineau county, was born in Lincoln, Logan county, Illinois. August 30, 1871. His father,
John S. Metcalf, was also a native of that state, while his wife was born in Kentucky and
was a representative of an old Kentucky family whose ancestors came from Germany to
America in the year 1741. In her early girlhood Mrs. Metcalf accompanied her parents to
Illinois and was there married. When yet a young man .John S. Metcalf was apjiointed post-
master of Lincoln, Illinois, by President Lincoln in the year 1860 and filled that office for
eight years. Subsequently he engaged in business in the same town, there remaining until
1883, when he came to North Dakota, settling in Nelson county, near Lakota. There he
used his homestead, preemption and tree claim rights, securing land which he developed and
converted into a valuable farm upon which he spent his remaining days. He passed away in
1912, while his widow now resides in L.ikota at the age of eighty-four.
G. E. Metcalf was educated in the public schools of Lincoln and in the district schools
of Nelson county, North Dakota. His brother was the publisher of a paper in Lakota and
in early manhood G. E. Metcalf worked in his brother's office but as early as 1892, being
then a young man of twenty-one years, he began buying grain at Dwight, North Dakota.
After one season there spent he returned to newspaper work, but in 1909 removed to
Russell, North Dakota, and purchased the elevator of which he is now proprietor. For
seven years he has been continuously and successfully connected with the grain trade at
Russell and has built up a business of large and gratifying proportions, being now one of
the prosperous citizens of his community. He has given tangible evidence of his belief
in the future of the state by his investment in land, being now the owner of tliree hundred
and twenty acres, which constitutes one of the excellent farms of Bottineau county.
On the 4th of January, 1911, Mr. Metcalf was united in marriage to Miss Estella M.
Trotter, of Fargo, North Dakota, by whom he has three children, Marjorie, Enid and George
McKenzie. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons, belonging to Euclid Lodge, No. 24,
A. F. & A. M., of Lakota, North Dakota; Dakota Consistory, No. 1. A. &. A. S. K.: and Rem
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 817
Temple, A. A. 0. N. M. S., of Fargo. Jlrs. Metcalf holds membership with the Congregational
church. Mr. Metcalf gives his political allegiance to the republican partj- and for the past
five years has served as a member of the village board of Russell. From the starting point
of his business career he has gradually worked his way upward and his energy and ability
have carried him into important relations.
ANDREW McKAY.
Andrew McKaj', the popular and capable cashier of the Citizens State Bank of Pingree,
was born in Scotland on the 29th of December, 1885, a son of Alexander and Barbara McKay,
both of whom are now deceased. The father was for a number of years a railroad conductor.
Andrew McKay w-as educated in Burghead, Scotland, and after finishing his schooling was
employed as train dispatcher for a time. In 1904, when nineteen years of age, he came to
the United States and, making his way to North Dakota, turned his attention to farming,
which he followed until 1910. In the spring of that year the Citizens State Bank of Pingree
was organized and he was made assistant cashier, which oifice he held until 1911, when he
was elected cashier, in which capacity he is still serving. In 1910 the deposits of the bank
totaled seven thousand dollars and in the past si.x years it has grown so rapidly that they
now amount to over ninety thousand dollars. The success of the bank is due in large
measure to the ability and enterprise of Mr. McKay and he is recognized as one of the
ablest young financiers of Stutsman county. He is a stockholder and director in the bank
and also has other interests, owning valuable farm property.
Mr. McKay was married on the 10th of .TuTie, 191.S, to Miss Mary Flynn. a daughter of
Daniel Flynn, a well known resident of .Jamestown. To this union has been born a son,
Donald R. Mrs. McKay is a communicant of the Catholic church. Mr. McKay is independent
in politics, supporting the man whom lie deems best fitted for the office in question regard-
less of his party allegiance. He is very fond of fishing, hunting and motoring and believes
that outdoor recreation is far superior to any other kind of amusement. He is a third
degree Mason and in his life exemplifies the spirit of the fraternity. He is characterized by
progressiveness, by unswerving integrity and by loyalty in friendship and is highly esteemed
and respected by all who know him.
HANS ANDERSON.
Hans Anderson, filling the position of county auditor of Grand Forks county, was born
in Fayette county, Iowa, July 2, 1867, a son of Thron and Martha (Buraas) Anderson, both
of whom were natives of Norway. The father came to the United States in 1852 and
established his home among the pioneer settlers of Fayette county, Iowa. There he took
up the occupation of farming, which he successfully followed for many years, but is now
living retired at the age of eighty-six years, his birth having occurred in 1830. He makes
his home with his son, and is still hale and hearty. His wife came to the United States
about 1862, and she, too, settled in Fayette county, Iowa, where she became the wife of
Thron Anderson. She died on the old homestead farm in Fayette county, in 1898, at the
age of sixty-eight years. By her marriage she became the mother of six children, two of
whom are now deceased. Hans Anderson was the third in order of birth. The others are:
Martin Johnson, a resident of Grand Forks; Andrew, living on the old homestead in Iowa;
and Mrs. T. H. Bakke, of Grand Forks.
Hans Anderson is indebted to the public school system of Iowa for the educational
opportunities wliieh he received. His early life to the age of eighteen years was spent
upon the home farm, and he soon became familiar with the duties and labors incident
to the development of the fields. In 1885, however, he left the parental roof and
came to North Dakota, settling in Fairfield township. Grand Forks county, where he took
up the occupation of farming on his own account, devoting ten years to that task. He
818 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
next ontercd the grain and elevator business, in wliicli lie engaged at Reynolds and at
Thompson, Grand Forks county, for ten years. In 1894 he was elected commissioner of
the first district on the democratic ticket and filled that oflice for three terms. He was
appointed county auditor following the death of William Ackcrman, who had been the
incuml)ent in the office, and on the completion of the unexpired term, which he filled out,
he was elected to that position and is now a candidate for reelection without opposition,
this being the only case of the kind in the state. The fact tliat the opposing party has
put no candidate in the field indicates most dearly and indisputably his fidelity, ability
and trustworthiness. He has always given his political allegiaiu-e to the democratic party
and is a strong supporter of the cause.
On the 7th of July, 1887, Mr. Anderson was united in marriage at Grand Forks to Miss
Bella Bakke, a native of Clayton county, Iowa, and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hans Bakke,
who were pioneer settlers of that state, but hdve now passed away. To Mr. and Mrs.
Anderson have been born three daughters: Martha and Tilda, at home; and Mrs. Fred
Fingarson, of Cummings, North Dakota.
The parents are members of the Lutheran church and Mr. Anderson holds membership
with the Sons of Norway, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias
and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is also a member of the Commercial Club and
is much interested in its various projects for promoting the general welfare. His residence
in North Dakota covers a period of more than three decades, and when he arrived in
Thompson his cash capital consisted of but three dollars. Whatever success he has since
achieved or enjoyed is attributable entirely to his own etTorts, and he has gained not
only a comf.irtable competency but also the high regard ami goodwill of his fellowmen.
W. K. BERNER.
W. E. Berner. of .lamestown, lias by his own efforts and ability worked himself up
from telegrapher to the important position of division superintendent of the Northern
Pacific Railroad and is recognized as one of the able executives of that company. He was
born in Meriden. INfinnesota, August 6, 1868, a son of William ,T. and Mary (Wilcox) Berner,
the latter of whom is deceased. The father, who followed agricultural pursuits during his
active life, is now living retired at AVatervill.-. ;Minnesota. To them were born three sons
and three daughters.
W. E. Berner was educated in tli" public and high schools at St. Charles, Minnesota,
but when fifteen years of age began his business career, becoming a telegraph operator in
the employ of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad in 188.3. After remaining with that
road for four years he became an operator in the service of the Northern Pacific road,
and he worked in that capacity until 1889. He was then made train dispatcher at .fames-
town. In the same year he entered the employ of the Wisconsin Central Railroad as
dispatcher at St. Paul, which oflice he filled until the spring of 1890, when he again became
connected with the Northern Pacific, becoming chief dispatcher and train master. In 1907,
when the old Dakota division was divided into the Fargo division and the Dakota division,
he went to Fargo as train master, in which office lie served until the spring of 1912. He
was then stationed at Livingston, Montana, where he remained for two years, but in the
spring of 1914 he was promoted to the position of division superintendent with offices at
.lamestown. He has supervision over seven hundred and seventy-seven miles of track and
keeps in close touch with conditions throughout his division. 'His thorough understanding
of railroading and his ability to gain the cooperation of those under him qualify him
for his present position as an executive. The operation of his division is kept uj) to a
high standard of efilciency and his work has gained the commendation of his superiors.
He believes firmly in the prosperous future in store for North Dakota and has given
practical evidence of his faith in the state by investing in farm land.
On Christmas Day, 1890, Mr. Berner was united in marriage to Miss Julia Schraut/.ler,
a daughter of Ferdinand Schmutzler, and they have four children: Veta, who is teaching
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 819
domestic science in the Park County liigh school located at Livingston, Montana; and
William, Glenn and Vernon.
Mr. Berner is a republican, but has found no time to take an active part in politics.
He holds membership in the Presbyterian church, to the support of which he contributes.
He has given his best energies and his undivided loyalty to the service of the railroad
which he represents and his rapid promotion is but the merited reward of his faithfulness,
his initiative and aggressiveness and his administrative ability.
JOSEPH QUAMME.
Joseph Quamme, a resident of Bottineau, filling the office of register of deeds in Bot-
tineau county, was born in Steele county, Minnesota, January 3, 1878, a son of John and
Emma (Skartum) Quamme, who were natives of Norway and in the '60s came to the
United States, following the close of the Civil war. They established their home in Steele
county, Minnesota, where John Quamme worked for others until 1881. In that year he
removed to Traill county. North Dakota, and later became a resident of Steele county,
settling near Hope, where he filed on land which he developed and improved, continuing
to cultivate his farm for ten years. He then retired and removed to Hillsboro, North
Dakota, where he spent his remaining days, his death occurring in March, 1893. His
v\ idow still survives and is now living at Hillsboro.
After acquiring his education in the public schools of Hillsboro, North Dakota, Joseph
Quamme learned the printing trade in the office of the Traill County Times and also
worked on the Hillsboro Herald. He followed that pursuit for sixteen years, and during the
last eight years of the period was with the Hillsboro Banner. He then went to Fargo and
for a short time was connected with the Western Newspaper Union, after which he took
charge of the Traill County Times, continuing with the paper until 1903, when the plant
was destroyed by fire. He was next appointed deputy register of deeds in Traill county,
occupying the office until the spring of 1904. In that year he arrived in Bottineau and was
employed on the Bottineau Courant for three and a half years. In the fall of 1907 he
was appointed deputy register of deeds in Bottineau county and acted in that capacity until
elected to his present position in 1912. In 1914 he was reelected, so that he is now serving
for the second term as county register of deeds, making a creditable record in office by
the methodical, prompt and faithful manner in which he discharges his duties, having
thoroughly systematized the work of the office.
In January, 1903, Mr. Quamme was married to Miss Minnie Anderson and they have
become the parents of five children, ^Milton, Roy, Thelma, Leonard and Francis. Mr. and Mrs.
Quamme hold membership in the Lutheran church, and he is in hearty sympathy with
the purposes of the various fraternal orders with which he is associated, including the
Masons, the United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen of America. His political endorse-
ment has always been given to the republican party since age conferred upon him the
right of franchise, and upon its ticket he was elected to his present office, while at all
times he has been an active and earnest supporter of its principles because of his firm
belief in their effectiveness as factors in good government.
ROBERT FRASER.
Robert Fraser, cashier of the First National Bank of Rolla, was bom in Scotland on
the 9th of March, 1863, his parents being James and Janet (Fraser) Fraser, who spent
their entire lives in that land of hills and heather, of mountain, crag and glen — the land
which was the home of Scott and Burns and which has sent so many substantial citizens
to the new world. The father there engaged in the practice of law as a life work.
After attending the high school of Forres, Scotland, Robert Fraser continued his
education in the University of Edinburgh, where he pursued a course in law, but did not
820 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
fijiish it. When his textbooks were put aside he went to Australia, where he received his
initial training in the banking business as a bookkeeper in the London Chartered Bank of
Melbourne, with which institution he was identified for five years. In 1890 he returned
home on a visit and subsequently crossed the Atlantic to Canada, after which he took up
the occupation of farming in the province of Manitoba, devoting four years there to the
cultivation of the soil.
In 1S94 Mr. Fraser crossed the border into the United States and took up his abode in
Rolla, Kolette county, North Dakota, where for eight years he occupied the position of
deputy in the office of county register of deeds. In 1902 he entered the First National
Bank of Rolla as assistant cashier, and about 1906 was advanced to the position of cashier
of that institution, in which capacity he has now served for ten years. He has done
much to promote the growth and insure the success of the bank, his methods being prac-
tical and resultant, while his labors are at all times the expression of sound judgment
and business enterprise.
In December, 1900, Mr. Fraser was united in marriage to Miss Barbara Taylor, of
Rolla, who passed away on the 1st of April, 1916. Politically Mr. Fraser is a republican and
is a Presbyterian in his church affiliations. Those who are brought in contact with him
speedily recognize his substantial traits of character, and his qualities have made him
one of the well known and highly respected bankers in the northwestern part of the state.
HIRAM A. LIBBY.
Hiram A. Libby, attorney at law in Grand Forks, was born October 17, 1859, in Mantor-
ville, Dodge county, Minnesota. His father, Thomas Libby, was a native of Maine and a
descendant of one of the old families of that state of English lineage. The founder of
the American branch of the family was Thomas Libby, a Methodist minister, who came to
America when this country was still numbered among the colonial possessions of Great
Britain. Representatives of the family took part in the Revolutionary war. Rev. Thomas
Libby, father of Hiram A. Libby, was for thirty years a minister of the Methodist church
in central Minnesota. He became a pioneer of Dodge county and during his last days lived
retired at Park River, North Dakota, making his home with his son Hiram until his death,
which occurred in October, 1890, when he was seventy-two years of age. His wife, who
bore the maiden name of Olive E. Simmons, was a native of Maine and a representative of
one of the old families of that state. She, too, died at Park River while living with her
son Hiram, passing away January 14, 1906. at the age of seventy-six years. Her family
numbered eight children, of whom Hiram A. is the youngest.
In the schools of Atwater, Minnesota, Hiram A. Libby pursued his education until ho
had completed the high school course and spent four years as a student in the schools of
Illinois. He took up the profession of teaching, which he followed at Carbon ClifT, Illinois,
and in various cities in Minnesota, devoting four years to educational work, during which
])eriod he studied law under the direction of a tutor and also attended a night law school
in Des Moines, Iowa, while teaching in Rock Island county, Illinois. In 1881 he was admitted
to the bar at Beaver Falls, Minnesota, and in 1882 removed to Crookston, where he entered
into a law partnership with .Judge J. M. Brower, an association that was maintained for
two years. He afterward opened a law office at St. Hilaire, Minnesota, where he remained in
active practice until August, 1884. Removing to Park River, North Dakota, he there suc-
cessfully followed his profession until .Tune, 1913. when he sought a broader field and opened
an office in Grand Forks, where he has since remained in general practice, although Ii<'
devotes considerable time to corporation law. He is now accorded an extensive clientage
of an important character and is accounted one of the foremost representatives of the bar
in his adopted city. In the spring of 1913 he was appointed supreme court reporter, which
position he still fills.
On the 7th of March. 1880, Mr. Libby was married in Atwater, Minnesota, to Miss
Delia J. Towler, a native of Indiana and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. Towler. both now
deceased, who were representatives of old Indiana and Minnesota families. Mr. and Mrs.
HTEAM A. LIBBY
!_
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 823
Libby have become pai'ents of two sons and two daughters: Grace A., who was born June
27, 1883, and is the wife of Edward L. Egermayer, who is connected with the First National
Bank and is also director of the Military Band of Grand Forks; Florence, who was born
in 1885 and died April 20, 1900; Jay, born Januai^ 23, 1894; and Walter, born August 23,
1898.
The family possesses marked musical talent and love of the art. Mrs. Libby was choir
leader in the Methodist church for fourteen years and all the children have received excellent
training along musical lines and have become skilled musicians. The family are members
of the Methodist church and Mrs. Libby takes a very active part in church and charitable
work. Mr. Libby votes with the republican party and has long been an active worker in
its ranks. While at Park River he Served as mayor for two terms, from 1893 until 1896,
and was states attorney of Walsh county for a number of years. Fraternally he is con-
nected with the Masonic lodge of Park River and also belongs to the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. His interest in community affairs ia indicated
in his membership in the Commercial Club, while along professional lines he is identified
with the County, State and American Bar Associations, and liis high standing in professional
circles is indicated in the fact that he was for two terms honored with the presidency of
the state organization. His career is one which should serve to inspire and encourage
others. Even when teaching school in early manhood he furnished financial aid to his
father, and from his youthful days has been dependent entirelj' upon his own resources.
Moreover, he chose as a life work a profession in which advancement results entirely from
individual merit and ability and by reason of his strong purpose and character he has won
recognition as one of the ablest lawyers of the North Dakota bar.
REV. P. THEOPHILE G. EISELE, PH. D., D.D.
Rev. P. Theopliile 6. Eisele, pastor of St. Mary's church at Hague, Emmons county,
was born on French soil, and he received his higher education in Germany, Spain and
Italy. At the age of twenty he absolved the Abiturium or tenth class of the German
gymnasium and was sent to the Germanicum at Rome by his bishop, the well known Ih-.
Haefele, and there, under the guidance of the Jesuits, he took a seven years' course in
philosophy, theology and associate grades, and the degrees of Ph. D., D. D., at the Pontifical
"LTniversitas Gregoriana." Before leaving the Eternal city, he received his ordination to
priesthood from the hands of Cardinal Parrochi, then vicar general at the Holy See. He
took a post graduate course at the universities of Paris and Madrid, upon which he was
appointed to a professorship, teaching philosophy, higher mathematics and philology. As
a student he traveled through the European countries and in his later life through all
Central and South America, and speaks fluently Spanish, French, English, Romansch, Ger-
man and Italian.
With the permission of his bishop, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Haefele of Rottenburg, he went with
bishop Schumacher to Ecuador, where he received the appointment as vicar general of the
diocese of Porto-Viejo, comprising the two provinces Manabi and Esmeraldas. After several
years of arduous labor in that part of the Lord's vineyard, he was banished from the
country together with his learned bishop and all religious as well as secular priests and
sisters, the cause being the Masonic Revolution of 1894-18S5. With sixty-five sisters of
the diocese he fled first to Panama and thence to Cartagena. Colombia, where Rt. Rev.
Biffi gave him the city parish, Sanctissima Trinitatis. Part of the sisters took charge of
the big hospital of that parish, whilst the rest were appointed to the different public schools
of the diocese. Recalled to his native country, he was sent to Switzerland to take charge
of a mountain parish whilst restoring his health. Because of his many years of absence
from the German empire, he had again to pass the state examination in order to be allowed
to again take a government appointment. Continuing for several years to teach literature,
languages, trigonometrj' and philosophy, he received a call to the United States to teach
in the Pittsburgh (Pa.) College, now Duquesne University, lemaining a member of the
faculty there for two years. As instructor and educator he applied himself so strenuously
824 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
to the task that liis health became impaired. In the hope that a ehange of climate would
prove beneficial, he came to the Dakotas. The Rt. Rev. Bishop Wehrlc, 0. S. B., gave him
temporary charge of Odense, Morton county, from where he received the appointment as
pastor of St. Mary's parish at Hague, Emmons county, assuming his duties there April 18,
1911. The community had just completed the building of a church costing thirty-eight
thousand dollars and a parsonage amounting to over five thousand, thus incurring an
indebtedness of about twenty-five thousand, of which in 1911 were remaining yet twenty
thousand with two years' interest unpaid. Since Dr. Eisele took charge of the place over
seventeen thousand dollars of the indebtedness, capital and interest, has been paid besides the
running expenses, during the time amounting to about eight thousand dollars.
The parish now prides itself on a stately church; one of the most beautiful in the
diocese. Its members consist of a healthy stock of extremely successful, enterprising
farmers and most valiant and stanch Catholics. The yearly frequency of the sacraments
among them rose from one thousand one hundred and nineteen in 1911 to not less tlian
fifteen thousand nine hundred and eighty-three in 1915. There were eighty-five families
in the parish on his arrival; at this writing there are one hundred and twenty. The
corner stone of the present substantial and imposing church structure was laid under Rev.
Father Schardt. Since the advent of a railroad and the building up of this congregation,
Hague has become one of the most important grain and live stock centers and business
towns in Emmons county. Its steady growth promises a yet far higher activity and
importance in the very near future. Pastor and people are concentrating their efforts and
attention solely along the line of upbuilding the cause to which they have consecrated their
existence. However:
"We must not hope to be mowers,
And gather the ripe gold ears
Until we have first been sowers
And watered the furrows with tears."
Yet:
Therefore :
"Strength for today is all that we need.
As there never will be a tomorrow;
Tomorrow is but another today
With its measure of joy and of sorrow."
"Courage, brother, do not stumble
Though thy path be dark as night,
There's a star to guide the humble.
Trust in God and do the right."
RICHARD GAY DE PUY, M. D.
Dr. Richard Gay Dc Puy, who has gained a place among the successful and able
physicians of Jamestown and Stutsman county, was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan, on the
34th of September, 1855. His father, Captain Richard Gay De Puy, who was born in Ohio
and was a lawyer by profession, gave proof of his patriotism by enlisting in a regiment of
Michigan volunteer infantry and was killed in battle at Gaines Mills, Virginia, on the
27th of June, 1862. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Frances Matilda Pierce, was
bom in Vermont and reached the advanced age of ninety years, dying in 1913. They were
the parents of four children, of whom our subject is the third in order of birth.
Dr. Richard G. De Puy was forced to meet his own expenses at an early age owing to
his father's untimely death, but his energy and ability are such that he not only provided
for his material needs but also secured an excellent education. After completing the
courses in the grammar and high schools of Ann Arbor, Michigan, he entered the University
of Michigan there, from which he was graduated in 1879 with the degree of A. B. and
two years later with the degree of M. D. He continued his professional preparation for
another year, serving during that time in the College Hospital, but in June, 1SS2, ho
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 825
located in Jamestown, North Dakota, and opened an office for the practice of medicine.
He has since built up a large patronage and holds the respect not only of the general
public but also of his professional brethren. He keeps abreast of the developments of
medical science by constant study and reading, and has taken post graduate work in the
Cliicago Homeopathic College. He is also a member of the American Institute of Homeop-
athy and of the Stutsman County Medical Association. Although his practice requires
the greater part of his time and attention, he supervises his ranching interests, which are
extensive, as he owns twenty-two hundred acres of land near Jamestown. He is also a
director in the Citizens National Bank.
Dr. De Puy was married on the 5th of September, 1883, to Miss Charlotte Lloyd, a
daughter of Thomas B. and Mary (Patton) Lloyd. She passed away on the 30th of
December, 1887, leaving two children, Anna Estella and Thomas Lloyd. On the 3d of March,
1897, Dr. De Puy was again man-ied, Miss Elizabeth Bonham becoming his wife. She is
a daughter of Thomas B. and Octavia (Green) Bonham.
Dr. De Puy is a republican and has served for twenty-seven years as county physi-
cian, an unusual record, which indicates the confidence placed in him. He has also been
city health officer and has likewise served on the school board. In all of these capacities
he has proved able and conscientious in the discharge of his duties. He is well known in
local fraternal circles, being both a thirty-second degree and a Knights Templar Mason, and
being also identified with the Elks, the Eagles, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and
the Labor Federation. He is an influential member of the Presbyterian church and for
many years has served as trustee thereof, doing much in that time to promote the growth
of the church. He is very fond of outdoor life and finds needed recreation in hunting,
fishing and motoring. He has been prominent in the good roads movement and has done
much to improve the condition of the roads in his county. He is a man of many interests
and has aided in promoting the public welfare along varied lines of activity.
J. L. PAGE.
The life record of .L L. Page constitutes an interesting chapter in the financial history
of North Dakota, for his career has been actuated by a spirit of enterprise, combined with
a ready recognition and utilization of opportunities that has brought him into close and
prominent connection with banking interests. He is now cashier of the Bank of Westhope,
president of the Citizens State Bank of Antler and president of the Farmers Bank of
Newburg, North Dakota. He was bom in Girard, Macoupin county, Illinois, April 5, 1875,
a son of Elisha W. and Anna M. (Williams) Page, the former a native of North Stoughton,
Massachusetts, and the latter of Greene county, Illinois, where their marriage was celebrated,
the father liavjng removed to the latter state in early manhood. Following his marriage
he lived for a short time in Greene county and then removed to Macoupin county, where
he became prominently identified with agricultural interests, being numbered among the
representative farmers of that locality for forty years.
J. L. Page completed his public school education by graduation from the Girard high
school with the class of 1893 and later he had the benefit of a course in the State Normal
University at Normal, Illinois, from which he was graduated with the class of 1896. The
following year he spent one term at Shurtleff College in Upper Alton, Illinois, where he
pursued a complete commercial course and then seeking the opportunities offered in the
growing northwest, he came to North Dakota in 1897 and for a brief period worked for
his brother on a farm. Subsequently he became identified with the grain business and for
three years bought grain at Niles. In the summer of 1900 he filed on a homestead in
Pierce county and proved up on that property in 1901. It was while liviTig upon his
farm that he met his future wife, who had homcsteaded in his vicinity, and in 1902
he wedded Miss Anna Heidenreich.
It was on the 1st of July, 1901, that Mr. Page entered banking circles in North Dakota
as cashier of the Bank of Leeds which at that time was owned by his brother, E. B.
Page. On the event of his marriage he visited his old Illinois home on his wedding trip
826 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
and iicT?iia(Jocl his lather to sell out ami come to Xoith Dakota to engage in the banking
business. Upon the father's arrival the two took a team and drove west to Towner
and thence to Carpio and to Donnybrook, from which point thej- proceeded to Mohall and
on to old Renville and from there to Kichburg. At the last named place they decided
to locate and bought a business lot, after which they at once began the construction of a
bank building, founding the BanTc of llichburg, which was the first bank established
in Bottineau county west of Souris. At that time Richburg was twenty miles from a
railroad, and when in 1903 the railroad was built into Westhope, the Bank of Richburg
ivas moved to the new town. The building was taken to Westhope and on the 5th of
September the name of the institution was changed to the Bank of Westhope. In 190S
in conjunction with the Trimble State Bank and the First National Bank, the International
Bank was absorbed and in December, 1910, the Bank of Westhope bought the building,
li.xtures and business of the First National Bank, which then became merged into the
Bank of Westhope, business being continued in the building erected by the First National.
J. L. Page has remained cashier of the bank since its organization in Richburg, with his
father as president of the institution, and extending his efforts in the field of banking,
he is now president of the Citizens State Bank of Antler and president of the Farmers
Bank of Newburg. He is a man of sound and discriminating judgment and in the con-
duct of his interests has displayed marked enerf^y combined with a thorough knowledge
of the banking business. His investments in farm lands in Bottineau county are extensive
and he is today the owner of fourteen hundred and eighty acres, with an equity in still
other tracts.
To Mr. and Mrs. Page have been born six children, five of whom are yet living,
namely: Margaret Louise, Joseph Frederick, Ralph Wightman, Anna Marie and Rosalie
Elizabeth. John Lewis has passed away. The parents attend the Methodist Episcopal
church and Mi-. Page belongs to Westhope Lodge, No. 74, A. F. & A. M. ; Phoenicia Chapter,
No. 17, R. A. M., of Bottineau; and Loraine Commandery, No. 13, K. T., of Bottineau.
Politically he is a stalwart democrat and twice has served as mayor of Westhope, while for
five or six years he was a member of the city council. He has ever recognized the duties
and obligations as well as the privileges of citizenship and has put forth earnest and
effective effort to promote the public good. His sterling traits of character are many,
while his business ability is pronounced.
WILLIAM O'LEARV.
William O'Leary, register of the United States land office, representing the department
of the interior at Minot, was born at Waverly, Wright county, Minnesota, January 6, 1889,
a son of John C. and Bridget (Quinn) O'Leary. The father is a native of the state of
New York but was reared and educated at Tomali, Monroe county, Wisconsin, to which
place he removed with his parents in early childhood. After attending the district schools
he worked for his father upon the home farm and at twenty years of age removed to
Waverly, Minnesota, where he engaged in the farm machine business in connection with
the firm of Quinn Brothers. His time was thus spent for ten years, after which he was
elected clerk of the county court of Wright county, Minnesota, and held the office for two
terms. Later he was in the machinery business at Buffalo, Minnesota, and in 1901 removed
to Fargo, traveling from that point as a representative of a machinery house. In 1902 he
became a resident of Minot, where he now makes his home and is road man for the farm
machinery manufactured by the International Harvester Company. His business activity
has br<mght him a wide acquaintance and he is i)0))ular among those with whom he has
thus come in contact. His wife was also a native of New York btit in early girlhood went
to Bclleplaine, ^Minnesota, and was there educated. Her father became a farmer of that
locality. It was in Waverly. Minnesota, that Mr. and Mrs. O'Leary were married and her
death occurred at Buffalo, Minnesota, May 12, 1S03, after which her remains were taken
back to Waverly for interment.
William O'Leary pursued his c.liiriit ion in the scliools of Tomah, Wisconsin, to the age
WILLIAM O'LEARY
THF
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 829
of tell j-ears and in 1899 went with his fatlier to Buffalo, ilinnesota, while in 1902 he
became a resident of Minot, where he attended business college. He was afterward employed
by the International Harvester Company in the repair department for five years and sub-
sequently was with the Consumers Power Company of Minot in a clerical capacity. In 1909
he entered the employ of the city in connection with the fire department, holding the posi-
tion of driver for four years. On the 1st of May, 1913, he was appointed chief of the fire
department and is still acting in that important capacity. He also has other official duties,
for on the 35th of July, 1916, he was appointed by President Wilson register of the
district land office of the United States department of the interior, with headquarters at
Minot.
Mr. O'Leary holds membership in the Komaii Catholic church. His political views
accord with the principles of the democratic party and fraternally he is connected with
Minot Lodge. No. 1089, B. P. 0. E. His entire life has been passed in the northwest and
in all that he has undertaken he has been actuated by the spirit of enterprise which has
governed the development of this section of the country
FRANICLIN A. CARLEY.
Franklin A. Carley, who is engaged in the implement business in Montpelier, is a
native of New England, his birth having occurred near Mount Tabor, Vermont in January,
1849, his parents being Alva B. and Lucina (Greeley) Carley, who in the year 1855 left
their Vermont home and removed westward to Wisconsin, settling at Stephensville, near
Appleton. There the father took up the occupation of farming, which he continued to
follow until his life's labors were ended in death in 1871. His wife has also passed away.
Franklin A. Carley had scarcely begun his education when the removal was made from
Vermont, so that his studies were largely pursued in Wisconsin, where be continued to live
until 1879. He was married in that state in 1871 to Miss Liza McAllister. He continued
to engage in farming with his father until the latter's death, after which he cultivated the
homo place for about nine years and then disposed of it preparatory to removing to
Xortli Dakota in 1879. This was then a frontier state and he homesteaded on section 24,
township 137, range 63, Stutsman county. He complied with the law's requirements and
became owner of the place and he still lives upon the farm, which he transformed from a
tract of raw prairie land into a highly cultivated property, continuing to actively engage
ill tlie work of the fields until 1896, wdien he accepted a position with the Andrews Grain
Company at Montpelier as manager. He remained with that company for twelve years
and also handled the lumber and coal trade for several years. In fact he controlled all the
business interests of the village- except the general store. In 1907 he took full charge
of the interests of the Lutz Lumber Company and continued in that connection for about
two years, after which he was obliged to go to a hospital, where he remained much of the
time for two years. He had previously also been engaged in the farm implement business
but in 1908 he severed his connection with all other interests and concentrated his efforts
upon the farm implement trade. He now carries a large stock and is conducting a profitable
and growing business. He also farms two quarter sections of land and lives upon that
]ilace and in addition he owns eight lots in the village, upon which his store is located.
From 1883 until 1887 he and his wife conducted the noon stage depot or relay station on the
stage line from Jamestown to Oakes, and so excellent was their table that their meals became
renowned and they had a large trade.
Mr. and Mrs. Carley became the parents of seven children but lost their firstborn,
licit A. The others are: Hattie, now the wife of W. N. Campbell, a real estate dealer and
ramhnian living at Medford, Oregon; Edith L., the wife of I. H. Porter, a truck farmer resid-
ing at Gold Hill, Oregon; Koy E., postmaster at Montpelier; Frank H., who is agent for the
Northern Pacific Railroad Company at Glover, North Dakota ; L. Isabelle, who is a graduate
of the Valley City Normal Scliool and for three years taught at Wyndmere; and I. Margaret,
wlio is attending the Agricultural College at Corvallis, Oregon, where she is pursuing a
general course in domestic science and chemistry.
830 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
:Mr. Carley has always been deeply interested in the cause of education and has given
liis children good opportunities in that direction. He served as clerk of school district
No. 7, in Stutsman county, from ISSl to 1889 and then became clerk of district Xo. 14.
He was largely instrumental in securing the erection of the fine new high school building,
which is the best in this part of the state. He stands at all times for progress and im-'
provement and believes that one can give to the young no better aid than to provide them
with liberal educational opportunities. For thirty-seven years Mr. Carley has been a res-
ident of tlie state and has therefore witnessed much of its growth and development, tak-
ing an active and helpful interest in all that has pertained to public progress and improve-
ment in his community.
JOHN N. BLADES.
John N. Blades, filling the position of justice of the peace in Bottineau, where he is
also engaged in the real estate and loan business, was born in Watertown, Jefferson county,
-\ew York, December 4, 1851, a son of John N. and Mary Blades, the former a
native of England and the latter of New York. The father was a general contractor and
also bought horses for the government. After coming to America he spent his remaining
days in New Y'ork, where he passed away in August, 1904, his wife surviving only until
July, 1905.
Through the period of his boyhood and early youth John N. Blades attended the public
schools of his native city and thus qualified for life's practical and responsible duties.
He was fifteen years of age when in 1866 he removed westward to Independence, Iowa,
where for five years he was employed in a drug store. He then went upon the road as a
traveling salesman for the McCormick Harvester Company, which he represented for
twenty-six years in Iowa, Minnesota and North and South Dakota. He continued with
the international Harvester Company after it took over the business of the McCormick
Company and his identification with the two corporations covered thirty-three years. In
1896 he became a resident of Willow City, Bottineau county, and a year later removed to
Bottineau, after which he filed on land which he cultivated and improved for three years.
He then took up his abode in the city of Bottineau and for ten years was engaged in the
iniplcnient business. On the expiration of that period he opened a real estate, loan and
collection oflice and has since been active in that field of labor, during which period he has
iiej;(jtiated many important realty transfers, has placed many loans and has written a large
amount of insurance. He also puts up lightning rods each year to the value of about twenty-
five hundred dollars and he moreover owns one hundred and thirteen acres of land north of
Bottineau. In November, 1915, he was elected justice of the peace and has since served upon
the bench of the justice court.
In February, 1882, Mr. Blades was married to Miss Lydia Butler and they have become
the parents of two children: Clifford L., who is conducting a moving picture show in Bot-
tineau; and Floyd B., connected with the electric light plant.
Mr. Blades has always voted with the republican party, being a iirm believer in its
juinciples. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity and his religious faith is that of the
Methodist church. High and honorable principles have actuated him at all points in his
career and his life measures up to commendable standards of manhood and citizenship.
DANIEL DOW.
Business enterprise in Grand Forks finds a worthy representative in Daniel Dow, the
jiresident of the Grand Forks Foundry & Machine Company, which was established and
incorporated in 1885. It came into existence through the enterprising efforts and initiative
spirit of Mr. Dow and was the first establishment of the kind in the state. It was in that
year that he removed to North Dakota from Canada, of which countrv he is a native, his
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 831
birth having occurred in Ontario, December 20, 1861. He was the seventh in a family of
ten children whose parents were Donald and ilargaret (White) Dow, natives of Scotland,
where they were reared and married. In an early daj' they became residents of Canada.
The father traveled three hundred miles by boat and on foot, enduring all kinds of
hardships, to the place where he located near Ottawa, and while he became a pioneer
resident of that district, he lived to become a successful farmer and representative citizen
of his community, there passing away in 1894 at the venerable age of eighty-two years.
His wife, who had accompanied him to the new world, died in Grand Forks in 1910, at the
age of eighty-three years.
Their son, Daniel Dow, was educated in the country schools of Canada and his youthful
experiences were those of the farm bred boy. At the age of twenty years he started out
to earn his own living and was apprenticed to the machinery trade, which he afterward
followed as a journeyman for four years. He then came to North Dakota, settling in
Grand Forks in 1885, at which time he entered the business circles of the city on his own
account through the establishment of the Grand Forks Foundry & ilachine Company.
He organized this business, which he began on a small scale with about six skilled workmen.
His plant was originally located at the corner of Dakota avenue and Eighth street, where
he continued for about ten years and then removed the business to Second and International
streets, where the company purchased a three acre tract of land and erected thereon a
modern and thoroughly up-to-date machine shop where they now employ from thirty to
thirty-five men, having the largest business of the kind in the statq. Their trade covers
the northern half of North Dakota and ilinnesota and their output finds a ready sale on
the market. The officers of the company are: Daniel Dow, president; J. B. Dow, vice pres-
ident; and Christ Hanson, secretary and treasurer.
On the 20th of December, 1890, at Grand Forks, Mr. Dow was married to Miss Nellie
Bell, a native of Ontario and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Bell. The father is now
deceased but the mother is still living. Mr. and Mrs. Dow have become the parents of five
children: Jennie B., who is the wife of Ralph Hulick, of Ada, Minnesota; Lillian W.;
Donald \V., who is associated with his father in business; Ruth H., and Margaret H.
The family are consistent members of the First Presbyterian church, of which Mr. Dow
is a trustee. He has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in Masonry and
he belongs also to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the ilodern Woodmen of America
and the Yeomen. He is likewise a member of the Commercial Club, which indicates his
interest in all matters of civic welfare and betterment. His political allegiance is given
to the republican party but the honors and emoluments of office have no attraction for
him, as he prefers to concentrate his attention upon his business affairs. For thirty-one
years he has now been actively connected with the industrial interests of Grand Forks and
his is one of the most substantial business concerns of the city, while in business circles
Mr. Dow sustains an unassailable reputation.
T. L. BEISEKER.
In North Dakota, the name of T. L. Beiseker is widely known, and in banking circles,
the record which he has made shows what may be accomplished when determination and
energy are the moving forces. The steps in his orderly progress are easily discernible,
and enterprise and even paced energy have carried him into many important relations and
connections. He is the head of Beiseker & Company, of Fessenden, which has banking and
other interests at various points in this and other states. His business methods have ever
been straightforward and well defined, and his career has evidenced his ability to discrim-
inate between the essential and the non-important. ,
Mr. Beiseker was born in 1866 at Muncie, Indiana, a son of Mr. and Mrs. C. N.
Beiseker. now of Austin, Minnesota. They were pioneers of that state, having settled
there in 1869. and there they have since made their home. Their son, T. L. Beiseker,
obtained a common and high school training, however in the school of experience he has
received the major portion of his education.
832 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
His first venture in the business world on liis own account gained for him the mun-
ificent salary of ten dollars per month and board; today, he stands one of the most
prominent figures in the banking field of the northwest. He has organized numerous banks
and other financial companies, and among others, in North Dakota, is connected with the
First State Bank of Cathay, the Chaseley State Bank of Chaseley, the First State Bank of
DenhofT, the Wells County State Bank, F'armers Trust Company and Farm Home Credit
Company of Fessenden. the Hamberf; State Bank of Hamberg, the Gernuin State Bank of
Harvey, the Heaton State Bank of Heaton. the Hurdsfield State Bank of Hurdsfield, the
Mountrail County State Bank of Lostwood, the First State Bank of Manfred, the First
State Bank of Martin, the Mercer State Bank of Mercer, the Sheridan County State Bank
of McClusky, the First National Bank of New Rockford, the First National Bank of Stanley,
the First National Bank of Towner, the Washbiirn State Bank of Washburn and the
Farmers & Merchants Bank of WHiite Earth. In Minnesota, among others he is interested in
the Farmers & Merchants National Bank of Cannon Falls and in the Randolph State Bank
at Randolph, while in Montana he is connected with the American National Bank at
Forsyth, the Sheridan County State Bank at Blentywood and the Roundup National Bank
at Roundup. At each point, a general banking business is carried on and in every instance,
the institution occupies an important position in its community, drawing patronage from a
large surrounding territory.
In April, 1893, Mr. Beiseker organized the Wells County State Bank, at Sykeston, his
first banking institution and the first bank in Wells county. In November, 1894, when
the county seat of Wells county was removed to Fessenden, the bank was also moved to
that city, where it is now located. Mr. Beiseker still resides in Fessenden and from that
point directs his manifold and growing interests.
In his political views Mr. Beiseker is a republican but has never been desirous of
holding office. He has always preferred to direct his energies toward the advancement of
his business interests and to any movement which has had for its goal a more prosperous
and better northwest. He has always been a firm believer that diversified farming, in its
broadest sense, would be of the greatest benefit to the state, and has financed and inaugu-
rated many experiments and much propaganda in this field. There is no man who occupies
a more enviable position in financial circles, not only by reason of the success he has
achieved, but also because of the straightforward business policy which he has ever followed,
giving to him the respect and esteem of all.
Truly, his career proves that success is not a matter of genius alone, as is held by some,
but is rather the result of dear judgment, tireless energy and honest endeavor.
]\r. P. MORRIS.
M. P. Morris is postmaster of .lamestown. Stutsman county, and is also the owner of the
Stutsman County Democrat, an excellent and well patronized weekly i)aper. His birth
occurred in Wisconsin on the 26th of August, 1857. and his parents were Thomas and Sarah
Morris. After leaving the public schools he entered a printing ofiice at .lanesville, Wisconsin,
where he remained until 1880. Subsequently he followed the printer's trade for four years
in the northern part of Wisconsin and for nine years in Minnesota but in 1893 he came to
North Dakota and located at Grand Forks. Two years later he arrived in .Jamestown and
in 1903 he established a job office, while in 1904 he founded the Stutsman County Democrat,
which is the official organ of the democratic party in that county. The paper has prospered
from the beginning and its circulation and advertising are still growing. It strives to
print all news of local interest and is known as both up-to-date and reliable. Through
its editorial page Mr. Morris has accomplished much for the democratic party and personally
he lias been active in county and state politics for eighteen years. For a number of years
he served as chairman of the county committee and he has also been connected with the
state organization but since receiving his appointment as postmaster has ceased to be
active politically. He was appointed to the office on the 19th of August, 1914. and took
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 833
charge on the 23d of September. He has proved capable and efficient in the discharge of
his duties and the work of the ofiice is done with accuracy and dispatch.
On the 12th of November, 1879, Mr. Morris was united in marriage to Miss Margaret
Hayes, who died on the 33d of December, 1908. They became the parents of four sons and
one daughter. The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church, to the
teachings of which they strive to conform their lives. Mr. Morris has thoroughly identified
his interests with those of his county and state and cooperates heartily witli all those who
seek the advancement of North Dakota.
THOMAS NIELSON.
Thomas Nielson, coming to the United States at the age of fifteen years, is practically
a self-educated as well as a self-made man. Today he is well informed on all topics of
general interest and, moreover, he holds an important position of trust as the manager of
the yards of the Imperial Lumber Company at Newburg, his life record therefore demonstrat-
ing, what may be accomplished when energy, ambition and determination lead the way.
He was born in Denmark, October 10, 1890, a son of Eskild and Maren (Martinusdatter)
Nielson. His father died in Denmark in 1908, while the mother is still living in that country.
At the usual age Thomas Nielson began his education in the schools of Denmark and
after coming to America when a youth of fifteen years continued his education in the high
school of Westhope, North Dakota, being the first pupil to enter the new building when it
was opened for school purposes. He arrived in the United States in March, 1905, and made
his way at once to Westhope. He worked on a farm through the summer months, while
attending school in the winter seasons, and lie continued to engage in farm labor until the
spring of 1911. when he took up his abode in Westhope and accepted the position of
second nuin in the lumberyard of the Imperial Lumber Company. In the spring of 1913
he was advanced to the position of manager of the Imperial Lumber Company at Newburg,
and has since acted in that capacity, making an excellent record through his capability,
resourcefulness, diligence and trustworthiness.
In the spring of 1912 Mr. Nielson was united in marriage to Miss Edna Hams, of Souris,
North Dakota, by whom he has two sons, Walter E. and Owen T. Fraternally he ia iden-
tified with the Danish Brotherhood lodge of Westhope and Russell Lodge, No. 89, A. F.
& A. M. In his political views Mr. Nielson is a republican but not an office seeker. While
never remiss in the duties of citizenship and cooperating in many movements for the public
good in a private capacity, he prefers to concentrate his energies upon business afl'airs
rather than hold office, and in the work in which he is now engaged is proving most
capable, while his advancement to his present position of responsibility is due entirely
to his own efforts.
HON. ALBERT L. NELSON.
Hon. Albert L. Nelson, attorney at law in Rolette and member of the state senate, has
been active along lines that have brought him into close connection with public interests
and at all times he has been actuated by a devotion to the general good. He was born
in Litchfield, Minnesota, May 24, 1874, a son of N. L. and Emily (Anderson) Nelson, who
were natives of Sweden. In early life they came to the United States, settling in Goodhue
county. Minnesota, where they lived for a short time. They then removed to Litchfield,
Minnesota, and purchased land and throughout his remaining days the father devoted his
attention to general agricultural pursuits. He passed away in November, 1897, while the
mother is still living.
Albert L. Nelson was reared in his native city, where he pursued his education until
graduated from the high school with the class of 1893. He afterward took up the profession
S34 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
of teaching, which lie followed lor live years, ami later engaged in the newspaper business
at Dassel, Minnesota, for two years, learning the printer's trade while thus engaged. He
afterward went to Washington, X>. C, and for two years was employed in the census bureau.
While thus engaged he studied law in Columbian University and upon his return to the
middle west established his home in Minneapolis. He worked on the Minneapolis Tribune
and the Minneapolis Times and later spent a year in a law ofliee, after which he took
the state bar examination in June, 1905. Admitted to practice, he removed to Kolette in
October of that year and on the 1st* of September, 190G, he bought out the Kolette County
Examiner, which he published until July 7, 1916. He then sold his paper and has since
concentrated his energies upon the practice^ of law, in which he has been engaged in Rolette
since 1906. He is an able member of the bar and, moreover, is a practical business man
whose long experience in the field of journalism has enabled him to form ready and cor-
rect judgment concerning individuals which is always a factor in successful law practice. His
realty possessions include a quarter section of land in Williams county, North Dakota.
On the 10th of July, 1905, Mi-. Nelson was united in marriage to iliss Anna Nelson,
of Minneapolis. Their religious faith is that of the Episcopal church and Mr. Nelson
belongs to the Masonic fraternity and the Modern Woodmen of America. In politics he is
a republican and has served as a trustee on the village board, while in 1912 he was elected
to represent his district in the state senate. While a member of the upper house he gave
careful consideration to the questions which came up for settlement and he was recognized
as a public-spirited citizen whose legislative work was ever for the benefit of his fellow
citizens and the commonwealth.
W. K. PARSONS.
That North Dakota oilers wealth to its agriculturists is indicated in the fact that many
who have followed farming within the borders of the state are now able to live retired, pos-
sessed of a handsome competence that has come as the reward of their labors in the fields.
Such is the record of W. R. Parsons, who now makes his home in Page. He was born in New
Carlisle, Clark county, Ohio, on the 21st of July, 1S46, a son of Hiram and Jane (Ross)
Parsons, both of whom were natives of Ohio. In the year 1882 they arrived in North Dakota
and spent the succeeding year at Bull'alo, Cass county, following which the father and his
sou, W. R. Parsons, took up homestead-s in Page township. These properties adjoined and
they began the development of the farms. Four or five years later our subject purchased,
a relinquishment on a tree claim, which he proved up and which he still owns.
W. R. Parsons continued his residence on the old homestead until 1907, when he left
the farm and removed to Page, where he has since resided, his son. Hiram .1., now owning and
cultivating tlie old home property. Mr. Parsons, however, still owns four hundred and eighty
acres of rich and productive land, from which he derives a substantial annual income. He
was progressive in his farming methods, wisely and carefully directing the cultivation of his
fields, and his careful inanagenicnt and indefatigable industry brought to him growing success.
In 1871 ilr. Parsons was united in marriage to Miss Anna Dewees, a daughter of William
and Jerusha M. (Woodbury) Dewees, of Livingston county, Illinois. To them were born
eight children, seven of whom still survive, as follows: Edna V., the wife of B. L. Barckley,
who is an agriculturist of Rochester township, Cass county; June, who is the wife of T. J.
Pierce, of Fargo; Earl, who lives :n Bismarck and is deputy state superintendent of schools;
William, a ranchman residing at Nampa, Idaho; Hiram, who owns the homestead farm; Mon-
tague, a ranchman living at Chinook, Montana; and Emma, the wife of Howard F. Parker,
who cultivates her father's lands. There are seventeen grandchildren in the family. Mrs.
Anna Parsons passed away July 31, 1907, and her denii.^e was the occasion of deep and wide-
spread regret.
In his political views Mr. Parsons has always been a republican since age conferred upon
him the right of franchise. For many years he served as township clerk and was also clerk
of the school board for many years. He filled the office of member of the village board of
Page for three years and he has ever taken an active and helpful interest in those platis and
W. R. PAIiSOXS
MRS. W. R. PARSONS
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 839
projects which tend to further public progress. He became one of the organizers and charter
members of the Baptist cliurch of Page, being now the only survivor among the number who
formed the church. He has guided his entire life according to its teachings and the integrity
of his word and of his acts has placed him in a most enviable position in the regard of hia
fellowmen.
FRANK J. MEUWISSEN.
Frank J. Meuwissen, cashier of the State Bank of Rolla, was born in Cologne,
Minnesota, on the 25th of October, 1881, his parents being Jacob and Theresa (Wirtz)
Meuwissen, who are natives of Germany and in childhood came with their respective parents
to the United States, the latter at the age of nine years and the former when eighteen
years of age. They were married in Carver county, Minnesota, and for many years there-
after the father was engaged in the hardware and implement business at Cologne, Minne-
sota, where he became one of the dominant factors in commercial circles, his establishment
ranking for a long period with the leading business concerns of his city. At length he
retired from business life and for the past twenty years has lived in Cologne in the enjoy-
ment of well earned rest.
Frank J. Meuwissen was educated in the Catholic parochial school of Cologne and when
about seventeen years of age secured the position of assistant postmaster, in which capacity
he served for two years. About 1900 he removed to Morgan, Minnesota, where he was
employed in a clerical capacity in a mercantile house. He afterward removed to Belle
Plaine, Minnesota, where he occupied a clerkship, and on the 20th of January, 1903, he went
to Rolla and received his initial training in banking in connection with the State Bank
of Rolla. which he entered as assistant cashier. In .June, 1913, he was promoted to the
position of cashier and so continues, the patrons of the bank finding in him a courteous
and obliging oflicial who is always ready to further their interests in a financial way if
in so doing he does not jeopardize the stability of the bank. F'rom time to time he has
made judicious investments in farm lands, of which he is now the owner of six hundred
acres, deriving therefrom a substantial income.
On the 24th of December, 1913, Mr. Meuwissen was united in marriage to Miss Maud
V. Shaver, of Rolla. Mr. Meuwissen belongs to the Catholic church, while his wife is a
communicant of the Episcopal faith. Fraternally he is connected with the Ancient Order
of United Workmen. His entire life has been spent in the northwest and he possesses the
spirit of indefatigable energy and progress which lias led to the rapid and substantial
development of the state.
.JOHN B. HANSEN.
John B. Hansen, an excellent citizen and a prosperous farmer, residing on section
35, Hill township, Cass county, was born in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, at that time a
part of Denmark, April 2, 1858, and is a son of Nicholas and Mathilda (Nessen) Hansen,
both of whom spent their entire lives in that country. He remained at home during the period
of his boyhood and youth and acquired his elementary education in the local schools.
Subsequently he pursued a college course in Lindholm, Germany, and his vocational training
was gained in an apprenticeship to the miller's trade. In 1883, in early manhood, he came
to the United States„ having heard favorable reports concerning the conditions here, and
landed at New York on the 13th of July. He immediately came west and on the 17th of
that month reached North Dakota, where he has since resided. For two years he worked
as a farm hand but in 1885 homesteaded a quarter section of land in Eldred township, Cass
county, where he resided until 1891. During that time he purchased a one hundred and
sixty acre tract in Clifton township which adjoined his homestead on the west and he
concentrated his energies upon the cultivation and improvement of his half section of land.
Vol. n— 43
840 HISTORY OF NORTH iJ.\KO! A
In 1891 he left the farm and removed to Enderlin, Ransom county, and there ran a dray
line and also operated a feed mill, remaining there for about three years. On the expira-
tion of that period he purchased three hundred and twenty acres on section 35, Hill
township, Cass county, and removed to his new home, which was then raw prairie but which
is now in a high state of cultivation. He has erected a good residence and substantial
farm buildings and keeps everything about the place in an excellent condition. He now
owns four hundred and eighty acres all in a body but operates twelve hundred and eighty
acres, on six hundred and forty acres of which he has a six years' option. In addition to his
extensive agricultural interests he owns stock in the Independent Harvester Company and the
Farmers Elevator Company of Alice, which he was largely instrumental in organizing.
In ISSS Mr. Hansen was united in marriage, to Miss Anna C. Schmidt, a native of
Germany, by whom he has nine children: Ella, wife of Ed Birdsell, of Sterling, Illinois;
Lillian, who married J. W. Chapman, a bank cashier of Buffalo, Cass county; and Harry
and Grover, twins, Clarence, May, Johnny, Hans and Victor, all at home.
Mr. Hansen is a republican in politics and his ability and public spirit have been recog-
nized by his fellow citizens, who have called him to practically all the township offices.
For several years he was a member of the township board and for eighteen years he has
been township assessor. He has a creditable military record, having entered the German
army in 1877 and served the required three years, after which he returned to civil life.
However, he was recalled to the colors and remained in the army for an additional three
years, winning his commission as lieutenant of his company, which rank he held at the
expiration of his term of service. He is a communicant of the Lutheran church and in
all relations of life has measured up to high standards of manhood.
GEORGE LANEY.
George Laney, living at Napoleon, occupies the position of sheriff of Logan county
and his sterling qualities of manhood and citizenship have gained him high regard. He
was born in Ontario, Canada, .January 20, 1873, a son of William and Anna (Brennan)
Laney, who were also natives of Canada, where they were reared and married. In 18S0
they crossed the border into the United States, making their way to North Dakota. The
father secured a homestead claim in Pembina county and afterward removed to California,
where he resided for thirteen years. In 1908, however, he returned to North Dakota
and established his home in Napoleon, where he has since lived.
George Laney was reared and educated in the public schools of Pembina county and
in early manhood entered the employ of J\idge N. G. Young of Fargo, by whom he was
employed for six years. In 1S99 he removed to Logan county, where he engaged in ranching,
but after two years he took up his abode in Napoleon, where he dealt in live stock. His
fellow townsmen, appreciative of his worth and ability, called him to public office and
for six years, from 1902 until 1908, he served as sheriff of Logan county. He then
retired from the office but in 1914 was reelected, so that he is now serving his eighth
year in that position, and at the last primary he was again nominated without opposition.
His is indeed a creditable record, for the public recognizes that his service constitutep. a
splendid safeguard of law and order. Mr. Laney also filled the position of postmaster of
Xajinleon for ten and one-half years, being first appointed to the oflicp in October. 1903.
In 1890 occurred the marriage of :Mr. Laney and Miss Delma Perrault, of Bathgate,
North Dakota, who died December 29, 1907. leaving a daughter, Lorna, who is now a high
school pupil. In 1910 he was again married, his second union being with Miss Mary
Shorten, of Logan county.
In his political views Mr. Laney has always been a stalwart republican and is recog-
nized as one of the leading workers of the party in his section of the state. Fraternally
he is connected with Bismarck Lodge, No. 1199, B. P. O. E., and he is a member of the
Knights of Columbus, while he and his wife hold membership in the Catholic church. His
is a notable career of a successful business man who also finds time and opport\mity to
advance the general good. He has become a heavy holder of farm lands in Logan county.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 841
owning fifteen hundred acres, and this and other interests make him one of the most
substantial citizens of his section of the state. All who know him speak of him in terms
of high regard and to the law-abiding citizen his name is a bulwark of defence and protection.
CHAELES DRAWZ.
Charles Drawz, manager of a general merchandise store at Edmunds and also postmaster
of the town, was born in Minnesota in 1884, a son of Carl and Eliza (Sacliow) Drawz,
the former a native of Germany and the latter of Minnesota. The father became one of the
pioneer settlers of Minnesota and there carried on general farming for many years, his
death occurring in 1910. His widow survives and is now living at Minot, North Dakota.
. Charles Drawz is the sixth in order of birth in a family of seven children, all but one
of whom are now living. He mastered the branches of learning taught in the district
schools of his native state and afterward became a high school student in Browerville,
Minnesota, while subsequently he pursued a business course in Minneapolis and thus qual-
ified for life's practical and responsible duties. After leaving school he entered the employ
of the Haas Mercantile Company of Jamestown, North Dakota, and remained with them
for a period of six years, having come to the state in 1905. He removed from Jamestown
to Edmunds when made manager at that place for the Haas Mercantile Company, which
had established a general store there, and since 1913 he has continuously been in charge,
making a success of the business, in which connection he employs two clerks. A complete
line of general merchandise is carried and the trade has steadily grown and developed.
Mr. Drawz' previous experience had made him well qualified to undertake the management
of this business and he had also become well known in commercial circles. He undertook
the work entrusted to his care with enthusiasm and his devotion to the interests of the
business has made him one of the successful general merchants of this part of the state.
In 1911 Mr. Drawz was married to Miss Adeline Lueck, who was born at Spiritwood,
North Dakota, in 1887, a daughter of John and Louise Lueck, who were early residents
of this state and are now making their home in Jamestown.
On the 15th of May, 1913, Mr. Drawz was appointed postmaster at Edmunds, which
position he has since filled. Fraternally he is connected with Camp No. 1477, M. W. A., at
Jamestown, but he makes all other interests subservient to his business afi'airs, concentrating
his efforts chiefly upon the management of the store and the extension of its trade.
FEED WILLIAM SMITH.
Fred William Smith, president of the North Dakota State School of Forestry at
Bottineau, has devoted his entire life to educational work and the steps in his orderly pro-
gression are easily discernible, bringing him to a prominent position in his chosen field.
He was born May 28, 1876, at Fort Eidgely, Minnesota, a son of Thomas and Ella Smith,
the former a native of Vermont and the latter of New York. The father was of Irish
lineage and the great-great-grandfather was killed in the battle of Waterloo while fighting
with an Irish regiment under Wellington. The grandfather of President Smith became
a pioneer of the middle west and was killed by the Indians in the Sioux massacre of 1862.
In the maternal line the ancestry is traced back to the Mayflower.
In the acquirement of his education President Smith entered the State Normal School
at Mankato, Minnesota, from which he was graduated with the class of 1895. He then
took advanced work and completed a course in the University of INIinnesota in 1900, at
which time the Bachelor of Science degree was conferred upon him. After leaving the
Mankato school he filled the position of principal of the graded school at St. Clair, Minne-
sota, in 1895-6 and following the completion of the teachers' and scientific courses at the
^Minnesota L^niversity he accepted the position of teacher of science in the high school at
Boise, Idaho. The following year was spent as science teacher in the high school at
842 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Mankato, Minnesota, after which he accepted a call to the head of the department of biology
and agriculture at the opening of the Northern State Normal and Industrial School at
Aberdeen, South Dakota, where he remained until 1913, becoming vice president of the
school. He was tlien called to the presidency of the North Dakota State School of
Forestry at Bottineau. He is now occupying that position and under his guidance the
school has made steady progress, its curriculum being broadened and its standards of
efficiency raised.
In 1903 President Smith was married to Miss Lillian Nettieton, of Minneapolis, Minne-
sota, who died in 1904, leaving a son, Harold Fred Smith. In 1906 he wedded Lavilla May
Shaffer and the children of this marriage are Thomas William, Doris May and Jesse, who
are seven, three and one-half and one and one-half years of age respectively. The parents
are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Smith is also an exemplary rep-
resentative of the Masonic fraternity. He is secretary of the Mid-West Forestry Asso-
ciation and his broad study and investigation along the lines of forestry have enabled him
to speak with authority upon many phases of the subject, finding answer for many of the
questions which are now uppermost in public attention concerning forestry conservation
and propagation.
ALVHSr P. CLIFFORD.
Alvin P. Clifford, president of A. P. Clifford & Company, Incorporated, of Grand
Forks, was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts. September 10, 1871, and was the youngest of
five children born to Benjamin Barnard and Ruth Nourse (George) Clifford. The father was
a native of New Hampshire and a representative of an old family of that state of English
descent. The founder of the family in the new world arrived before the American Revolution
and representatives of the family participated in the war for independence. Benjamin B.
Clifford became a cattle drover and was quite successful in his dealings in live stock.
Removing to Massachusetts, he spent the greater part of his life in that state, there
passing away in 1873 at the age of fiftj'-six years. His wife was born in Vermont and
represents an old Vermont family of English origin. She survives and is residing in
Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Alvin P. Clifford acquired his education in the public schools of Vermont and in Tilton
Seminary at Tilton, New Hampshire, from which he was graduated in 1888. At the age of
sixteen years he started out to earn his own liveliliood and secured a clerkship in a mercan-
tile establishment, there receiving his initial business training. In 1892 he arrived in
Grand Forks, North Dakota, and entered manufacturing circles in connection with the
manufacture of woolen goods, being one of the organizers of the Grand Forks Woolen ^lills,
the first and only business of the kind ever established in that city. He remained active
along that line for twelve years, at the end of which time the business was discontinued.
Mr. Clifford then Iiccame connected with the firm of Nash Brothers, wholesale grocers, as
credit man, remaining witli that house for four years. He afterward entered the general
insurance business by organizing the firm of A. P. (TifTord & Companj', Incorporated, of
which he is the president. He has one of the most important agencies in the state, the
volume of his business in the field of general insurance exceeding that of the great majority
of insurance men in North Dakota. His offices are located in the Clifford block in Grand
Forks.
On the 15th of June, 1896, in St. Paul, Minnesota, Mr. Clifford was married to
Miss Katherine Stewart, a native of Canada and a daughter of Donald and Jlary Stewart,
the latter now deceased. The family is of Scotch lineage. Five children have been born
to Mr. and Mrs. Clifford, of whom four are yet living: Stewart Hilton, born September
12, 1900; Benjamin Bailey, January 6, 1903; Katherine, November 26, 1905; and Arthur
Farnsworth, on October 3, 1907. AH were born in Grand Forks.
The family residence is now at No. 123 Reeves avenue, which property Mr. Clifford owns
He and his wife are members of the First Presbyterian church, in which he holds the
ollice of treasurer. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he is a
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 843
member of the Commercial Club. He also belongs to the Golf and Curling Club — associa-
tions which indicate much the nature of his recreation. He has attained high rank in
Masonrj' and is now a member of the Mystic Shrine and he also belongs to the Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Yeomen and the
Modern Woodmen of America. He has made good use of his time, talents and opportunities
and has won the proud American title of a self-made man. As the architect of his fortunes
he has builded wisely and well and notwithstanding the fact that he has met with some
discouragements and difficulties, he has maintained a ready courage and has won for
himself a prominent and honored position in insurance circles.
JAY WESLEY BLISS.
.Jay Wesley Bliss, filling the office of state civil engineer under appointment of Governor
L. B. Hanna, was born upon a farm in Nelson county. North Dakota, October 26, 1885, and
belongs to that class of native sons of whom the state is justly proud, their ability being of
such a character as contributes to the development and progress of the state. His parents
are John W. and Alice L. (Cowles) Bliss. The father was born in Bainbridge, Ohio, in 1859
and in the year 1881 came to North Dakota, settling in Nelson county, where he entered
land in what was then a frontier district. Two years afterward, or in 1883, he wedded Alice
L. Cowles, also a native of the Buckeye state. Through all the intervening years they have
been identified with the agricultural interests of Nelson county, where they still make their
home.
Ambitious to secure good educational advantages and become fitted for something more
than the drudgery of life. Jay Wesley Bliss supplemented his early education, for which
he is indebted to the common school system of Nelson county, by study in the State
University at Grand Forks. He specialized in engineering and upon his graduation in 1908
won the E. M. degree. Immediately afterward he removed to Bismarck and entered the office
of T. R. Atkinson, then state engineer, which gained him the initial experience that qualified
him for the position that he is now filling and to which he was appointed in 1913 by Gov-
ernor L. B. Hanna.
On the 26th of August, 1912, in Nelson county, North Dakota, Mr. Bliss was united in
marriage to Miss Elsie, daughter of John H. Nylen, a native of Iowa. They now have two
children, Barbara and John Warren. The parents attend the Presbyterian church and Mr.
Bliss is a Mason and Knight of Pythias, having attained the Royal Arch degree in the former
fraternity. His political allegiance has been given to the republican party since age con-
ferred upon him the right of franchise and he is a stalwart advocate of its principles. He
lias never been a politician, however, in the commonly accepted sense of office seeking and
has held no other position than that which he is now filling and for which his collegiate
training and previous business experience well qualify him. He is making an excellent
record in office, solving many important engineering problems for the state, his solution
being based upon broad scientific knowledge and practical experience.
HON. ARTHUR 0. GRAHAM.
Hon. Arthur O. Graham, vice president of the Farmers & Merchants Bank of Rolla,
was born near Toronto, Canada, in November, 1858, a son of Ephraim and .Jeannette (Duff)
Graham, the former a native of Canada and the latter of Scotland. The father followed
the occupation of farming in his native country throughout his entire life and passed
away in December, 1903, while his wife survived only until May, 1903.
Arthur 0. Graham spent the period of his minority in Canada under the parental roof
and there acquired a public school education. In 1881 he removed to Brandon, Manitoba,
where he engaged in farming until the spring of 1886 and then crossed the border, becoming a
resident of Rolette county. North Dakota, where he filed on land and began its development
844 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
and improvement. He continued the cultivation of that place until December, 1890, when
he was elected county auditor and removed to KoUa, the county seat. There he has resided
continuously since and by reelection was continued in the office of county auditor for
fourteen j-ears or until March, 1905. In the fall of 1907, in company with others, he
organized the Farmers & Merchants Bank, of which he was made the cashier and so
continued until 1914, when he was elected vice president. The other officers are Leonard
Howson, president, and C. I. F. Wagner, cashier. The bank is capitalized for ten thousand
dollars, has a surplus of five thousand dollars and deposits amounting to one hundred and
forty-five thousand dollars. The business of the bank has steadily grown and the enterprise
of the owners is manifest in its success. Mr. Graham is also president of the Rolette
County Bank at St. John, North Dakota. He still owns his homestead property and is
likewise the owner of one thousand acres of land which he rents, securing therefrom a
verj' gratifying annual income.
In June, 1892, Mr. Graham was united in marriage to Miss Robina E. Shanks, who
passed away in July, 1913, after a short illness, her death being deeply regretted by many
friends as well as by her relatives.
Mr. Graham gives his political allegiance to the republican party and is an active
worker in its ranks. He has served as a member of the city council of Rolla, also as mayor
and in the fall of 1906 was elected a member of the state legislature, in which he served
for one term. He was also United States commissioner for four years, and was county
judge for one year. He is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America and his religious
belief is in accord with the teachings of the Presbyterian church. He stands at all times
for those things which promote material, intellectual, social, political and moral progress
and his aid and influence have been a substantial force in bringing about the development
of town and countv.
HON. CHESTER H. SHEILS.
The city of Edgeley has enjoyed a period of rapid and substantial growth, it.s advance-
ment being based upon the progressive efforts of a class of enterprising business men who in
conducting their interests look beyond the exigencies of the moment to the possibilities of the
future and work for later as well as present day interests. Such a one is Hon. CTiester H.
Shells, a member of the real estate and insurance firm of Shells &, Weaver and the vice presi-
dent of the First National Bank of Edgeley. He was born in Goodhue county, Minnesota,
August S, 18G1, a son of William and Ann E. (Moxen) Shells, the former a native of Ireland
and the latter probably of Scotland. When a lad of fifteen years William Slieils came to
America with his brother and in 1855 lioraesteadcd land in Minnesota, being one of the pioneer
residents of Goodhue county. His wife died during tlie early childhood of Chester II. Shells,
so that he had little knowledge of her.
After attending the public schools near his father's home and mastering the branches of
learning taught in a high school of Goodhue county, C. H. Shells entered the employ of the
Forest Mills Company, working in their store for six months, at the end of which time he was
placed in charge of their elevator. He remained with that company for two years and then
spent a year in the grain trade at Frankfort, South Dakota, where lie had charge of the Van
Duzen elevator. Subsequently he returned to Minnesota and bought an interest in a store in
Dennison and also managed the elevator for W. h. Luce, a prominent grain and commission
man of Minneapolis. After two years he removed to Edgeley in 1887 for the purpose of
taking charge of the Bagley & Cargill elevator, which he managed for four or five years, but
ambitious to engage in business on his own account, he then built an elevator for himself and
operated it for three years, at the end of which time he sold out. During that period he was
also engaged in the farm implement business and owned the controlling interest in the
Edgeley Mail, a weekly newspaper. He likewise owned a butcher shop and was proprietor of
a hotel, continuing actively in all these lines of business at the same time. About 1900 he
joined George F. Weaver in the real estate business, with which he has since been prominently
identified, and in the intervening years has negotiated many extensive and important realty
HON. CHESTER H. SHEH^S
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 847
transfers. In 1905, when the State Bank was reorganized, becoming the First National Bank
of Edgeley, he purchased stock in the institution and was made its vice president, in which
capacity he has since continued, his sound business judgment and energy constituting a salient
feature in the growing success of tlie bank. He was also one of the organizers of the Pomona
Valley Telephone Company, of which he is now president, and he is the owner of large tracts
of Minnesota and North Dakota farm lands, having made judicious investment in realty, which
the economists tell us is the safest of all investments.
In 1892 Mr. Shells was united in marriage to Miss Martha Schatz, of Edgeley, by whom
lie lias one child, Isley May. In politics a republican, Mr. Shells is a recognized leader of his
party in the southeastern section of the state and indeed has had marked influence in shaping
the political history of the state in later years. Three times has he been chosen to represent
liis district in the general assemble', during which terms he has had much to do with shaping
wise and progressive legislation. He has also been postmaster of Edgeley and for four years
has served on the state board of the insane asylum. At the present time he is mayor of his
city and in the administration of civic business he brings to bear the same sound judgment
which has characterized the conduct of his private business interests. He is widely known
in Masonic circles, belonging to Maple River Lodge, No. 41, A. F. & A. M.; Dakota consistory.
No. 1, A. & A. S. R. of Fargo and El Zagal Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Fargo. He is like-
wise identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern Woodmen of America
and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. Mr. Shells and his wife hold membership in the
Methodist Episcopal church, in the work of which they are most active and helpful. He is
one of the deacons of the church, in which he has been licensed to preach and perform marriage
ceremonies. He was a leader in the building of the new twenty-five thousand dollar church,
which was ereci,ed in 1915 and is the finest church edifice in Lamoure county. His labors have
been of far-reaching effect and benefit and his life is a contradiction of the all too popular
belief that a successful business man cannot be a Christian. All who know him bear testi-
mony to his upright life and the evidence of his enterprise in business is seen in his many
interests — interests which have not only contributed to his individual prosperity but have been
dominant and resultant forces in upbuilding the county.
GEORCxE STEELE.
George Steele, cashier of the Nortonville State Bank and a landowner of Lamoure
county, was born in Bellwood, Nebraska, in April 1887, a son of Frederick and Emma E.
Steele, who were natives of Illinois. The father, a farmer by occupation, removed to
Nebraska at an early period in the development of that state and secured a homestead
claim which he improved and cultivated until 1892. He then removed to Edgeley, North
Dakota, and purchased land in Lamoure county, his remaining days being devoted to farm-
ing. In 1865, in response to his country's call for troops, although he was quite a young
man he went to the front with an Illinois regiment and throughout his entire life he
displayed the same spirit of loyalty in citizenship that he manifested when he followed
the stars and stripes on the battlefields of the south. He died in May, 1909, but his widow
still survives.
George Steele was a little lad of but five summers when brought to North Dakota
and was reared and educated in Lamoure county, supplementing his early education by
three years' study in the Ellendale Normal and Industrial School and by a business course
in Dixon, Illinois. He afterward spent two and a half years as a stenographer in the
employ of Davis &, Warren, attorneys of Lamoure. On the 8th of September, 1913, he
removed to Nortonville and assisted in organizing the Nortonville State Bank, of which
he has since been cashier. The other officers are: R. A. McMichael, president; and J. R.
Hollingsworth, vice president. The bank is capitalized for ten thousand dollars and its de-
posits amount to sixty thousand dollars. The institution is housed in a fine modern bank
building on Main street. Mr. Steele was also formerly connected with the Independent
Elevator Company but has recently sold his interest therein. He now owns a half section
of land near Nortonville, which he rents.
848 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
In December, 1915, Mr. Steele wedded Miss Carrie Ellen MoUer, a daughter of James
B. MoUer, who was a pioneer of South Dakota but now resides in Nortonvillc, where he
has been engaged in the hardware business since 1912. He has also been treasurer of
Kennison township, Lamoure county since March, 1915.
In his political views Mr. Steele is an earnest republican and keeps thoroughlj' versed
concerning the vital questions and issues of the day. Fraternally he is connected with
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Woodmen of the World, while his religious
faith is manifest in his membership in the Presbyterian church. Practically his entire life
has been passed in Lamoure county and that his record has ever been a creditable one is
indicated in the fact that many of his stanchest friends are those who have known him from
his boyhood to the present time.
D. C. RAND.
D. C. Rnnd, the proprietor of the Northern Automobile Company of Jamestown, Stuts-
man county, is one of the leading business men of his town and is highly esteemed through-
out the county. He was born in Fargo, North Dakota, on the 17th of November, 1S76, a
son of G. 0. and Rachel L. (Craig) Rand. The father is a railroad engineer and master
mechanic residing at Jamestown and is likewise traveling auditor for the Powers Elevator
Company. The mother is also living.
D. C. Rand attended school in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and subsequently entered
Wright College at Tacoma, Washington, from which he was graduated in 1899. For fifteen
years thereafter he was auditor for Powers Elevator Company and on severing his con-
nection with that concern engaged in the automobile business in Jamestown. He erected
his garage, which is fully equipped for all kinds of repair work. His floor space is eighty-five
by one hundred feet exclusive of the basement. He carries all kinds of automobile supplies
and is agent for the Packard, the Buick and the Ford machines. He has the agency for
the south half of North Dakota and part of Minnesota for the Packard car, for the
southeast quarter of North Dakota and a part of Minnesota for the Buick and is local agent
for the F'ord car. He has been very successful in business and keeps thoroughly abreast
of the new developments that are constantly being made in the automobile business.
In July, 1905, Mr. Rand was married to Miss Edith A. May, a daughter of J. A. May,
and to this union three children have been born, Loraine, Genevieve and Justine.
Mr. Rand is a republican in politics but is not an active party worker. He holds member-
ship in the Elks, the Workmen and the Masonic order, in which he has taken all the
degrees in both the York and Scottish Rites. He is a communicant of the Episcopal church
and also belongs to the Young Men's Christian Association, which connections indicate the
rules which govern his life. He is also a member of the Commercial Club and cooperates
readily in all projects looking toward the commercial advancement of Jamestown and
Stutsman county. He finds needed recreation in hunting and fishing and, in fact, is fond
of all outdoor sports. His public spirit and his adherence to high standards of commercial
ethics have gained him the respect of all who know him and his personal friends are many.
JULIUS A. JOHNSON, M. D.
Dr. .Tulius A. Johnson, physician and surgeon of Bottineau, was born at Black River
Falls, Wisconsin, November 3, 1876, a son of Andrew and Carrie (Olson) Johnson, both of
whom were natives of Norway. In 1863 they came to the new world, settling near La
Crosse, Wisconsin, where the father purchased land and also entered a claim from the
government, continuing to there engage in farming throughout his remaining days. He
passed away in April, 1908, having for about five years survived his wife, who died in
September, 1903.
Wliile spending his youthful days under the parental roof in his native state Julius
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 849
A. Johnson pursued a public school education which he completed at the high school in
Black River Falls. Later he attended the Northern Illinois Normal School at Dixon and
then in preparation for a professional career entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons
of Cliicago, which is now the medical department of the University of Illinois. He was
graduated therefrom on the completion of the regular medical course in 1903 and returned
to Black River Falls, where he remained in practice for six months. He then removed to
Bottineau, North Dakota, where he opened an office and has since engaged in the practice
of both medicine and surgery. He had previously visited this state, having from 1894 until
1896 worked for his brother on a newspaper at Jlinot, following the printer's trade for
four years. He now concentrates his energies upon his professional duties and has an
extensive practice, his office being thoroughly equipped with all modern appliances to
facilitate his work. He is also a stockholder and director of the Bottineau National Bank
and owns farm lands in Bottineau, McHenry and Williams counties, his holdings embracing
six hundred and forty acres.
On the 7th of October, 1903, Dr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss Emma Babler
and they have become the parents of two children, Thelma and Margaret E. Dr. and Mrs.
Johnson hold membership in the Lutheran church and they occupy a fine home which
they own and which is the abode of warm-hearted hospitality. Politically he is a republican
and has served as coroner of Bottineau county, while for eight years he was president
of the school board. In 1908 he became a candidate for state senator on the republican
ticket but was defeated. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons, the Odd Fellows, the
United Workmen and the Modern Woodmen of America and in the first named has
attained high rank, being a member of lodge, chapter, commandery and Mystic Shrine.
Along strictly professional lines he is connected with the Northwestern Medical Society of
North Dakota, the North Dakota State Medical Society and the American Medical Asso-
ciation and through their proceedings he keeps in close touch with advanced professional
thought and methods.
JAMES P. WIDMEYER, M. D.
Dr. James P. Widmeyer, a physician and surgeon practicing at Rolla, opened an office in
that city immediately after completing a professional course of study in Chicago, Illinois.
He was born in Ontario, Canada, December 9, 1868, a son of Charles and Barbara (Winkler)
Widmeyer, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Ontario, Canada. When a
young man Charles Widmeyer left the fatherland and sailed for the new world. For several
years he was engaged in agricultural pursuits but subsequently turned his attention to the
hotel business in Ayton, Ontario, where his remaining days were passed. He there died
during the boyhood of Dr. Widmeyer and the mother afterward removed with her family to
Manitoba. The later years of her life, however, were spent in Towner county, North Dakota,
where she took up her abode about 1887, there passing away in 1889.
Dr. Widmeyer at the usual age became a public school pupil, pursuing his studies in
Rolla and in the preparatory department of the North Dakota State University. In 1893 he
took up the study of medicine, entering the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Chicago,
now the medical department of the Illinois State University. He was graduated from that
institution with the class of 1896 and by thorough training was well qualified for the onerous
and responsible duties that were soon to devolve upon him. He made his way direct to
Rolla. where he has now been in continuous practice for the past twenty years, during which
period he has built up an enviable reputation as a most efficient physician. He is today
one of the best known practitioners of the northern part of the state and is continually
demonstrating his ability to successfully cope with the intricate problems which one con-
tinually confronts in the effort to restore health and prolong life. He reads broadly and
thinks deeply and readily adapts the knowledge that he has acquired to specific needs. He
is careful in the diagnosis of his cases and has won a substantial measure of success.
On the 26th of October, 1897, Dr. Widmeyer was imited in marriage to Miss Roxie G.
Brown, of Rolla, by whom he has two children, namely: Lionel J., a student in the North
850 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Dakota State University; ami David Llojd, who is a junior in tlie RoUa high school. Dr.
Widmeyer is a Mason, belonging to Kolla Lodge, No. G6, and he also has membership in
Devils Lake Lodge, No. 1216, B. P. 0. E. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcoiial
church. In politics the Doctor is a republican and has long taken an active and helpful
interest in everything pertaining to civic betterment. He is a member of the present school
board and for six years he served as mayor of RoUa, giving to the city a businesslike admin-
istration that was also characterized by needed reform and improvement. Along professional
lines he is connected with the Devils Lake District iledical Society, the North Dakota State
Medical Society and the American Medical Association, and thus he keeps in touch with
the trend of progressive, modern thought along professional lines.
A. A. LANE.
A. A. Lane, manager of the Farmers Cooperative Elevator at Sherwood and one of the
pioneers of Renville county, having homesteadcd there in the fall of 1901, was born at Lock,
Ohio, August 25, 1873, a son of William H. and Mary (Orr) Lane, who were also natives of
the Buckeye state. The father was a practicing physician who in 1882 came to North Dakota,
settling at Devils Lake. After practicing there for two years he removed to Cando, where
he successfully followed his profession for eighteen years, being recognized as one of the most
able and prominent physicians of that part of the state. In 1901 he came with his son, A. A.
Lane, to Renville county and took up a homestead nine miles east of Sherwood, on which he
resided until his death in 1912. His widow survives and resides with her son, F. C. Lane, in
Saskatchewan, Canada.
Reared in the northwest, A. A. Lane obtained his education in the North Dakota State
University at Grand Forks and the Minnesota State Agricultural College, being graduated
from the latter institution with the class of 1895. After completing his course there he
engaged in farming in Towner county for three years and then went to Aitkin, Minnesota,
where he engaged in teaching school for two years. Li 1901 he returned to this state, settling
in Renville county, where he filed on a homestead nine miles east of Sherwood, securing the
northeast quarter of section 30, Wheaton township. There he carried on general agricultiiral
pursuits until 1900, when he took charge of the farmers' elevator in Sherwood, which he has
since managed most admirably and profitably. In 1916 the company erected one of the finest
elevators in the state.
In 1897 Mr. Lane was married to Miss Iva F. Clark, of Cando, and to them is extended
the hospitality of the best homes of Sherwood and the surrounding country. They are mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, loyally adhering to its teachings, and Mr. Lane ia
also a member of Tyrian Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Sherwood; Sherwood Lodge, No. 95, I. O.
0. F. ; and the Modern Woodmen of America. His political allegiance is given to the repub-
lican party but he has never been an aspirant for olllce, preferring to concentrate his energies
upon his business all'airs, which include not onlj' the management of the elevator but also
a farm of three hundred and twenty acres in r.enville and Bottineau counties. He is making
steady progress along business lines and already has won a substantial measure of suecess.
RAYMOND G. MEYERS.
Raymond G. Meyers, cashier of the Farmers & Merchants Bank at Robinson, Kidder
county, was born in Nelson, Wisconsin, December 29, 1888, a son of William arfd Martha
Meyers, who were also natives of that state. The father there devoted his attention to
farming until 1902, when he removed to the vicinity of EUendale, North Dakota, and thera
carries on general farming and stock raising.
Raymond G. Meyers, the eldest in a family of six children, pursued his education in
the graded schools of Nelson and afterward accompanied his parents on their removal to this
state, becoming a pupil in the high school at EUendale. from which he was pi"aduated with
A. A. LANE
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 853
the class of 1906. He further prepared for life's practical and responsible duties by study in
the Normal and Industrial School at EUendale, so that he is a man of liberal education. When
his textbooks were put aside he entered the Driscoll State Bank in 1907 in the capacity of
bookkeeper and assistant cashier and was thus employed for three years, after which he
served for two years as assistant cashier in the First National Bank at Steele. He then re-
turned to the Driscoll State Bank, where he was cashier for two years, on the expii-ation of
which period he removed to Robinson to become cashier of the Farmers & Merchants Bank, in
which connection he still continues. He is also a stockholder and director in the institu-
tion and is active in shaping its policy and directing its interests. The bank was organized on
the 11th of April, 1911, by T. S. Pryse, who became president, F. A. Cameron, who was chosen
vice president, C. R. Weber and F. W. Leete. Mr. Pryse and Mr. Cameron still retain their
offices, while R. G. Meyers is cashier. The bank is capitalized for ten thousand dollars and
now has a surplus and undivided profits of ten thousand dollars. It has enjoyed a prosperous
existence from the beginning, the business steadily increasing under the wise direction of
its officers.
On the 1st of December, 1914, Mr. Meyers was married to Miss Anna Krogen, who was
born in Abercrombie, North Dakota, June 6, 1895. They have one son, Robert, whose birth
occurred November 1, 1916. Theirs is a pleasant hospitable home in Robinson and Mr.
Meyers is the owner of farm ])roperty near the town. Their religious faith is that of tin;
J^utheran church and Mr. Meyers belongs to the Masonic lodge at Steele and to the Royal
Arch chapter at Bismarck, while of Bismarck Lodge, No. 1199, B. P. 0. E., he is also a
member. His political endorsement is given to the republican party and while he does not
seek nor desire political office he is interested in the welfare and progress of his community
and is serving as president of the Robinson school board. Along well defined lines of labor he
has worked his way upward, wisely utilizing his time, talents and opportunities, his ability
having brought him to the front in the business circles of Kidder county.
OSCAR ZIMMERMAN.
That Oscar Zimmerman of Jamestown is a man of unusual business acumen, executive
ability and enterprise is indicated in the fact that he has developed the store owned by the
Zimmerman Company, of which he is president, from a comparatively small beginning to one
of the largest mercantile establishments of the state. In addition to managing the affairs of
this large department store he is interested in many other business concerns and is conceded to
be a leader in the commercial growth and expansion of Jamestown. A native of Minnesota,
his birth occurred on the lith of October, 1876, and he is a son of Rudolph Zimmerman, who
was born in Switzerland but emigrated to the United States in boyhood and became a resi-
dent of Indiana. In 1874 he located at Alexandria, Minnesota, and there engaged in mercan-
tile jjursuits until his demise in 1887 at the comparatively early age of forty-two years. His
wife, who was in her maidenhood Rosa Loseley, and was also born in Switzerland, is still
living in Alexandria.
< 'star Zimmerman, the second in order of birth in a family of six children, received his
education in the public schools of his native town and also devoted some time during his
boyhood to working in his father's store, thus early learning the principles of successful
merchandising. After leaving school he entered the employ of Moles Brothers, merchants
of Alexandria, and remained with them for ten years as salesman and buyer. In 1902 he
became connected with the store at Valley City, North Dakota, owned by William McKinney
and in 1906 he removed to Jamestown to accept the position of manager of the New York
Store. After a year he bought the business and incorporated the Zimmerman Company, of
which he became president. In the nine years that have since intervened the business has
had a remarkable gi-owth and its trade now totals a quarter of a million dollars, although
at the time the Zimmerman Company was organized it only amounted to a few thousand
dollars a year. All departments of the store are well organized, the buying is done systemat-
ically, the sales force is impressed with the value of courtesy and willing service and full
value is given for money received. Mr. Zimmerman also has other important business
854 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
interests, owning stock, in the Burns-Zimmerman Companj' at Edgeley, Kortli Dakota, of
which he is a director and vice president, in the Simonson & Ames Company, of Plaza, this
state, of which he is a director, and in the ilerchants Investment Company, of North Dakota,
of which he is a director and vice president. He is also financially interested in stores at
Woodworth, North Dakota, and in Laurel, ilontana, and, moreover, owns considerable land
in Stutsman county. He is a member of the Retail Merchants Association of North Dakota
and keeps in close touch with business conditions in the state.
Mr. Zimmerman was married on the 15tli of May, 1899, to Miss Daisy Terrell, a
daughter of J. C. and Ella Terrell, of Alexandria, Minnesota. They have four adopted
children, Virginia, Rose, Mary and Margaret.
Mr. Zimmerman is a republican and takes the interest of a public-spirited citizen in
political affairs, but has never been an office seeker. He is affiliated with the Masons,
belonging to the blue lodge, the commandery and the Shrine, and is also a member of the
Yeomen. His religious faith is that of the Methodist church, to which he belongs and of
which he is now serving as a trustee, and he is also prominent in the Young Glen's Christian
Association, of which he is a director. His wife is also a member of the ilethodist church and
is very active in church and social work. He is serving as a director of the Park View
Hospital and can always be counted upon to give freely of hts time and thought to the
promotion of movements for the general good. He is a member of the Jamestown Commer-
cial Club and he has been a factor of no small importance in carrying its projects for the
business expansion of Jamestown through to successful completion His success as a mer-
chant is notable in itself and is doubly so in consideration of the fact that he is a self-made
man, beginning his career without capital or tlic aid of influential friends
AIiMER P. ANDERSON.
Aimer P. Anderson, one of the pioneer business men of Newburg, who is now assistant
ca.shier of the State Bank of Newburg, has always made his home west of the Mississippi
and is a representative of that class of progressive citizens who have recognized and utilized
the opportunities of the northwest and have thus contributed to the development and
upbuilding of this state. He was born in Osakis. Minnesota, October 2, 1878, a son of
Peter and Liva (Olson) Anderson, both of whom are natives of Norway, whence they came
to the new world about 1873 in young manhood and womanhood. It was subsequent to
that time that they were married, after which they settled in Todd county, three and
one-half miles east of Osakis, where the father filed on a homestead on which they still
reside. He is now the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of good land which he has
brought to a high state of cultivation.
The district schools afforded Aimer P. Anderson his educational opportunities and
tliroughout his life he has remained an apt student in the school of experience. He early
became familiar with the arduous tasks that fall to the lot of the agriculturist for he
remained upon and assisted in the work of the home farm imtil his twenty-first year. In
1899 he arrived in Bottineau county. North Dakota, and that fall operated a threshing
machine for an uncle. In the month of October, following the attainment of his majority,
he filed on a homestead a mile and a half east of the present town site of Newburg and
remained thereon until ]90.'j. when the town site of Newburg was platted and he established
his home in the new town. There he erected a store building and opened the first hardware
store in Newburg, continuing active in business at that point until 1910, when he sold out
and entered the State Bank of Newburg as assistant cashier. He has since been active in
that connection and is widely known to the business men of the district, who regard him as
a substantial and trustworthy business man and representative citizen. He still owns
his homestead and another quarter section of land and has an equity in a third quarter.
He has likewise bought and sold other land and in this way has added materially to his
income.
On the 18th of September, 1907, Mr. Anderson was united in marriage to Miss Alma
Wollan, of Starbuck, Minnesota, by whom he has three children, Pearl Beatrice, Sidney Leroy,
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 855
and Helen Elenore. Fraternally Mr. Anderson is connected with Russell Lodge, No. 89,
A. F. & A. M., and he and his wife are members of the Lutheran church, in which he is
filling the office of treasurer. His political allegiance is given to the republican party
and since taking up his abode in Newburg he has served in every official capacity in the town
except that of marshal and has been president of the school board since the district was or-
ganized. He has been the promoter of much that is progressive in the life of the town
and has been active in advancing those interests which are a matter of civic virtue and
civic pride.
ALEXANDER R. THOMPSON.
Alexander R. Thompson, postmaster of Rolla, was born in Essex county, Ontario, Canada,
October 9, 1856, a son of Robert and Susan (Neill) Thompson, who were natives of Ireland.
The father came to America at an early day, about 1852. His family numbered nine children,
but Alexander R. is the only one born on this side the Atlantic. After living for a short
time in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Mr. Thompson removed with his family to Ontario, where
he worked at the stone mason's trade throughout his remaining days, his death there
occurring in 1863. His widow long survived him and passed away in 1901.
Alexander R. Thompson was educated in the schools of Ontario and there spent his
youthful days to the age of sixteen years, after which he remained for brief periods in
Chicago, St. Paul and Detroit, being employed in brass foundries. He learned the brass
molder's trade but in 1884 entered upon a very different business connection, for in tliat
year he removed to Rolette county. North Dakota, then a part of Dakota territory, and
settled on a homestead near Dunseith. This he improved and cultivated for two years.
He afterward homesteaded fifteen miles south of -his first place, settling on the second tract
in 1896. In 1902 he was elected county treasurer and removed to Rolla, occupying that
position for four years and afterward serving as deputy treasurer for a similar length of
time. On the 19th of March, 1915, he was appointed postmaster of Rolla, which position
he is now filling. He was elected and served for one term as a county commissioner and
has also been a member of the school board. Aside from his official duties he has business
interests which return to him a good income. He is the owner of a farm of four hundred
and eighty acres, which his son is operating, in addition to his homestead property, and
he is a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company of Fonda and the Farmers Elevator-
Company of Overly.
On the 12th of January, 1886, Mr. Thompson was united in marriage to Miss Ella
O'Neill and to them were born twelve children, namely: Irene S. ; William D.; Nellie R. ;
Laura E.; Vera and Vida, twins; Agnes E.; Milton N. ; Lincoln A.; Bessie R.; Roberta; and
Bernice, who is deceased. The wife and mother passed away .January 15, 1907, after an
illness of three days. The living children are all at home and theirs is a happy household.
Mr. Thompson belongs to the Masonic order and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
He has always given his political support to the democratic party, while his religious faith
is that of the Episcopal church. His has been an active and useful life fraught with good
results and bringing to him substantial returns for his labor.
0. N. BEGTRUP, M. D.
Dr. 0. N. Begtrup, a practicing physician and surgeon of Rugby, is a representative of
that large class of substantial citizens that Norway has furnished to North Dakota and he
possesses the sterling characteristics of the people who inhabit the land of the midnight
sun. He was born .June 4, 1875, a son of 0. N. and Magdalene Susanna Begtrup, also natives
of Norway. The father is a civil engineer and has spent his entire life in his native country,
•where he now makes his home, but his wife passed away in 1878.
Dr. Begtrup was reared and educated in Norway and there took up the study of
856 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
medicine, being graduated from Cliristiaiiia University with the class of 1902. He then
entered upon the practice of his chosen profession, which he followed in Norway until 1905,
when he came to the United States and located for practice at Spring Grove, Minnesota.
After eight months, however, he removed to Souris, North Dakota, where he continued for
tlirce years and then opened an office in Rugby, where he has practiced since 1909. His
ability has brought him prominently to the front. He keeps in touch with the trend of
modern thought, progress and investigation along professional" lines and he has membership
in the Devils Lake District Medical Society, the North Dakota State Medical Society and the
American Medical Association. He is very careful in the diagnosis of his cases and con-
scientious in the performance of his professional duties, while he never fails to manifest the
deepest interest in anything that tends to bring to man the key to the complex mystery
which we call life.
In October, 1915, Dr. Begtrup was married to Miss Sophia Thune, a daugliter of Lars
and Carrie Thune, natives of Norway, whence they came to the United States, now making
their home at Albert Lea, Minnesota.
Dr. Begtrup belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Masonic fra-
ternity and is also identified with the sons of Norway, while his religious faith is that of
the Lutheran church. Those who know him, and he has a constantly increasing acquaintance,
entertain for him warm regard and his professional colleagues and contemporaries speak
of him in terms of high esteem because of his fidelity to the ethical standards of the
profession.
ALBERT C. :MAXWELL.
Allicrt C. iraxwell, general manager of the Midland Continental Railroad and a resident
of .Jamestown, was born in Cincinnati. Ohio, March 31, 1882, a son of Albert and Carrie
(Langdon) Maxwell. The father was well known for a considerable period in hotel circles,
being manager of the Gibson House of Cincinnati. He served with Pike's Scouts during the
period of the Civil war and was ever a loyal, progressive and public-spirited citizen. Both
he and his wife have i\ow passed away.
Entering the public schools at the usual age, Albert C. Maxwell passed through con-
secutive grades until graduated from the high school, while later he entered the University
of Cincinnati, from which he was graduated with the class of 1901. He had joined the
army as a member of the Fifteenth Regulars and was immediately placed in charge of the
Puerto, Principe & Xeuvitas Railroad. He did all the work as assistant to Major Thompson
and saw thirty-one months' active service in the south. He was honorably discharged
following the return of his command to the United States, after which he again entered the
university and completed his course there.
Turning to business life, Mr. Maxwell entered the Gibson House, acting as clerk of the
hotel under his father. Still later he was connected with the Illinois Central and with
other railroad lines, doing special work in the east and the west, the north and the south.
He was for a time associated with the Atlantic Coast Line, with the Denver & Rio Grande
at Denver and the Burlington at Chicago. He was also connected with the Cotton Belt
road in Texas and then went to Chicago, where he got out the transcontinental rate tariff
in the Spokane and .'^cattle rate case. He became connected with the ilidland Continental
Railroad as general auditor in charge of traffic and accounts and was made general manager
on the 1st of July, 1913, which position of responsibility he is now filling. The business of
the railroad under his direction is constantly increasing and the interests of the company
are carefully systematized and wisely directed, his efforts being given to executive control.
Ho manifests keen and discriminating judgment and his long connection with railroad inter-
ests has given him the experience upon which his success has been built.
On the 4th of October, 1910, Mr. Maxwell was united in marriage to Miss Margaret
Dunican, a daughter of .Tames Dunican, of Cincinnati, Ohio. They have one son, James
Albert. The religious faith of the family is that of the Episcopal church. In Masonic
circles Mr. Maxwell is well known, belonging to the commandery and the Mystic Shrine
and having attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He is likewise identified
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 857
with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and is a member of the American Railroad
Association and the General Managers' Association. Mr. Maxwell turns to fishing and
hunting for recreation. In fact he is fond of all outdoor sports and exercises and he belongs
to the Sportsmen's Club. Since his removal to this state he has become deeply interested in
North Dakota and her welfare, is putting forth earnest and eflfective efi'ort to advance the
general good and cooperates in many plans and measures which are resulting beneficially to
city and state.
A. R. MacKAY, M. D.
Dr. A. R. MacKay, who is engaged in the practice of medicine in Bottineau, was born
in Ontario, Canada, in August, 1869. His father, James MacKay, a native of Scotland, left
the land of hills and heather in early life and became a pioneer settler of Ontario, Canada.
He had been educated for a medical career and practiced his profession there for forty years.
He married Helen Stothers, a native of Canada, and both have now passed away, the latter
having died in May, 1889, while the former was called to his final rest in February, 1896.
Dr. A. R. MacKay was reared and educated in Ontario and his professional training was
received in Trinity Medical College, from which he was graduated with the class of 1898.
In October of that year he removed to Bottineau, North Dakota, and has since been actively
engaged in practice at that place, his ability winning him a liberal patronage. He is
devoted to the duties of his profession and his labors have been attended with excellent
results. He also has farming interests in Bottineau county.
In November, 1899, Dr. MacKay was married to Miss Eleanor Watson and they have
become the parents of three children: Marion, who was born in August, 1901; Margaret,
born in December, 1904; and Alexander, born in October, 1911.
Dr. and Mrs. MacKay are members of the Presbyterian church and he also has mem-
bership in the Masonic fraternity, being connected with lodge, chapter, commandery and
Mystic Shrine. He votes with the democratic party and is the present city health officer
of Bottineau, while he has also served as a member of the town council. For eight years
he was a member of the board of directors of the State School of Forestry at Bottineau and
he has served as a member of the county board on insanity. He has membership in the
Northwestern Medical Society of North Dakota, the State Medical Society and the American
Medical Association. He is continually studying to make his professional service of greater
worth and his pronounced ability has won for him a liberal practice.
PERRY A. PICKETT.
Perry A. Pickett, cashier of the Bank of Leal in Leal, Barnes county, has spent his entire
life in the Dakotas, his birth having occurred at Grandview, South Dakota, May 20, 1883, his
parents being Henry E. and Amelia (Jlilligan) Pickett, matives of New York and Wisconsin
respectively. The father had gone to Green Lake, Wisconsin, in early manhood and while
there was married. He afterward spent a few years in Sioux City, Iowa, and later removed
to South Dakota, settling at Grandview. He acquired three quarters of a section of land,
on which he remained for a few years and then sold the farm. He subsequently returned to
Wisconsin and established his home at Kingston, Green Lake county, where he engaged in
business until 1903. In that year he returned to North Dakota and now makes his home
at Rogers. His family numbered four children, of whom Perry A. is the second in order
of birth.
After pursuing a high school course in Wisconsin Perry A. Pickett completed his educa-
tion in the Valley City State Normal School, from which he was graduated in 1904. On
the 30th of May, 1900, he arrived in Valley City and there worked his way through school.
He engaged in teaching in a country school south of Leal in 1900 and 1901 and also worked
858 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
at fanu labor in tliat locality. Subsequently he taught in the schools of Leal and later
spent another year in the \'alley City State Normal, after which he became a teacher in
Fingal, North Dakota. His identification with banking interests began when he secured a
position in the First National Bank of Fingal and later he became one of the promoters of
the Bank of Leal, which was organized in 1905 with a capital stock of ten thousand dollars.
Something of the success of the bank is indicated in the fact that its capital has been
increased to twenty thousand dollars and it has a surplus of four thousand dollars. Mr.
Pickett took the position of cashier when the bank was opened and has since served in that
ofKce, the success of the institution being attributable in no small measure to his efforts,
enterprise and safe conservative policy. The other officers are Howard Willson, president,
and C. Christ, vice president, with F. Lannon, II. A. Hilborn, J. W. Widdificld, J. L. Savage
and Burl Carr on the board of directors. In addition td his banking interests Mr. I'ickett
was associated with the late Dr. J. L. Savage, of Fargo, in handling farm lands -anil did
an extensive business in that connection, but owing to the Doctor's ill health Mr. Pickett
disposed of almost all the land previous to the Doctor's death.
On the 20th of June, 1906, Mr. Pickett was married to Miss Grayce V. Keep, of Buffalo,
North Dakota, where her father, John M. Keep, settled in pioneer times. Their children are
Dorothy, Kichard M., Eoger Allen and Frances.
Mr. Pickett is an exemplary Mason, belonging to the lodge at Leal and to the chapter
and Eastern Star at Valley City, his wife being also connected with the ladies' auxiliary.
He was formerly secretary of the Masonic lodge and is now treasurer. He has likewise
taken an active part in the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is a man of keen judg-
ment, genial, capable and alert. He is president of the Leal school board and the town haa
one of the best four room schools in the state. This school has been recognized as a leader
in North Dakota, taking an advanced stand in many progressive movements, especially for
agriculture and stock competition among the school children. Mr. Pickett has been actively
identified with the county organization of school oflicors. For three years he was on the
committee for agricultural development and education of the North Dakota Bankers Asso-
ciation and as chairman, he was its representative at the second annual conference of the
committee of some thirty states on August 7 and 8, 1913, at Minneapolis and St. Paul.
On tliat occasion Mr. Pickett took a prominent part. A silver pitcher was open to competi-
tion to the various states for the most effective work done. Mr. Pickett thoroughly prepared
his reports and the result was that he won the trophy for North Dakota. He and his wife
are members of the Methodist church and he is an upright man, as honorable as he is
progressive, as reliable as he is enterprising. His work along various lines has been of
immense value to the conimunitv in which he lives.
HON. HARMON W. ALLEN.
Hon. Harmon W. Allen, member of the state senate and cashier of the Emmons County
State Bank at Braddock, North Dakota, was born in Monroe county, Michigan, June 6, 1861,
his parents being Carlos and Maria (Winslow) Allen, the former a native of Milan. l\Iichigan,
and the latter of Lockport, New York. Tlie father spent his entire life on a farm in his
native state and passed away in May. 189,';, being still survived by his widow, who is now
eighty-four years of age and who resides with a daughter in Milan, Michigan.
Harmon W. Allen is largely indebted to the district school system of his native state for
the educational privileges which he enjoyed and to the high school at Ann Arbor, in which he
studied for a year. In 1883 he came to the west to begin his career as a business man and
for two siimmers was employed on a farm near Steele, North Dakota, at a wage of twenty
dollars per month. In the spring of 1884 he filed on a homestead in Emmons county and in
the following winter engaged in selling nursery stock in South Dakota. While in that state
he purchased a yoke of cattle which in the spring of 1885 he drove to his homestead in North
Dakota. He then actively began farming on his own account, devoting the summer season
to the arduous task of developing new land. In the winter of ISS.'i-e he returned to Michigan,
where he taught a district school, but in the spring again took up his abode on his North
HON, HARMON W. ALLEN
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 861
Dakota homestead, accompanied this time by his bride. He continued to cultivate his farm
until 1897, when he put aside the active work of the fields for official service, having in the
fall of 1896 been elected to the position of county treasurer, assuming the duties of the office
on the 1st of January following. In 1898 he was reelected and continued acceptably in that
position for two terms, retiring from the office as he had entered it — with the confidence and
good will of all concerned. The succeeding year was spent upon the home farm and in 1902
he entered the Emmons County State Bank in the position of assistant cashier but served as
acting cashier and in fact largely had the management of the bank's business. Subsequently
he purchased stock in the institution and was formally elected cashier. The bank had been
organized by Bismarck capitalists and in 1914 Mr. Allen interested local capital, also purchased
more stock himself and reorganized the bank as a home institution. It is the oldest bank in
Kmmons county, having been founded in 1898, upon the completion of the railroad into
Braddock. It has had a prosperous existence, its success being due in large measure to the
present cashier. Mr. Allen is also president of the Braddock Elevator Company, which owns
elevators at both Braddock and Kintyre. He likewise has made extensive investments in
farm lands in Emmons county, owning fourteen hundred acres together with several equities
in other counties.
In 1886 Mr. Allen was united in marriage to Miss Bertha J. Clark, of Milan, Michigan,
and to them has been born a daughter, Lucile M. Fraternally he is connected with the
Modern Woodmen of America. His political allegiance has always been given to the republi-
can party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and in 1910 he was elected to
represent the twenty-sixth district of North Dakota in the state legislature, where he made
so excellent a record through his earnest support of valuable legislation that in 1914 he was
reelected and is now serving for the second term as a member of the upper house. No one
questions the integrity of his opinions and his position upon any vital question is never an
equivocal one.
G. M. JORVE.
G. M. Jorve is a representative of commercial interests at Ypsilanti, Stutsman county,
where he is conducting a store. He was born near Rothsay, in Wilkin county, Minnesota,
November 33, 1879, a son of Martin and Elnora Jorve, both of whom were natives of Norway
and came separately to the United States. The father entered land in Minnesota, casting
in his lot with the pioneer settlers there. He devoted his attention to the occupation of
farming for a considerable period, or until his life's labors were ended in death. His widow
still survives. They were parents of ten children, of whom three sons are now living in
North Dakota.
G. M. Jorve, the eldest of the family, pursued his education in the public schools near
his boyhood home and worked upon the farm until he attained his majority, early becoming
familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. On reaching
man's estate he secured a clerkship in a store in Rothsay, Minnesota, where he remained
for two years and then went to Omaha, Nebraska, where he resided for four years, and
there engage* in the printing business in connection with job printing establishments. He
formed a partnership with his uncle, .Julius Lynstad, with whom he continued for three
years, and was afterward alone in business for a year. He then sold the printing business
and removed to Ypsilanti, North Dakota, where he erected a two story business block and
opened a hardware store. A few years afterward he bought out the business of the James-
town Implement Company's branch and is now carrying a complete line of hardware, imple-
ments, harness, vehicles and automobile supplies. The business is conducted under a part-
nership relation, Mr. Jorve being the senior partner. He carefully directs his commercial
interests, following thoroughly reliable methods and at all times conforming his trade to
high commercial standards.
In the fall of 1911 Mr. Jorve was married to Miss Ethel Swartwood, a native of Minne-
sota, and they have two sons, Vernon and Harold. In politics Mr. Jorve is an independent
republican and is now serving as constable of his district. He holds membership in the
862 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Lutheran cliurch and his inlluence is always on the side of progi'ess and improvement, riglit
and truth. In his business career he has gradually worked his way upward, always placing
his dependence upon industry and determination, which are his salient qualities. He is
never too courteous to be busy or too busy to be courteous. His is a well balanced life and
the high standards to which he adheres have made him a man worthy the respect which
is uniformly given him.
JOHN A. McLEAN.
John A. McLean, sheriff of Bottineau county, was born in Fergus, Ontario, Canada, on
the 9th of January, 1872, a son of John and Euphemia (McDonald) McLean, both of whom
were natives of Scotland, whence they accompanied their respective parents to Canada.
After attaining man's estate the father operated a sawmill, a grist mill and a lime kiln in
Ontario for many years, but both he and his wife have now passed away.
John A. McLean supplemented his public school training by a term's study in the
Agricultural College at Guelph, Ontario, and as early as his fourteenth year he worked in
his father's mill, continuing actively in mill work until his seventeenth year, when he
enlisted in the Canadian army, with which he was connected for eight years. He rose from
the ranks to the commissioned office of quartermaster sergeant and in 1897 received an
honorable discharge.
The following year Mr. McLean arrived in Bottineau county. North Dakota, to visit
his wife's people and was so well pleased with the country that he decided to remain. He
began work as a farm hand and the following year filed on a homestead in Bottineau
county, fifteen miles southwest of the city of Bottineau. In 1900 he began the cultivation
of his land and industriously, persistently and successfully continued the development of his
farm and its further improvement until his election to his present office. In the meantime
he added to his property as his financial resources increased until within the boundaries
of the farm are now comprised seven hundred and twenty acres of excellent land. He
continues to give personal supervision to the cultivation of his farm, although in 1914,
following his election to the office of county sheriff, he removed to the city of Bottineau.
On the 11th of January, 1892, at the age of twenty years, Mr. McLean was united in
marriage to Miss Jessie Cameron, of Durham, Ontario, by whom he has two children, John
A., Jr., and Euphemia J., both at home. Fraternally he is identified with the following
organizations: Tuscan Lodge, No. 77, A. F. &A. M.; Phoenicia Chapter, No. 17, R. A. M.;
Lorraine Commandery, No. 13, K. T.; Phoenicia Council, R. & S. M., of Rugby, Kem Temple,
A. A. 0. N. M. S., of Grand Forks; and Mouse River Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., of Kramer, North
Dakota. In his political views Mr. McLean has always been a stalwart republican, and
when renominated in 1916 for the office of county sheriff he had no opposition at the
primaries — a fact which indicates his personal popularity with members of his party and
the confidence reposed in him. He and his wife arc members of the Baptist church and
their influence is always given on the side of progress and improvement, while their aid
is a supporting factor in all those movements which seek to advance the material, political,
social and moral welfare of the community.
L. D. COOLER.
The profession of law is one which confers its favors and rew-ards only in recognition
of marked individual ability and merit, and that L. D. Cooler is now ranked with the
leading attorneys of Rolette county, practicing in RoUa, is an indication that he has dis-
played marked capability in analyzing, presenting and handling his cases. He was born in
Portage City, Wisconsin, October 27, 1869, and is a son of Antoine and Mary (Digneau)
Cooler, of French extraction, both of whom were natives of Canada. In childhood days,
however, they came with their respective parents to the United States and after attaining
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 863
man's estate the father took up the occupation of farming, which he followed for some
time in Wisconsin. He afterward removed to Lamberton, Minnesota, about 1872, and there
resided up to the time of his death. When the Civil war was in progress he put aside all
business and personal considerations and responded to the countrj's call for troops, going
to the front with a Wisconsin regiment.
L. D. Cooler was but three years of age when the family went to Minnesota and in
the common schools of Redwood county he pursued his education until he reached the
age of eighteen years. He then began teaching and followed that profession for three years,
during which period he devoted the hours that are usually termed leisure to the reading
of law. Subsequently he began studying law in the office of E. M. Matthews of Lamberton,
Minnesota, and in 1896 he removed to Milnor, North Dakota, where he continued his
studies, also studying for a time in Forman in the oflice of S. M. Lockerby. In 1897 he was
admitted to practice at the North Dakota bar and the following year was elected county
judge of Sargent county, serving upon the bench for two years. In 1900 he removed to
Devils Lake, where he successfully engaged in practice for six years and then became a
resident of Dunseith, where he remained until the 1st of January, 1916, when he went to
Kolla. In addition to his professional interests he is a member of the Dunseith Land &
Loan Company and he is also senior member of the general merchandise firm of Cooler &
Hosmer at Dunseith. He is likewise the president of the Dunseith Farmers Hardware Com-
pany, which has been recently incorporated, and he is connected with another incorporated
company, owning the Kelvin Store of Kelvin, North Dakota. His business interests are
thus varied and important and indicate him to be a man of resourceful business ability and
marked enterprise.
In 1899 Mr. Cooler was united in marriage to Miss Rose Hosmer, of Lamberton, Minne-
sota, by whom he has three children, Max H., Faith and Darrel N. Mr. Cooler belongs to
Dunseith Lodge, No. 99, F. & A. M., and his political allegiance is given to the republican
party. His professional and commercial interests are both extensive and important and
he is a man whose constantly expanding powers, combined with even paced energy, have
carried him into important relations.
CEOEGE THOMAS ERICKSON.
Ceorge Thomas Erickson is a partner in the Sawyer Mercantile Company, conducting
the largest mercantile establishment in the southern part of Ward county. He was born in
Eau Claire, Wisconsin, February 26, 1884, and is a son of Louis T. and Lena (Holverson)
Erickson, both of whom were natives of Wisconsin and were there reared. The father
attended the common schools and in an early day became a woodsman, while later he
was employed as an engineer in a sawmill. In 1888 he removed to McHenry county. North
Dakota, and squatted on a claim three miles south of Velva, where he engaged in hunting
and picking buffalo bones, while to some extent he engaged in farming. There he lived
for two years, after which he removed to a farm in the valley and continued its cultivation
until 1910, when he retired and removed to Velva, where he now makes his home. His wife
there passed away in 1915.
Ceorge T. Erickson was but four years of age when he accompanied his parents to
McHenry county, North Dakota, and in his youthful days he attended the district schools
and was employed at farm labor in the vicinity of Velva up to the time of his marriage.
He then turned his attention to merchandising as an employe of Muus Brothers at Velva,
and later, in connection with his father, he established a men's furnishing goods store at
Velva, continuing actively in the business until 1910, when he went to Saskatchewan, Can-
ada. Settling twenty miles west of Swift Current, he took up a homestead of three hundred
and twenty acres and there he followed farming for five years, or until he had secured title
to the property. In 1915 he returned and established his home at Sawyer, where he
became manager for the Sawyer Mercantile Company. Later, with R. T. Hage as a partner,
he bought out the Sawyer Mercantile Company and they now own and conduct the largest
store in the southern part of Ward county. Their business would be a credit to a city of
864 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
much larger size than Sawyer and at every point indicates the progressive spirit and
enterprise of the owners. Mr. Erickson still owns his three hundred and twenty acres of
land in Canada, all of which is planted to wheat.
On the 4th of November, 1904, at Velva, North Dakota, Mr. Erickson was united in
marriage to Miss Olga Marie Opsal, who was born in McHenry county, near Velva, and was
a schoolmate of her husband in their childhood days. She is a daughter of Carl and Lena
Opsal, who were natives of Norway and early settlers of McHenry county. North Dakota,
where her father homesteaded and engaged in farming up to the time of his death. His
widow survives and is now living in Velva. To Mr. and Mrs. Erickson has been born a
son, Leland Randolph, whose natal day was November 13, 1906.
The parents are active and faithful members of the Hauges Norwegian church, doing
everything in their power to promote its growth and extend its influence. In politics Mr.
Erickson is a republican and keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day,
but does not seek nor desire office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business
interests, which have been developed along progressive lines and have gained him a place
among the substantial citizens of his community.
JUDGE J. WALSETH.
Judge J. Walseth, one of the leading attorneys of Bottineau county, who since 1884
has been actively engaged in the practice of law, was bom in Norway, August 17, 1849,
a son of Joachim and Cliristine (Johnson) Walseth, who spent their entire lives in Norway.
Tlie father was for many years warden of the House of Correction in the city of Trondhjeni.
Judge Walseth was educated in the public schools and in the government academy in
his native country until he reached the age of eighteen years, when in 1867 he came to the
United States, establishing his home in Fillmore county, Minnesota. There he taught
school for many years, being identified with educational work altogether for fifteen years.
In 1882 he removed to Polk county and while still engaged in teaching he took up the study
of law, to which he devoted his leisure hours. In 1884 he was admitted to practice at the
Minnesota bar and entered upon the active work of his profession in Fertile, remaining
there and at Thief River Falls until 1907, when he removed to Bottineau. He was admitted
to the North Dakota bar a month later and has since been prominent as a successful and
able attorney of Bottineau county, many important litigated interests being entrusted to
his care.
On the 5th of September, 18G9, Judge Walseth was married to Miss Mary Thompson, of
Lanesboro, Minnesota, who died two years later, leaving an infant son, Julius F., who is
now railroad yardmaster for the Great Northern Railroad Company at Oarretson, South
Dakota. In 1874 Judge Walseth was again married, his second union being with Miss Tora
Jorgenson, of Franklin, Minnesota, and to them have been born three children, of whom
but one is living, Delphine, the wife of 0. T. Vigen, a merchant of Oklee, Minnesota.
The parents are members of the Lutheran church and Judge Walseth holds membership
with the Sons of Norway. His political allegiance is given to the republican party, and in
April, 1915, he was elected police magistrate of Bottineau, in which official capacity he
is now serving. He is fair and impartial in his rulings and his ability is as pronounced
in the interpretation of the law as it was in its application when practicing at the bar.
WILLIAM D. PACKARD.
William D. Packard, editor of the Rolette County Herald, published at Rolla, was born
in Wright county, Iowa, March 28, 1861, a son of Cyrcnius H. and Isabella (Pierce) Packard,
the former a native of Vermont and the latter of New York. The father was a farmer by
occupation and after his removal to the west engaged in carrying mail from St. Paul to
McGregor, Iowa. In 1857 he established his home in Wright county, Iowa, where he pur-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 865
cliased land and engaged in farming throughout his remaining days. He was killed, how-
ever, during the Civil war, having in 1S61 enlisted for service as a member of Company
A, Thirty-second Iowa Infantry, with which he remained for two years. He met death in
battle in IS 63, laying down his life as a sacrifice on the altar of his country.
William D. Packard was reared at the Soldiers' Orphans Home and pursued his educa-
tion in the schools of Cedar Falls, Iowa. He also spent one year in study in Davenport,
and at the age of nineteen years, in Belmond, Iowa, he began learning the printer's trade,
which he has followed continuously since. For two years he was associated with his brother
in the publication of the Eagle Grove Times at Eagle Grove, Iowa, and after selling his
interest in that paper worked for others for several years. In 1891 he took charge of the
Stephen (Minn.) Leader, which he published for a year and a half, and in 1894 he removed
to Rolla, North Dakota, where he worked for W. J. Hoskins on the Turtle Mountain Star
for ten years. In 1904 he became a resident of Crookston, Minnesota, and was there night
editor on the Crookston Journal and Times for about a year. In 1906 he acquired the Rolette
County Herald of EoUa and has since conducted the paper, making it a most interesting
journal which has now gained a wide circulation and therefore is an excellent advertising
medium. He publishes his paper according to the ideas of modern journalism and his
alert and enterprising methods are bringing him success. In 1897 he homesteaded in
Towner county North Dakota and proved up on his property in 1900 after which he traded
it for his printing business.
In December, 1883, Mr. Packard was married to Miss Mary Kitts, and to them were
born seven children, of whom three are living: Richard, who is cashier of a bank of
Menominee, Michigan; Helen, at home; and Laura, who is engaged in teaching school.
Those who have passed away are: William D. ,who was born in 1886 and died in Februarj-,
1908, at the age of twenty-two years; Clifford, who died in December, 1915, at the age of
sixteen years; and two sons who died in infancy.
The parents are members of the Methodist church and Mr. Packard gives his political
allegiance to the republican party. He is the present justice of the peace of Eolla, in which
connection he discharges his duties with promptness and capability. Fraternally he is
connected with the Yeomen lodge. His wife is the present county superintendent of schools
of Rolette county, which position she has acceptably filled for the past four years, doing
much to raise the standard of education during that period. Both are held in high esteem
and have a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of their acquaintance.
HARRY HORTON TUTTLE.
Harry Horton Tuttle, general secretary of Grand Forks for the Young Men's Christian
Association, was born at Painesville, Ohio, August 5, 1869, a son of Myron William and
Emily (Race) Tuttle, who were also natives of the Buckeye state. The Tuttles were an
old Ohio family of English lineage, tracing their ancestry back to John Tuttle, a professional
man who in 1635 crossed the Atlantic to America. Representatives of the name participated
in the war for independence and were stanch American patriots. During his early years
Myron W. Tuttle became a successful hardware merchant of Ohio, and later carried on
farming in an equally successful manner in Grand Forks county, North Dakota. He arrived
in this state in 1879 and during the first two years lived in Fargo, after which he removed
to Grand Forks county and took up government land. With characteristic energy he began
to develop and improve the property and thereon continued to engage in farming until
1900, after which he retired, enjoying the fruits of a well spent life. From 1907 until 1914
he was a resident of southern Oregon, but passed away at Grand Forks, April 1, 1914, at
the age of seventy-seven years. His wife was of Dutch descent, her father having been
a native of Holland. Sh^ died in Grand Forks in 1901, at the age of fifty-six years.
Harry H. Tuttle, the second in order of birth in a family of five children, was educated
in the public schools of Painesville, Ohio, and Fargo, North Dakota, and in the district
schools of Grand Forks county, ere entering the Arvilla Academy at Arvilla, North Dakota
He also spent one year as a student in the Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio,
866 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
and had two years' instruction in the Young Men's Christian Association school in Chicago,
where he qualified for his present line of work, being graduated there with the class ot
1897. His early training and experiences were those of the farm boy, and on attaining his
majority he started out in life on his own account. After leaving the farm he took up
the profession of teaching, which he followed for several terms in the district schools of
Grand Forks county. Later he engaged in clerking for the Holmes & ISchlaberg Drug
Company of Grand Forks for two years, but did not find that occupation congenial and
turned to Young Men's Christian Association work. It was after leaving the drug store
that he started out to organize the present Young Men's Christian Association of Grand
Forks and became the first assistant general secretary. In the fall of 1898 he was made
general secretary and so continued until 1907, when he removed to the west and began
orcharding in Medford, Oregon, where he also engaged in the real estate business. He spent
seven years in the Pacific coast country, but on the Ist of March, 1914, returned to Grand
Forks and was again made general secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association, in
which position he has since continued.
On the 6th of July, 1899, Mr. Tuttle was married to Miss Jennie Milne, a native of
Canada and a daughter of John and Rachel (Ferguson) Milne. They have become parents
of a daughter, Catherine Emily, born in Grand Forks, June 18, 1903. In politics Mr. Tuttle
is a prohibitionist and he and his wife hold membership in the First Baptist church, in
which he is serving as a deacon. He is also a member of the Commercial Club. His work
in Grand Forks in behalf of the Young Jlen's Christian Association has been far-reaching
and resultant. The first Association building there was erected in 1904 at a cost of forty-
eight thousand dollars, and on his return from the west he became instrumental in securing
the erection of an addition at a cost of thirty-five thousand dollars. Both the original
project and the addition were largely financed through his efforts and his work for tlie
■organization has been a most potent element in upholding a high moral standard among
the youths of Grand Forks. The Association is thoroughly organized and in its various
departments good work is being done for the physical, mental and moral uplift of the
members.
W. F. SENECHAL.
Activity in farm lands, loans and insurance at Drake, McHenry county, constitutes the
line of business to which W. F. Sencchal is directing his efTorts and his energies. He was
born in Atwater, Minnesota, July 27, 1875, a son of John and Louisa (Meyer) Senechal, the
former a native of Stettin, Germany, and the latter of Bethlehem, Xew York. When a youth
of eighteen years the father came to the United Stales with his parents, who settled at St.
Paul, Minnesota. Soon afterward the grandfather purchased eighty acres of land near that
city but five years later disposed of that property and bought one hundred and si-vty acres
of railroad land a half mile from .\twater, on which he and his wife spent their remaining
days. .John Senechal was married in Atwater, to which city the Meyer family had formerly
removed. The young couple began their domestic life upon a farm near Atwater which lie
had previously purchased and there he carried on general agricultural pursuits until 1890,
when he removed to Todd county, Minnesota, where he filed on a liomostead which he occu-
pied and improved for seven years. He then sold that property and hoiight a farm in Swift
county, Minnesota. Six years later, or in 1902, he came to North Dakota and made purchase
of three hundred and twenty acres of land in McHenry county ten miles north of Drake,
whereon he has since resided.
W. F. Senechal was reared under the parental roof and acquired a common school educa-
tion. In 1899 he arrived in North Dakota and filed on a homestead in McHenry county, seven
and one-half miles northwest of Anamoose. He lived upon the homestead there for six years
and in 1905 went to Drake, where he became identified with the farm implement business,
which he siiccessfully managed until 1908. He then spent two years with liis family in
traveling through Washington, Oregon and California and in 1910 he returned to Drake, where
lie opened a real estate and insurance office and lias since conducted a profitable business in
W. F. SENECHAL
r
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 869
farm lands, loans and insurance. He personally owns three hundred and twenty acres of farm
land south of Drake and a number of town properties.
In 1905 Mr. Senechal was united in marriage to Miss Caroline Strege, of Drake. She is
a native of Bellingham, Minnesota, while her parents were of German birth. Mr. and Mrs.
Senechal have five children, four sons and one daughter, namely: Harold, Waldo, Howard,
Viola and William.
Politically Mr. Senechal is a republican and has served as justice of the peace and as a
member of the town council for several years. He was also a member of the school board
in Roosevelt township. Fraternally he is connected with the Ancient Order of United Work-
men and he and his wife are consistent and faithful members of the Congregational church.
He is one of the representative citizens of Drake and his enterprise and progressivenss are
manifest in the continued growth of his business, while the integrity and reliabilty of his
methods have gained for him the respect and confidence of all with whom he has been brought
in contact.
D. L. MANNING.
D. L. Manning, manager for the Farmers Elevator Company at Nortonville, dates hia
residence in North Dakota from 190i and throughout the entire period has been a repre-
sentative of the grain trade. He was born in Hardin county, Iowa, April 4, 1883, and is
a son of Edgar and Matilda (Teeple) Manning, the former a native of Canada and the
latter of Illinois. The father was a mason by trade and followed that pursuit throughout
his entire life. At an early day he removed to Hubbard, Hardin county, Iowa, where he
continued his residence until death called him in 1907. His widow still survives.
The youthful days of D. L. Manning were spent in his parents' home at Hubbard, after
which he devoted two years to study in Sioux City, Iowa. He was but twenty-one years
of age when in 1904 he left his native state and removed to Edgeley, North Dakota, where
he worked as second man in an elevator for two years. He was afterward manager for the
elevator company at Jud for two years, after which he rented land and carried on farming
until 1913. In that year he went to Nortonville to accept the position of manager for the
Farmers Elevator Company, in which capacity he has since continued, thus having charge
of important grain trade interests in the town.
On the 26th of August, 1908, Mr. Manning was married to Miss Edith Withnell, and
to them have been born two children: Merle, whose natal day was July 9, 1910; and one
who died at the age of eighteen days.
Mr. Manning is connected with the Knights of Pythias and with the Woodmen of the
World and the rules which further govern his conduct are manifest in the fact that he is
a loyal member of the Methodist church. His political support is given to the republican
party and he keeps well versed on the questions and issues of the day but he does not seek
nor desire office, for it is his ambition to attain honorable success in business and he believes
this can best be achieved by close application and persistent energy in the control of the
interests entrusted to his care.
THOMAS J. CLIFFORD.
Thomas J. Clifford, cashier of the Rolette County Bank of St. John, thoroughly under-
stands all the complex and intricate problems involved in modern banking and by reason
of hi.s knowledge and ability is capably directing the affairs and interests of the institution
in which he is now one of the officers. A native of Ireland, he was born on the 18th of
February, 1885, of the marriage of Captain .Tames and Mary A. (Maginn) Clifford. The
father was well known in military circles of England and became a captain of the famous
Coldstream Guards, holding that rank for years. He died in Ireland in 1914 and his widow
is still "I'esiding on the Emerald isle.
870 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Thomas J. Clifford was reared in his native country and acquired his education in the
Dublin University, from which he was graduated on the completion of a law course in
the class of 1904. He was not only a thorough student but a well known figure in athletic
circles, playing on the university football team, with which he toured the British Isles in
1903, during which tour the team defeated all their opponents.
In 1905 Mr. Clifford came to the United States, making his way to New York city, where
he remained for about a year. In the spring of 1906 he arrived at St. Paul, Minnesota, and
was given a position in connection with railroading interests by R. I. Farrington, second
vice president of the Great Northern Railroad, who was a particular friend of his father's.
For some time Mr. Clifford worked as relief agent at various points along the road and
while thus engaged was sent to Cando to relieve the agent. When the agent failed to return
Mr. Clifford continued to act as agent at that point and while there residing was married
in 1907 to Miss May E. Blackorby, by whom he has two children, James Harold and Frances
Catherine.
Mt. Clifford left Cando in 1907, following his marriage, for a trip to the western coast
and there spent two months. In the spring of 1908 he purchased an interest in the Hans-
boro State Bank, which he entered as assistant cashier. In 1911 he removed to St. John
and in connection with A. 0. Graham of RoUa purchased the controlling interest in the
Rolette State Bank, Mr. Clifford taking charge of the institution as cashier, in which
capacity he has since served. In 1914 he was appointed deputy state bank examiner by
Governor Hanna but after a year in that position resigned in order to give his undivided
attention to his private banking interests. His labors in this connection are being attended
with a substantial measure of success. He is a heavy holder of farm lands, owning eight
hundred acres in Rolette county and seven hundred and fifty acres in Towner county. From
his property he derives a very substantial annual income and his business interests and
connection make him one of the representative citizens of the northwestern part of the
state.
Jlr. Clifford belongs to Devils Lake Lodge, No. 121G, B. P. 0. E., and also to the Knights
of Columbus and the Modern Woodmen of America. He was a candidate at the spring pri-
maries for nomination for the state senate and polled a heavy vote, receiving fifty-nine to
one in St. John and eighty-nine to ten in RoUa, but was defeated through the country' vote.
His has been an active, well spent and useful life and the circle of his friends is constantly
growing as the circle of his acquaintance widens.
HON. EDWARD T. BURKE.
Hon. Edward T. Burke, associate justice of the supreme court of North Dakota, was born
near Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 5, 1870, a son of John H, and Elizabeth B, (Boyle)
Burke, natives of Ireland. The father's birth occurred in 1847 and when less than a year
old he was brought to the United States, being reared in Iowa, where he engaged in railroad
construction work. About 1871 he made his way to Dakota territory and afterward turned
his attention to railroad contracting. Later he became a resident of Highland township.
Cass county, North Dakota, where he established his home upon a farm, and in connection
with the cultivation of his land he engaged in the publication of a newspaper at Sheldon.
He was a prominent factor in the development and progiess of his comnumity and filled
several local ollices, including that of county commissioner. In early manhood he wedded
Elizabeth B. Boyle, who was born in Ireland in 1849. In 1012 he retired from active business
life and now resides in Minnewaukan.
In the pursuit of his education Judge Burke attended the high school of Fargo, the
University of North Dakota and the University of Minnesota, being graduated from the
law department of the last named institution with the class of 1894, at which time the
LL. B. degree was conferred upon him. He at once entered upon the practice of law at
Valley City, where he remained for ten years or until elected district judge of the fifth
judicial district in 1904 for a term of four years. On the expiration of that period he was
reelected and served for two years more. In 1910 he was elected judge of the supreme
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 871
coui't and was made chief justice. In 1916 he was again the candidate of the republican
party for the office. He is one of the most distinguished jurists that has ever graced the
court of last resort. His ability is pronounced. The limitations which are imposed by the
constitution on federal powers are well understood by him. With the long line of decisions
from Marshall down, by which the constitution has been expounded, he is familiar. He is
at home in all departments of the law, from the minutiae in practice to greater topics
wherein is involved the consideration of the ethics and the philosophy of jurisprudence and
the higher concerns of public policy; but he is not learned in the law alone, for he has
studied long and carefully the subjects that are to the statesman and the man of affau'S of
the greatest import — the questions of political economy and sociology — and has kept abreast
with the best thinking men of his age.
Judge Burke was married at Valley City, December 25, 1900, to Miss Florence Getchell,
a daughter of George and Lois (Stiles) Getchell, who were pioneers of this state, having
removed to North Dakota from Afton, Minnesota, in 1878. Judge and Mrs. Burke have
three children: Charles Getchell, born December 4, 1903; John Edward, born January 24,
1905; and Robert Eugene, born May 1, 1912. They lost a daughter Lois, who died in
infancy.
Judge Burke is a Knight Templar Mason, holding membership in Valley City Lodge,
No. 7, r. & A. M., and Valley City Commandery, No. 5, K. T., and is a member of the Mystic
Shrine. He is also identified with Jamestown Lodge, No. 995, B. P. O. E. His residence
in North Dakota dates from 1S71, covering almost the entire period of his life, and through-
out all the ensuing years he has been deeply interested in the welfare and progi-ess of the
state, cooperating with all those forces which have worked for its upbuilding and the
promotion of its standards. The pronounced ability which he displayed in the practice of
law led to his selection for judicial honors and in this connection merited distinction has
come to him.
MAJOR DANA WRIGHT.
Major Dana W^right, who has made an excellent record as sheriff of Stutsman county,
is also a veteran of the Spanish-American war and has taken a great interest in the work
of the Dakota National Guard, now serving as major therein. He was born in Eaton
Rapids, Michigan, on the 30th of August, 1878, a son of Monroe and Clara (Morse) Wright.
The father served throughout the Civil war as a member of the Second Michigan Cavalry
and proved a brave and loyal soldier. In 1881 he came to North Dakota and in the fall
of that year entered a homestead. In the following March the family joined him and he
continued to reside upon the place until he retired from active life. Both he and his wife
are now living in Jamestown. For twenty years he served as chairman of the school board.
Dana Wright attended the public schools of Jamestown in the acquirement of his
education. At the time of the Spanish- American war he enlisted in Company H, of the
First North Dakota Volunteer Infantry, and went with his command to the Philippines,
where he served for seventeen months. After being mustered out from the army he
returned to Jamestown and for three years taught school during the winters and worked on
the home farm during the summers. He then devoted ten years to railroad work, being
fireman and engineer on the Northern Pacific, but on the 1st of January, 1913, took office
as sheriff of Stutsman county, in which capacity he proved so efficient that he was reelected
in the fall of 1914. He is fearless and impartial in the enforcement of the law and has
gained the support of all good citizens.
On the 4th of May, 1904, ilajor Wright was married to Miss Sybilla Pearson, a daughter
of the late Peter Pearson, who at one time served as justice of the peace. The Pearson
family has been represented in Stutsman county for many years and has had a part in its
development. Major and Mrs. Wright have the following children, Lunetta, Dana Monroe, Jr.,
Sevilla and Jane.
Major Wright is a republican, manifests a keen interest in everything relating to the
general welfare and is taking an active part in the good roads movement. He realizes the
872 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
noed of a body of citizens traiiU'J in military tactics and for a number of years has belonged
to the National Guard. For some time he was captain of Company 11 but is now major of
the state organization. His interest in the moral progress of the community is indicated by
the fact that he is a director of the Young Jlen's Christian Association and is also a member
of the Baptist church. He is identilied with the Masonic order, in which he lias taken the
Knight IVmplar degree, and also belongs to the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He
is a member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Enginemen and the breadth of
his interests is further shown by the fact that he is a trustee of the State Historical Society
and his knowledge of the past of the state serves to increase his faith in its future. He
enjoys all manly outdoor sports, finding especial pleasure in hunting and he is recognized
as one of the most expert marksmen in his part of the state. He has a wide acquaintance-
ship and is highly esteemed and respected by all who know him.
THEODORE KAHELLEK.
Theodore Kahellek, who has been very active in political circles in Ward county and has
the honor of being the youngest man who has ever occupied the position of mayor in Kenmare,
is also widely known as proprietor of the Irvin Hotel, which enjoys the merited distinction
of being among the most sanitary hotels in the state. This and other business interests
largely engross his attention and yet he has ever found time to perform his full duty in
matters of citizenship. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, April 17, 1873, a son of Joseph
and Johanna (Nickel) Kahellek. The father was born in German Poland and in young man-
hood reached Jlilwaukee, Wisconsin, — a poor emigrant who faced the necessity of finding
immediate employment. He secured work in an iron foundry and afterward went to Breck-
enridge, Minnesota, where he was employed as stationary engineer, having mastered that
business while in Milwaukee. He passed away in Brcckcnridge in 1908. His wife, who was
also born in German Poland, became a resident of Milwaukee in her girlhood and was there
married. She still makes her home in Breckenridge.
Theodore Kahellek removed to Wahpeton, North Dakota, in 1883 and entered the
parochial school there, continuing his education until 1887, when he entered the employ of
the Great Northern Railroad as call boy. He was connected with that corporation in various
capacities until 1895, after which he engaged in carpentering for a time, and in 1896 he
became connected with J. N. Fox in the conduct of a lumber business. That association was
maintained until 1903, when he came to Kenmare and took charge of the Lang^vorthy lumber
yard, which position he resigned in 1910, when he leased the Martin Hotel for a period of
five years. He proved a popular host, successful in the management and conduct of the hotel,
and in 1915 he erected a fine modern brick hotel wliich contains fifty rooms in addition to the
quarters for his family and the help. The structure is three stories in height, is thoroughly
modern and sanitary, his former experience having taught him the necessities and demands
of hotel life. Every room is an outside room, supplied with hot and cold water, steam heat
and other modern equipments. In its erection he made a close study of sanitary conditions
and in this connection there is no hotel in the state which surpasses it. The building is
situated near the Soo railroad depot and is surrounded by a beautiful lawn adorned with
flower beds and overlooks lovely Des Lacs lake. The hotel is unexcelled for the excellence
of its cuisine and Mr. Kahellek does everything in his power to jiromote the comfort of his
guests, so that the hotel has become most popular. Mr. Kahellek also joined with the farmers
of the community in organizing the Farmers Creamery Company and since that time he has
acquired all of the stock and is now successfully conducting the Kahellek Creamery. He has
also made considerable investment in town lots.
In community affairs Mr. Kahellek has ever taken a deep, active and helpful interest.
In the fall of 1903 he was elected alderman of the city of Kenmare for one term and in
1904, at the earnest solicitation of the business men of the town, he consented to become a
candidate for mayor, and the succeeding election established him as the youngest man who
has ever occupied the position of chief executive there. He served for two years, giving to
the city a businesslike and progressive administration. In 1908 he was elected treasurer of
THEODORE KAHELLEK AND TAMELY
r~
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 875
Kenmare for a two years' term and in 1910 was chosen to the office of city justice for two
years. He organized the volunteer fire department of Kenmare and has been continuously
its chief. He was elected a trustee of the North Dakota Fuemen's Association and after
serving in tliat position for three terms was elected president at the annual convention held
in Fargo in 1915 and now holds that office. He has also served as president of the Com-
mercial Club of Kenmare and in every possible way promotes the interests and upbuilding
of his cit}'.
In 1S98, at Breckenridge, Minnesota, Mr. Kahellek was married to Miss Rose Manikowski,
who was born at Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, October 32, 1876, and acquired her education at
Great Bend, Richland county, North Dakota, while spending her girlhood days in the home
of her parents, John and Mary Manikowski, who were natives of German Poland, where they
remained until after their marriage. On coming to America in the early '70s they settled
in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, and in the early '80s became residents of Richland county. North
Dakota, where they remained until called to their final rest. Mr. and Mrs. Kahellek have
become parents of two children: Irvin, who was born in Breckenridge, Minnesota, January
9, 1900; and Delia, born in Kenmare, North Dakota, March 19, 1901.
The parents hold membership in St. Agnes Roman Catholic church, to which Mr. Kahellek
is secretary. He belongs also to the Catholic Order of Foresters, to the Modern Woodmen
camp at Kenmare, in which he has passed through all the chairs, serving as secretary for
eleven years, and to the Elks lodge at Minot. His political allegiance is given to the demo-
cratic party, which has ever found in him a stalwart advocate. He is not only a self-made
man but he comes from a stock that has had the courage and determination to face difficulties
and obstacles and work upward. His parents came to America as emigrants practically pen-
niless and endured all the hardships incident to settlement in a pioneer country with the
language and customs of which they were unfamiliar. While they worked hard, they were
able to give their children but limited educational opportunities, and Theodore Kahellek's
knowledge has been largely gained in the school of experience. ^Vhen he came to Kenmare,
bringing his wife and one child, he was without money and he was willing to start in any
position that would yield him an honorable living. He is today one of the city's leading men,
strong in his honor and his good name, strong in his ability to plan and perform. He gives
his wife much credit for his success, counting her assistance and encouragement an important
element in his business advancement. Both certainly deserve the high respect which is
uniformly accorded them.
NORMAN E. FJOSEE.
Intelligently directed effort has brought Norman E. Fjosee to a creditable position in
connection with the financial interests of Stutsman county and the eastern part of the
state, for he is now cashier of the First State Bank of Edmunds. He was born in Decorah,
Iowa, August 12, 1884, a son of N. N. Fjosee, a native of Norway, who came to the
United States in 1852. The mother, who bore the maiden name of Helvig Tandberg, is
also of Norwegian birth and is now living in Decorah, but the father passed away in Decem-
ber, 1915, after having devoted his entire life to general farming and stock raising.
Norman E. Fjosee is the youngest of a family of six children, all of whom are yet
living, and the schools of his native city afforded him his educational opportunities. After
his textbooks were put aside he entered the State Bank at Matlock, Iowa, an institutior
that has now passed out of existence. He was employed as stenographer in the bank there
for a period of a year and a half and later he entered the employ of the firm of Com-
stock & Buttz, attorneys of Minnewaukan, North Dakota, with whom he continued for six
months, during which period he learned to draw up legal papers, which was his purpose
in accepting that position. He then went to Morristown, South Dakota, where he became
cashier in the Morristown State Bank, with which he was connected for three years. On the
expiration of that period he arrived in Edmunds, North Dakota, and accepted the position
of cashier in the First State Bank, in which capacity he has continued since 1912. He is a
popular and obliging official, always courteous to the patrons of the bank and at the same
876 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
time carefully safeguarding the interests of those whom he represents. This bank was
organized in 1907 by John McCarty, W. C. Noiem and W. C. Wesoom, and from the begin-
ning it has had a prosperous existence. Mr. Fjosee is also interested in farming, liuving two
excellent tracts of land which are now being cultivated under his direction and from which
he derives a substantial annual income.
In 1913 Mr. Fjosee was married to Miss Matilda Jacobson, who was born at Sauk Center,
Minnesota, in 1885, her parents having been among the first settlers of that part of the
state. Her father has now passed away, but her mother is still living. Mr. and Mrs.
Fjosee have one child, Wayne, born February 22, 1916.
Politically Mr. Fjosee is an earnest republican, having a firm belief in the efficacy of
the party principles as factors in good government. He has attained high rank in Masonry,
holding membership in the blue lodge at Lemmon, South Dakota, and in the Scottish Rite
bodies at Aberdeen, that state. He is a member of the Lutheran church and his influence
is always given on the side of moral progress, reform and improvement. A young man,
he has already won a creditable position for himself as a business man and as a citizen,
and Edmunds is proud to claim him as one of its representatives.
CHRIST NIELSON.
Clirist Nielson, a merchant of Buchanan, was born in Denmark in 1868 and in the year
in which he attained liis majority crossed the Atlantic to the new world, making his way
to Jamestown, North Dakota. There he engaged in railroad work for about eight years, on
the expiration of which period he turned his attention to commercial lines, becoming a clerk
in the general store of Bowman Brothers at that place, where he remained for two years.
In 1903 Mr. Nielson arrived in Buchanan, establishing one of the first stores in the
town. He secured a stock of general merchandise and erected the building which he now
occupies. At the present time he is improving the store by putting in a new front and
adding to its equipment. He carries a good line and the integiity and reliability of his
business methods have secured to him a growing patronage.
In 1890 occurred the marriage of Mr. Nielson and Miss Christine Romer, a native of
Denmark, and they have become the parents of five children: John, who conducts a store at
Nortonville, this state; Edna, the wife of Roy Halverson, living at Nortonville; Henry,
who is attending the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland; and William and Ralph, both
at home.
The parents aic nu-nilirrs of the Lutheran church and Mr. Nielson is well known in
fraternal circles, being a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen at Jamestown,
the Yeomen at Builianan and tlie Modern Woodmen camp at Jamestown. In politics he is
a democrat, has served as postmaster and is now notary public. He takes quite an active
interest in political affairs and is serving as a member of the state central committee, his
opinions carrying weight in the councils of his party, while his efforts are fearlessly put
forth to ensure the success of the principles in which he believes. His ability as a business
man is widely recognized and whatever success he has achieved is attributable entirely to
his own efforts, for he came to the United States practically empty handed and has worked
his way upward through the immediate improvement of the opportunities tliat have come
to liim.
NEIL H. McKINNON.
Neil H. McKinnon has been identified with Bottineau county since pioneer times and
is now filling the office of deputy sheriff, while previously he served as sheriff of the county.
He was born in Ontario, March 16, 1864, a son of Hugh and Ann (JlcCuaig) McKinnon. the
former a native of Scotland and the latter of Canada. The father went to Canada when
a young man and following his marriage there engaged in farming, in which pursuit he
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 877
continued until his death in 1876 or 1877. His widow survived for many years, passing
away in 1909.
With a common school education to serve as the foundation upon which to build his
later success, Neil H. McKinnon came to the United States in 1886, spending the summer of
that year at Devils Lake, while in the following autumn he arrived in Bottineau county
and squatted on a. piece of land. He soon afterward hired out as a farm hand and through-
out all the intervening period he has been identified with the work of general progress and
improvement. He has lived to witness notable changes here, for he came three years before
the division of the state and at a period when the work of development seemed scarcely
begun. In 1893 he established himself in the drayage business in Bottineau, conducting a
dray line until 1906. In the meantime, however, or in 1901 he filed on a homestead near
Westhope, proving up on the property the following year. In 1906 he was elected to the
office of sheriff of Bottineau county and in 1908 was reelected, occupying that position for
four years, since which time he has continuously acted as deputy, being thus connected with
the office for a decade.
In 1895 Mr. ifcKinnon was united in marriage to Miss Maggie Acheson, of Bottineau
county, by whom he had six children, four of whom still survive, namely: Anna Ruth,
Angus A., Gordon E. and Margaret D. All are yet under the parental roof. Fraternally Mr.
McKinnon is connected with Tuscan Lodge, No. 44, F. & A. M., of Bottineau, and he and his
wife are consistent members of the Presbyterian church. His political allegiance is given to
the republican party and he labors earnestly to win for it success and to secure the adoption
of its principles. He has become the owner of two hundred and eighty acres of farm land
near Westhope and he is one of the well known residents of Bottineau county, few of its
settlers having remained for a longer period within its borders.
HERBERT FULLER CHAFFEE.
Herbert Fuller Chafi'ee, of Amenia, Cass county, was a prominent factor in the develop-
ment of that section and was interested in many enterprises that aided in the upbuilding
of the whole state.
• He was born in Sharon, Connecticut, on the 20th of November, 1865. His parents were
Eben Whitney and Amanda (Fuller) Chaffee. On the paternal side the family has had many
distinguished members in every period of American history — among those to attain fame
being General Adna R. Chaffee, U. S. A., and Senator Jerome Chaffee, of Colorado. The family
came to this country in 1635, when they settled in New England near the Plymouth
colony. His mother was a daughter of Cyrus Fuller, and traces her ancestry to the Fullers
of Mayflower fame, an immediate ancestor being captain of a regiment in the Revolutionary
days. Before the Revolution, Mr. Chaffee's family settled in Sharon, Connecticut, and the
old home is still in the possession of his family.
Mr. Chaffee received his early education in the common schools of Sharon, a seminary in
Amenia, New York, and later attended Williston Seminary, a scientific school at East-
hampton, Massachusetts, graduating in 1885.
Before completing his education, he made several trips to North Dakota, the first being
in 18S1, and upon his graduation took an active part in the business that had been estab-
lished some years before by eastern capital, in which his father, the late Eben Whitney
Chaffee, was largely interested, and a few years later, in 1893, all the remaining eastern
investors in The Amenia & Sharon Land Company sold their interests to the young man,
who from that time was the president and general manager of the company and owner of a
large proportion of its holdings. Through his sound scientific and business judgment he
established a farm business that is unique and stands today as a memorial of his faith
in the future of his adopted state and his unswerving fidelity to high ideals.
His large interests both in The A. & S. Land Company and elsewhere are being held
intact by his family through the incorporation of all their holdings in The H. F. Chaffee
Company.
In 1887 Mr. Chaffee was united in marriage to Miss Carrie C. Toogood, of Manchester,
878 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Iowa, and they became the parents of six cliildron, five of whom are living — Eben Whitney,
Dorothy Chaffee Stroud, Herbert Laurance, Florence Adele and Lester Fuller.
Mr. Chaffee supported the republican party at the polls and always took a good citi-
zen's interest in affairs of the government that were for advancement along right lines,
although he was not an office seeker. He affiliated with the Congregational church, as da
the other members of the family, and its teachings guided his life.
He and his wife were returning from an European trip on the ill-fated Titanic, and
although Mrs. Chaffee was saved, Mr. Cliaffee lost his life, showing even in his death the
generous spirit of self-sacrifice, and his demise was a serious loss to his community and his
state, which he had served so well for years. The effects of his farsighted and public-
spirited labor are still felt and his memory is held in honor by all who were closely asso-
ciated with him.
BERNARD D. VEREET, M. D.
Dr. Bernard D. Verret was born in Quebec, Canada, February 16, 1876, a son of A. H.
and Bridget (Donnelly) Verret, who were natives of Quebec and Ireland respectively. The
father served as auditor of the province of Quebec and continued to hold that position until
the time of his death in January, 1913. His widow still survives.
Dr. Verret was reared in Quebec, where he pursued his education. He was a student
at Laval University and was graduated from that institution in 1900 on the completion
of a medical course and he also pursued a ten years' classical course in the Seminary of
Quebec. He became connected with St. Joseph's Hospital at St. Paul, Minnesota, where he
took post graduate work for a year, after which he located for practice at Fargo, North
Dakota, where he remained for a year. On the expiration of that period he removed to
St. .John, Rolette county, where he opened an office and practiced for a year and a half,
while since 1904 he has been located at Rolla, where he now enjoys an extensive and
important practice. He served for three years under contract as physician for the Indians
on the Turtle Mountain reservation, and he has been health physician of Kolla. He also
served on the board of the Dunseith Sanitarium at Dunscitli, North Dakota, for a year. In
addition to his professional activities he has become interested in farming and other*
business, being now a stockholder in the Farmers Telephone Company of Rolla and the
owner of three quarter sections of land in Rolette county.
In religious faith Dr. Verret is a Roman Catholic. His political allegiance is given to
the republican party and in his fraternal connections he is a Yeoman and a Modern Wood-
man. He holds to high professional standards and is continually seeking out new methods
which will promote his efficiency in the work of checking the ravages of disease. His
abilitv is widely recognized and his efforts are being attended with excellent results.
B. FRANK BROCKHOFF.
The insurance interests which center in Grand- Forks find a worthy and prominent rep-
resentative in B. Frank Brockhoff, who is now the secretary of the Pioneer Insurance Com-
pany. He was born at Reads Landing, Wabasha county, Minnesota, September 28, 1862,
a son of George G. and Theresa (Brass) Brockhoff, both of whom were natives of Germany.
The father was born in Hanover and came to America in 18.'-)3, settling in Minnesota, where
he engaged in business as a baker and freighter. He also served for one term as post-
master at Reads Landing. His wife came to the United States in 1851 and is still living
at Reads Landing at the age of eighty years. By her marriage she became the mother of
five children, of whom B. Frank Brockhoff is the eldest. The husband and father has passed
away, his death occurring at Reads Landing, March 1, 1908, when he was seventy-six
years of age.
Mr. Brockhoff of this review, after attending the high school of his native town, took
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA , 879
up the study of telegraphy and was employed as an operator by the Milwaukee Railroad
from 1S79 until 1890. He removed to Grand Forks in 1890 and became cashier for the
Northern Pacific Railway Company. He was engaged in newspaper work from 1895 until
1899, when he was elected to the oflBce of city treasurer, which position he acceptably filled
until 1906. He then entered insurance circles, in which he has since been active. He pur-
chased an interest in the Pioneer Insurance Agency, which was established in 1883, and he
is now its secretary, in which connection he is active in the control of one of the most
important insurance interests of the state. He is also a director of the Microba Antiseptic
Company and of the Security Real Estate & Loan Company.
On the 4th of September, 1888, Mr. Brockhoff was married to Miss Katherine Durick,
of Portage, Wisconsin, a daughter of James and Ellen Durick. The father is now deceased,
but the mother is still living at the age of eighty-four years and is a well preserved
woman. Mr. and Mrs. Brockhoff have a son, Frederick J., who was born at Reads
Landing, Minnesota, November 21, 1889, and is now attorney for the Fidelity & Casualty
Company of Chicago. Fraternally Mr. Brockhoff is connected with the Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Knights of
Columbus and the Order of Railway Telegraphers. In politics he is a democrat and in 1916
became the candidate of his party for the office of railroad commissioner in North Dakota.
CHAELES H. KINNEY.
Charles H. Kinney, residing on section 17, Grand Rapids township, Lamoure countj', is
engaged in farming nine hundred and sixty acres of land and is also identified with the
grain trade as a stockholder of the Equit.v Elevator Company of Grand Rapids and the
Farmers Elevator Company of that place. He was born in Rockford, Illinois, February 13,
1859, a son of Thomas and Jane (Burns) Kinney, who were natives of Ireland and came to
America at an early day, settling in Utica, New York. After four years there spent they
removed westward to Rockford, Illinois, and the father occupied a position as bookkeeper
for three years. He then went to Wisconsin, where he purchased land and began farming.
With the outbreak of the Civil war he responded to the country's need for military support
in 1861, joining the boys in blue of Company A, Thirty-first Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry,
with which he served until the close of hostilities. He participated in many hotly con-
tested engagements and was wounded while at the front. With a most creditable military
record he returned to his Wisconsin home and there engaged in farming throughout his
remaining days, his death occurring in 1878, while his widow survived until 1905.
Cliarles H. Kinney passed almost all of his minority in Wisconsin, being reared in the
usual manner of farm lads. The public schools afforded him his educational privileges and
he remained with his parents until he reached the age of twenty-one years. In 1882 he
arrived in Lamoure county. North Dakota, and filed on land south of Grand Rapids, develop-
ing a farm which he cultivated for eight years. He then sold that property and purchased
his present place of five hundred and eighty acres a mile and a half from Grand Rapids,
on section 17, Grand Rapids township. He expects soon to undertake the work of improv-
ing the place, but at the present time is living on a rented place and farms nine hundred
and sixty acres. Much of this is under cultivation, utilized in the production of wheat,
corn, oats and other cereals, and he is also engaged quite extensively in stock raising.
At the present time he is milking sixteen cows. He also makes a specialty of raising Buff
Wyandotte chickens. Of the Farmers Elevator Company and the Equity Elevator Com-
pany at Grand Rapids he is a stockholder and of the former is one of the directors. He
also operates a threshing outfit and does a big business along that line. Diligence and de-
termination actuate him at every point in his business career and are bringing to him the
substantial results of well defined labor.
On the 14th of April, 1887, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Kinney and Miss Daisy
I. Shiek, a daughter of Carl and Louisa Shiek, mentioned elsewhere in this work in connec-
tion with the sketch of C. W. Shiek. They have become parents of sixteen children, seven
sons and nine daughters: Joseph, Louise, Edna, Charles, Arthur, Raphael, Paul, Florence,
880 , HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Margaret, John, Nellie, Beatrice, Gertrude, Everett, Miiriel and Miriam. The two last named
are twins.
The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church and Mr. Kinney gives
his political allegiance to the democratic party. He has been a member of the school board
for eighteen years serving as president for a part of that time, and he has also occupied
the position of constable in his township, but he prefers to concentrate his thought, energies
and attention upon his farming interests and the acquirement of a competence to provide
for his family.
NILS I. DOKKEN.
Nils I. Dokken, clerk of the district court of Bottineau county, was born in Norway,
February 4, 1S76, a son of Iver and Kirsti (Groseth) Dokken, who came to the United States
in 1881, settling in Grand Forks county. North Dakota. The father filed on a homestead
and afterward removed to another farm, but continued to reside in that county until called
to his final rest, his death occurring in 1914. His widow still resides on the old homestead
there.
Nils I. Dokken supplemented his common school training by study in Concordia College
at Moorhead, Minnesota, which he attended for two years. When not occupied with his
textbooks his attention was given to the work of the fields and he continued upon the
home farm until 1900, when he removed westward to Bottineau county, filing on a home-
stead west of the river and seven miles south of the present town of Antler. During the
succeeding two years, while proving up on his claim, he worked as a clerk in a store in
Minot. In 1902 he took up his abode upon his homestead and began the cultivation of
the farm, thereon remaining until 1914, during which time he wrought a marked trans-
formation in the appearance of the place, adding to it all the equipments and accessories of
the model farm of the twentieth century. In the meantime he had also purchased an
adjoining tract of one hundred and sixty acres. In 1914 he was elected to his present office
on the republican ticket and removed to Bottineau to assume his duties as clerk of the
district court, in which connection he has made an excellent record and is now his party's
candidate for reelection.
In the fall of 1901 Mr. Dokken wedded Miss Mathilda Everson, of Manvel, North
Dakota, by whom he has five children, namely: Indred C, Gladys O., Minnie, Lillian M. and
Caroline B. The parents are members of the Lutheran church and are people of sterling
worth, their many good traits of heart and mind winning for them the goodwill and high
regard of those with whom thev have been associated.
C. E. LARSON.
C. E. Larson, one of the owners and the manager of the elevator of the Dickey Grain
Company in the town of Dickey and well known as a former capable sheriff of Lamoure
county, was born in Wisconsin on the 10th of January, 1859, a son of Erick and Amanda
(Evans) Larson, both of whom wore natives of Norway, whence they came to the new world
in young manhood and womanhood. They made their way to Green county. Wisconsin,
where they were married and there both passed away in 1876, there being but three months
between the dates of their deaths.
C. E. Larson acq\iired a common school education and was but seventeen years of age
when his parents passed away. Thrown upon his own resources, he began earning his living
as a farm hand and was thus employed in Wisconsin for five years. In 1882 he came to
North Dakota, settling in Lamoure county, where he homestcaded one hundred and sixty
acres of land in Sheridan township, on which he resided for two decades. During that period
he also took up a tree claim of eighty acres and made purchase of an additional tract of
three hundred and twenty acres. lie bent his energies to the development and improvement
C. E. LARSON
THE
•PDELl
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 883
of the property and his labors soon wrought a marked transformation in its appearance. In
the fall of 1902 he was elected county sheriff and removed to La Moure to assume the duties
of that position, in which he made such an excellent record that he was reelected in 1904,
serving for two terms and retiring from the office as he had entered it — with the confidence
and goodwill of all law-abiding citizens. In the spring of 1907 Mr. Larson removed to
Dickey and purchased a hardware .store, which he conducted for five years. In 1913 he joined
W. D. Paton and H. D. Bloss in the purchase of the Monarch elevator, of which he was made
manager. Two years later five farmers were admitted to a share in the ownership and the
business was incorporated under the name of the Dickey Grain Company, Mr. Larson still
remaining as manager. He was also the principal organizer and promoter of the Farmers
& Merchants State Bank and served as its president for one year, while through the succeed-
ing six years he occupied the position of vice president, and he still owns stock in the bank.
His property holdings also include six hundred and forty acres of valuable farm land in
Lamoure county and thus his interests and possessions have become extensive and important,
making him one of the substantial citizens of his section of the state.
In 1888 Mr. Larson was united in marriage to Miss Helena Schmoker, of Lamoure county,
who was born in Wisconsin. They are the parents of four children, two sons and two daugh-
ters, as follows: Amanda, a graduate of the State Normal School at Valley City, North
Dakota, and now the wife of Connie R. Arduser, cashier of the First State Bank at Adrian,
North Dakota; Irwin, who is employed in the Chamber of Commerce at Minneapolis, Min-
nesota; Myrtle, a student in the State Normal School at Valley Cit}'; and Edward, at home.
In his political views Mr. Larson has ever been an earnest republican and has served as
chairman of tlie town board for a number of years. His interest in the public welfare is
deep and sincere and he would at any time sacrifice personal affairs rather than retard public
progress. Fraternally he is identified with Dickey Lodge No. 63, A. F. & A. M.; the Order
of the Eastern Star, to which his wife also belongs; the Modern Woodmen of America; and
the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He and his wife hold membership in the Episcopal
church and his aid and influence can ever be counted upon to further plans and measures for
the general good. There have been no spectacular phases in his career but his entire life is
one in which there has been manifest a recognition of the rights and privileges of others and
of the obligations of citizenship, and through his entire career he has never been neglectful
of any duty that has devolved upon him.
GEORGE LUTZ.
George Lutz, a capitalist of Jamestown and one of the foremost business men of the
state, has also taken a prominent part in public affairs and for two terms served as a mem-
ber of the state legislature. He was born in the Black Forest in Germany on the 19th of
December, 1853, and is a son of George and Wilhelmina (Klumpp) Lutz, both of whom died
in Germany, the father when our subject was fifteen years old, and the mother when he
was four years of age.
George Lutz attended school in his native land, receiving a good education, and on putting
aside his textbooks entered a general store, where he learned the principles of successful
merchandising. Later he engaged in banking for three years, but when twenty-one years
of age entered the army, serving the required time and winning promotion to the rank of
lieutenant. After leaving the army he again turned his attention to banking, but after a
year went to Antwerp, Belgium, where he held a position as correspondent with a large
importing firm. In 1879 he was sent by that firm to Chicago, where he remained until
1883, when the French embargo on American pork paralyzed business and he was forced to
seek other employment. In that year he came to Dakota territory, taking up a homestead
in Stutsman county, but residing at Jamestown. He began working in a lumberyard and
his ability was so apparent that the following year he was promoted to the position of
manager. In 1893 he engaged in the lumber business on his own account and under his own
name, and later organized and incorporated the Lutz Lumber Company, which was an
important factor in business circles in southern North Dakota until July, 1914, when it was
Vol. 11—4 5
884 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
sold to the Tliompson Lumber Company, Incorporated. Mr. Lutz was for a eonsiderab^
period interested in the James River National Bank, of which he served as director foi
seventeen years, and he organized the Jamestown Implement Company, which he subse-
quently sold. He also erected the Lutz building, which he still owns, and likewise holds
title to valuable tracts of land. His keen insight into business conditions, his sound judg-
ment and his enterprise have been instrumental in the business and commercial development
of Jamestown and Stutsman county and have placed him among the men of wealth of the
county.
Mr. Lutz was married on the 7th of September, 1887, to Miss Matilda Bauer, a daughter
of Phillip and Helen Bauer, both natives of Germany. Mrs. Lutz, however, was born and
reared in Burlington, Iowa, and was one of the early teachers in the Jamestown public
schools. She passed away on the loth of December, 1914, at the age of fifty-two years,
leaving two children: Alma W., a graduate of Vassar College, who is at home; and Paul F.,
who was educated at the Tarrytown (N. Y.) Academy and in the State L'niversity of
Wisconsin and is now connected with the Thompson Lumber Company. ,
Mr. Lutz is a stanch republican and is recognized as one of the leaders of the party
in his section of the state. In 1889 and again in 1891 he served as a member of the state
legislature and made an e.vcellent record in that capacity, supporting measures that have
proved beneficial. Although he was reared as a Lutheran, he is now a member of the
Christian Science church. Fraternally he is identiiied with the Benevolent Protective Order
of Elks. His recreation consists chiefly of hunting and motoring, as he is very fond of
outdoor life. The unusual measure of success which he has gained is due to his thorough
business training, his unquestioned ability, his industry and his sterling integrity.
HENEY C. DANA.
Henry C. Dana, a grain buyer operating an independent elevator at Bottineau, was horn
in Elkhart, Illinois, April 14, 1863, a son of Lorenzo D. and Laura (Sanford) Dana, who
were natives of New York, but were married in Dlinois, to which state they had removed
in childhood with their respective parents. The father became one of the most prominent
grain dealers in that state. In 1882 he removed to North Dakota, settling at Devils Lake,^
where he remained for three years, when in 1885 he came to Bottineau county, where he
homesteaded and preempted land. Subsequently he engaged in the land and loan business in
Bottineau county, continuing active along that line to the time of his death, which occurred
in 1898. He was one of the foremost factors in republican politics in his district and con-
tributed largely to the success of his party in Bottineau county. He thus left the impress
of his individuality upon the upbuilding and development of the northern part of the state
in many ways.
Henry C. Dana was a little lad of seven or eight years when his parents removed to
Springfield, Illinois, and there he pursued a public school education. As early as his seven-
teenth year he began buying grain on the road for his father and later he had two years'
experience in railroad work as an employe of the Cliicago & Alton Company. In 1883 he
arrived in North Dakota, although it was not until six years later that the division of
the territory occurred. All the conditions of pioneer life existed and Mr. Dana met many
hardships and privations incident to frontier existence after locating on a preemption of
one hundred and sixty acres adjoining the old city of Devils Lake. In 1885 he filed on a
homestead in Bottineau county adjoining the town of Bottineau and the following year
took up his abode thereon, continuing his residence at that place for seven years. In the
meantime, however, he began buying grain and in the winter of 1888-9 was a grain buyer
for the St. Anthony & Dakota Elevator Company at Barton, this state. In the fall of 1889
he went to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he worked for two years, being in the cm])loy of
the Colorado & Manitou Electric Railway Line. The year 1S91 witnessed his arrival in
Bottineau, whither he came to take charge of the interests of the St. Anthony & Dakota
Elevator Company, and for fifteen years he managed their business at this point. For two
years during that time he also managed their lumberyards in Bottineau and after putting
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 885
aside the work connected with the elevator he continued to act as manager of a lumberyard
for two years. During the succeeding four years he did not engage in any line of business,
but in 1912 he bought the Farmers Elevator and began operating in grain on his own
account. He is today one of the best known among the grain buyers of the northwestern
part of the state and his business has reached substantial and gratifying proportions. His
long experience in the grain trade has well qualified him for the work in which he is now
engaged and he is meeting with a gratifying measure of prosperity.
In 1894 Mr. Dana was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary Miller, of Bervie, Ontario, Can-
ada, by whom he has two daughters, Laura and Gertrude, who attend the North Dakota
State University at Grand Forks. Mr. Dana is a republican in his political views and in
1905 was a candidate for the office of clerk of the courts, but was defeated by five votes.
He is now a member of the city council and in that connection is exercising his official
prerogatives in support of many well defined plans to advance the public welfare. His wife
is a member of the Presbyterian church and both are held in high esteem throughout the
community in which they reside, the hospitality of the best homes being freely and
graciously accorded them.
R. E. EOGNAS.
R. E. Rognas, a merchant of Eolla, has been identified with the commercial interests of
that town since 1895 and has contributed much to the business development of Rolette
county. He was born in Norway in February, 1870, and is a son of Halvor and Annie
(Skjelle) Rognas, both of whom were natives of Norway. The father, a tanner by trade,
is now living retired at Christiania, Norway, but the mother died December 27, 1882.
R. E. Rognas spent the days of his boyhood and youth in his native country to the age
of fifteen years, when, in 1885, he crossed the Atlantic to the new world and made his way
to Jackson, Minnesota, where he resided for a year and a half. On the expiration of
that period he went to Minneapolis, where he made his home for eight years, and in 1895
he took up his abode in Rolla, where he purchased an interest in the general store of T. T.
Shell, thus forming the firm of Shell & Rognas. They continued together for sis and a
half years, at the end of which time Mr. Rognas purchased his partner's interest and has
carried on the business independently, building up a good trade in this connection. He
also organized another store at Devils Lake, which he still conducts under the name of
the New York Cash Store. In 1911 he admitted L. Lorenz to a partnership under the firm
style of Rognas & Lorenz. He likewise has farming interests in Rolette and Towner
counties, owning six and a half quarter sections.
In 1895 Mr. Rognas was imited in marriage to Miss .Jennie Loken and to them have been
born three children, Hazel, Minerva and Rand. Mr. Rognas is a republican in his political
views, while his religious faith is indicated by his membership in the Presbyterian church.
He is also identified with the Masonic fraternity, having taken the degrees of lodge, chapter
and commandery, while of the Mystic Shrine he is also a representative. His life is an
exemplification of the beneficent spirit of that order and the sterling traits of character
which he has displayed have won for him the confidence, goodwill and high regard of those
with whom he has been associated.
JOHN NELSON.
John Nelson, proprietor of the Grand Forks Marble and Monument Works and thus
actively and prominently connected with industrial interests of his city, was born in Win-
neshiek county. Iowa, March 27, 1869. His father, Andrew Nelson, a native of Norway,
came to America in 1847 and was a pioneer settler of Winneshiek county, Iowa, where in
early days he successfully carried on general agricultural pursuits. In 1883 he removed
to Crookston, Minnesota, where he engaged in farming for three years. He afterward spent
886 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
two years in tlie livery business and then entered the monument business, becoming the
pioneer in that line in Crookston. He carried on business at that point for two years and
then removed to Grand Forks, where he established a monument business that he suc-
cessfully managed and conducted up to the time of his death, which occurred April 20, 1904,
when he was fifty-nine years of age. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Bertha Lein,
is also a native of Norway, and in 184S came to the new world with her parents, who also
settled in Winneshiek county, Iowa. There she met and married Andrew Nelson, whom she
still survives. She is now seventy-two years of age and she makes her home in Grand
Forks and in Walla Walla, Washington, dividing her time between her children.
John Nelson, whose name introduces this review, was the fifth in order of birth in
the family of twelve children and in the common schools of his native county and of
Crookston, Minnesota, acquired his education. His youthful days were passed upon the
homestead farm with the usual training and experiences that fall to the lot of the farm bred
boy. When twenty years of age he began learning the marble cutting trade and monument
business as assistant to his father and never had anj' other employer. At the deatli of his
father lie succeeded to the business, which he has since carefully and wisely managed, winning
a substantial competence through his well directed efforts. He now has an extensive
patronage and his is one of the leading enterprises of that character in his section of the
state. He employs two skilled workmen and the output of his factory is sent not only to
other cities of North Dakota but also into neighboring states. He is the owner of the block
which he occupies with his business at No. 520 De Mers street.
Jlr. Nelson's political allegiance is given the republican party and fraternally he is
connected with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Kniglits of Pythias. He belongs to
the Lutheran church and his has been a well spent life. Tliroughout his entire career he
has held to principles of honorable manhood and in business affairs has been thoroughly
straightforward, never taking advantage of the necessities of his fellowmen in any trade
transaction. He has based his success upon excellent workmanship, fair prices and honorable
dealing and he has won a creditable place among the business men of Grand Forks.
FARGO (X)LX,EGE.
Fargo College, one of thp strong educational institutions of North Dakota, was founded
in 1887 under the auspices of the Congregational church of the state. Five years before
the movement to establish the school was begun by a committee of which the Rev. Henry
C. Simmons, D. D., was chairman. The first home of the school was two rooms in
the old Masonic block in Fargo, but the growth in attendance compelled the board to secure
larger quarters and still later three rooms were occupied in the Crandin building. Through
the generosity of .T. P. Gould and his sister, Mrs. Lueinda S. Bassett, the George H. .Tones
Memorial Hall was dedicated in 1SS9. Dill Hall was erected in 1907 and tlie Carnegie librar)'
in 1910, while about the same time the Conservatory of Music was moved to the new Stone
building, its present fine quarters. The college stands on a campus of twelve acres in the
soutli side residential district of Fargo. The giounds form a continuation of Island Park,
a large wooded tract. In 1914 a campaign was instituted for endowment and a generous
response brought about enlargement in the school facilities. Fargo College is affiiated with
the Congregational Kducation Society and is a member of the Association of Colleges of
the Interior and of the Association of American Colleges. The aim of the college as
expressed in its motto is the building of Christian character. In addition to the usual
subjects taught there is a splendid music department uncier the name of tlie Fargo Con-
servatory of Music. There is opportunity for the most tliorougli iiliysiral training for both
young men and women, there being a large gymnasium in Dill Hall, while the stadium is
one of the finest athletic parks in the northwest, affording ample room for all kinds of
outdoor sports and athletics, including baseball and football grounds. Two literary societies
are maintained in the college and a publication entitled Blue and fiold is i.ssued bi-weekly
by the board of editors chosen by the Blue and Gold Association. The junior annual, the
Wau-Kon, is issued each year by the junior class. The faculty now numbers tliirty-five
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 887
teachers and there is a productive endowment (aside from buildings and equipment) of
between eighty and ninety thousand dollars. The total enrollment in 1915 was five hundred
and twenty-one and high standards of scholarship are maintained. Scholarship prizes of over
eight hundred dollars are awarded students annually.
There are one hundred and seventy-eight living alumni holding the bachelor's degi-ee,
aside from graduates of the academy or preparatory department and the conservatory of
music. They are holding responsible positions in twenty-one states of the Union, while two
are in China, two in Africa, one in India and one in Germany. One lost his life in the
recent Armenian massacres. Two have held Rhodes Scholarships at Oxford University,
England.
GEORGE W. KIRKEBY.
George W. Kirkeby, cashier of the Mouse River Valley Bank at Souris, North Dakota,
is one of the wide-awake, energetic young business men of Bottineau county. He was born
in Decorah, Iowa, on the 28th of May, 1891, a son of A. H. and Tilda (Evenrud) Kirkeby.
The father is a native of Norway and on coming to the new world about 1873 located in
Winneshiek county, Iowa, where he purchased land and engaged in agricultural pursuits,
residing upon one farm for thirty-two years, but he is now living retired in Decorah.
In that city George W. Kirkeby was reared and educated, being given good advantages.
He attended Luther College and completed his education at Valder's Business College. On
leaving home he went to Montana, where he was employed in a bank for one year, and
then came to Souris, Bottineau county, North Dakota, accepting the position of assistant
cashier of the Mouse River Valley Bank, which was organized in 1903. It has a capital
of fifteen thousand dollars and does a large business, its deposits now amounting to one
hundred and ten thousand dollars. In 1916 Mr. Kirkeby was made cashier of the institution,
the other officers being M. E. Wilson, president; C. A. Kirkeby, vice president; and A. C.
Brainard, assistant cashier.
Mr. Kirkeby is a member of the Sons of Norway and the Yeoman lodges and is also
identified with the Lutheran church. By his ballot he supports the men and measures of the
democratic party and does all in his power to promote the interests of his adopted state.
NELS B. ARVESON.
Nels B. Arveson, cashier of the Bank of Carbury and one of the leading citizens of that
place, was born at St. James, Minnesota, on the 31st of December, 1886, and is a son of
Rev. N. and Betsy (Anfinson) Arveson, the former a native of Norway and the latter of
Winneshiek county, Iowa. The father was only fourteen years of age when he crossed the
Atlantic to the United States, and shortly afterward he began studying for the ministry.
He attended Luther College at Decorah, Iowa, and a theological seminary at Columbus,
Ohio. He has since devoted his life to the ministry and is now preaching at St. Olaf, Iowa.
His wife is also living.
Nels B. Arveson was reared in a Cliristian home and was given good educational priv-
ileges, attending high school at Decorah, Iowa, and St. Olaf's College at Northfiold, Minne-
sota. He first became interested in the banking business as cashier of the North McGregor
Savings Bank at North McGregor, Iowa, with which he was connected for three years, and
for the same length of time was assistant cashier of the Great Western Bank at Osnabrock,
Cavalier county. North Dakota, where he located in 1913. At the end of that time he
removed to Carbury, Bottineau county, and accepted the cashiership of the Bank of Carbury,
of which he is a stockholder and director. The other officers are E. T. McCanna, president,
and P. P. Engh, vice president, both residents of McCanna, North Dakota. The bank has a
capital of ten thousand dollars and its deposits now amount to eighty-five thousand dollars,
although it was only organized in the fall of 1915. Its growth has been steady and it has
the confidence and support of the public. Mr. Arveson is also a stockholder in the Bankers
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Trust Company & Savings Bank of Minneapolis, Avhich is a one million Jollur enterprise.
He is agent for the Ford cars and also handles real estate and insurance, being a very
enterprising and wide-awake business man.
In March, 1913, Mr. Arveson married Miss Agnes G. Looby, and to them have been
born two children, but Eugene T., who was born August 1, 1914, died on the 10th of the
same month. Jane Margaret was born January 20, 1916. They are faithful members of the
Lutheran church and Mr. Arveson is a republican in politics. He occupies an enviable posi-
tion in business circles and wherever known is held in high esteem.
W. J. HUXLEY.
\V. J. Huxley, United States immigrant inspector at St. .John, was born at Lowell,
Michigan, December 4, 1881. His parents, Edward R. and Emma (Mann) Huxley, were
natives of Lockport, New York, and Hamilton county, Ohio, respectively. The father is
still living and resides in Springfield, Missouri, where he took up his abode in 1896, but the
mother passed away in 1905.
At the usual age, W. J. Huxley became a pupil in tlie public schools of his native town
and passed through consecutive grades to the high school, after w^hich he became a student
in the high school at Springfield, Missouri. When twenty years of age he became con-
nected with railroad service and was eraploj'ed in various capacities for five or six years.
In November, 1906, he entered the employ of the government, his first position being in
the bureau of animal industry of the department of agriculture. He continued in that
department for tliree years and eight month.s and in July, 1910, was appointed immigrant
inspector at Brownsville, Texas. After six or seven months there passed he was transferred to
the station at Hidalgo, where he was located until the 1st of August following, when he
was sent to the office in Winnipeg, Canada. Three weeks later or on the 14th of September,
1911, he was given the position at St. John which he has since occupied.
On the 10th of April, 1903, Mr. Huxley was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Ellis, of
Springfield, Missouri, by whom he has a daughter, Mary Elizabeth. Mr. and Mrs. Huxley
have become well known in St. John, where they are enjoying the goodwill and high regard
of a constantly increasing circle of friends and acquaintances.
ALFRED JI. FKl'H.
Alfred M. Fruh, president of the Tolley State Bank of Tolley, Renville county, and also
president of the Security Land & Loan Company, which is doing an extensive business in
handling farm property in that section of the state, was born at Marietta, Minnesota, .July
1, ]S8:i, his parents being Albert and .Agatha (Martie) Fruh, who were natives of Switzer-
land. They came to the United States in early life and making their way to ^Minnesota,
the father purchased land near Marietta, where he carried on farming for many years, his
persistent, earnest and unfaltering labors being attended with a substantial measure of suc-
cess. In 1916 he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who passed away in June
of that year. He is now living retired, making his home in Marietta.
At the usual age Alfred M. Fruh became a jnipil in the public schools of Marietta and
passed throiigh consecutive grades to the high school. He remained under the parental roof
until he reached the age of twenty and then went to Madison, Minnesota, where he accepted
the position of bookkeeper in the First National Bank, acting in that capacity until lOO.!,
when he removed to Lansford. North Dakota, and became connected with the Farmers &
Merchants Bank. He afterward spent eight months in a bank at Grano and in 1908 purchased
the Tolley State Bank from E. C. Tolley and has since concentrated his energies upon the
development and conduct of the business. He is president of the bank, with L. E. Shores
as vice president and A. A. Swanson as cashier. The institution is capitalized for ten thou-
sand dollars and something of its success is indicated in the fact that it has surplus and
ALFRED il. FRUH
THE NEW
PUBLIC ' '
TlLOtU /i
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 891
undivided profits amounting to ten thousand dollars, while its deposits amount to one hundred
and sixty-five thousand dollars. They have a model banking house, a two story brick struc-
ture equipped for the purpose with large burglar proof vaults, safety deposit vaults and
other accessories. Mr. Fruh in the conduct of the bank maintains an even balance between
conservatism and progressiveness, doing everything in his power to accommodate its patrons
to a point that will not endanger the interests of depositors. He is also extensively engaged
in the real estate business, being president of the Security Land & Loan Company of ToUey,
which is capitalized for fifty thousand dollars. The business of this corporation is now
•extensive. In the year 1915 the company sold twenly-one thousand acres of land and up to
September, 1916, its sales had amounted to eighteen thousand acres. Mr. Fruh has been
instrumental in getting one hundred and fifty-four families to locate in the vicinity of Tolley.
On the 10th of December, 1914, Mr. Fruh was married to Miss Mabel Lindblom and
they have become the parents of a son, Alfred M., Jr., born November 12, 1915. Mr. and
Mrs. Fruh are members of the German Lutheran church and he belongs also to the Masonic
fraternity, in which he has attained high rank, being now a member of the Mystic Shrine. He
also has membership relations with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. His political endorsement is
given to the republican party and for four terms he has served as mayor of his town, his
long retention in that office by the vote of his fellow citizens being indicative of the splendid
and businesslike administration which he has given to them, an administration in which he
avoids needless retrenchment and useless expenditure ,and which is characterized by a pro-
gressive effort to promote the best interests of the municipality. In business life his afi'airs
have been carefully and wisely managed and his success is the direct and logical outcome
of unfaltering industry and keen sagacity.
CHARLES E. DAVIS.
Charles E. Davis cashier of the Millarton State Bank, is a western man by birth, train-
ing and preference and the spirit of western enterprise finds expression in his active business
career, for he is a representative of that class of men who in advancing individual interests
also promote public progress and improvement. He was born in Glencoe, Jlinnesota, in
1883, and is the third in order of birth in a family of eight children, seven of whom are
living. He is a son of John and Hettie (Drew) Davis, both natives of Maine, the former
born in 1848 and the latter in 1854. The father became a general merchant and contractor.
He spent the period of his minority in the Pine Tree state and upon attaining adult age,
in 1869, left New England for the far west. He went first to Minnesota and afterward to
Oregon, where he and his wife are now residing. He has put aside business cares and is
enjoying a period of well earned rest.
To the public school system of his native state Charles E. Davis is indebted for the
educational privileges which he enjoyed and when he had mastered the branches of learning
taught in the common and high schools he became a student in Hamline College of St. Paul,
Minnesota. He did not complete his course there and when he put aside his textbooks he
immediately entered the Bank of Glencoe at Glencoe, Minnesota, which was established
before the Civil war and was later reorganized as a state bank. He continued in that con-
nection for a period of three years in the capacity of bookkeeper and clerk, and left the
bank to accept a position with the firm of Ross & Davidson, a bank syndicate of North
Dakota. He afterward became teller in the First National Bank of Williston, North
Dakota, where he remained for a year, when he was transferred to the First National Bank
of Courtenay, with which he remained for a year. He was next employed in the James
River National Bank at Jamestown, where he spent five years, at the end of which time
he removed to Millarton, where in June, 1913, he entered upon the duties of cashier of the
Millarton State Bank. He has since been active in the management and control of that
institution and he also speculates in farm lands and handles city real estate. His judgment
concerning property values is good and his investments have been carefully made, bringing
to him a substantial financial return.
892 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Mr. Davis studies closely the political problems and questions of the day and votes
with the republican jiarty. He has served as treasurer of the district school board but has
never sought nor held political office. In fraternal circles he has become widely and favor-
ably known, belonging to Hope Lodge, No. 42, F. & A. M., at Glencoe, Minnesota, Jlillarton
Lodge, No. 155, I. 0. 0. F., and the Modern Woodmen Camp, No. 2335, also at Glencoe. His
religious faith is evidenced in his membership in the Methodist church and he has always
endeavored to guide his life by its teachings, being recognized as a man of high principles
and of sterling worth.
ALBERT C. HINCKLEY.
Albert C. Hinckley, who is living retired in Bismarck after many years of active life,
was born in Lisbon, JIaine, on the 5th of March, 1848. His parents, Niah and Clarissa
Hinckley, are both deceased. The father was a hotel proprietor and farmer.
Albert C. Hinckley attended the public schools and after finishing his education was
employed along various lines. In 1881 he removed to Bismarck. North Dakota, and after
ranching for a time turned his attention to the cattle business, in which he engaged until the
15th of April, 1913, when lie retired. He was an excellent judge of stock, kept thoroughly
informed as to the market and derived a good profit from his transactions. For a number
of years he also kept a livery barn. He holds title to the Hinckley block in Bismarck and
to other valuable real estate and is recognized as one of the substantial residents of his
city.
On the 11th of June, 1903, occurred the marriage of Mr. Hinckley and Mrs. Nellie Lam-
bert. He supports the republican party with his ballot and has served as alderman ever
since the adoption of the commission form of government. He is a member of the Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks and in his life exemplifies the spirit of the fraternity. He can
always be depended upon to give freely of his time and thought to jnojects seeking the
advancement of his community and among his most salient characteristics are progressive-
ness and public spirit. The large measure of, material prosperity which is his is the direct
result of his energy and sound judgment and none begrudges him his success.
ALF-RED PLANTE.
Alfred Plante, filling the office of postmaster at St. John, was born in Quebec, Canada,
October 12, 1865, a son of Joseph and Calanire (Cinq-Mars) Plante, both of whom were
natives of Quebec. The father was a merchant and business man on the island of Orleans,
Quebec, and there passed away in 1875. The mother remained a resident of Canada for
about nine years longer, and in 1884 came with her family to the United States, locating
at St, .John, Rolette county, where she passed away in 1891.
Alfred Plante completed his education in the Normal School of Quebec and was nineteen
years of age when he came with the family to North Dakota, From that time forward
he has been dependent upon his own resources. He began work as a clerk in the store of
Fortune Martneau, with whom he remained for twelve years, proving a most capable, faith-
ful and reliable representative of the house. In 1896 he was appointed postmaster of St.
.John under President Cleveland and occupied that position for four years. Following
the expiration of his term he entered the service of Hubert Brooks, a general merchant of
St. John, for whom he worked for five years, and during that period carefully saved his
earnings until his economy and industry had brought him sufficient capital to enable him
to embark in business for himself. Accordingly in 1905 he engaged in merchandising in
St. John and there remained for three years, after which he spent about four years in a
similar business in Maza, Towner county. During the succeeding two years he managed
the St. Anthony & Dakota lumber yards at St. John, covering the years 1913 and 1914.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 893
On the 1st of January, 1915, he was again appointed postmaster of St. Jolm, in wliich posi-
tion lie is now serving, discharging the duties of the oiBce promptly and capably.
In 1891 Mr. Plante was united in marriage to Miss Flora Brooks, of Grand Forks,
North Dakota, by whom he has six children, as follows: Anna, the wife of Peter Rausch, of
Raleigh, North Dakota; Rena, who is a teacher in the schools of Brisbane, North Dakota;
Beatrice, who is a public school teacher at St. John; Arcelia, who serves as assistant post-
master; and Alfred and Wendell, who are students in the graded schools.
The parents are members of the Catholic church and Mr. Plante is afliliated with the
Modern Woodmen of America. Politically he is a democrat and has always taken an active
interest in aft'airs of the village. For several years he served as a member of the school
board, and he does everything in his power to advance public interests, his influence ever
being on the side of material, intellectual, social and moral progi-ess in the district in which
he lives.
HON. JEREMIAH R. CHURCH.
Hon. Jeremiah R. Church, police magistrate of Grand Forks, became a resident of
the city when it had a population of but four hundred and throughout the intervening
period has been closely associated with its interests and upbuilding. He was born in the
township of Woolford, Grenville county, Ontario, October 18, 1S35, and is a son of Oliver
Church, a native of Vermont and a representative of an old family of that state of Scotch
descent. The founder of the American branch of the family was George Church, an
agriculturist of Scotland, who came to America in colonial days soon after the arrival of
the Mayliower, after which he had to wage war with the Indians in order to assist in
the establishment of the rights of the white men to the land on ■which they settled.
Six brothers of the mother of Oliver Churcli took part in the Revolutionary war and in the
War of 1812 Oliver Church was a participant, as was his father. Oliver Church followed
the occupation of farming and also became a veterinary surgeon and was recognized
as one of the prosperous men of his community. He was born near Danville, Lake Champlain,
and soon after the War of 1812 he removed to Canada, where he spent his remaining days.
He manied Rhoda Smith, a native of New York and a daughter of Humphrey Smith,
who was of Scotch descent, although the family was represented in the Empire state
through several generations. To Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Church were born fourteen children.
The father died in Canada in 1869, at the venerable age of eighty-six years, while the mother
passed away in 1862, at the age of sixty-two years. All of the children reached adult
age. At the time the family settled in Canada the section in which they located
was an unimproved wilderness. Wild game of many kinds was abundant and there
were many hardships and privations incident to frontier life to be endured. At times
the women of the household spun the wool and flax and all of the clothing used
by the family was made by the mother.
.Jeremiah R. Church, who was ninth in point of age among the fourteen children, was
educated in the little log schoolhouse near his father's home and remained upon the farm
until he reached the age of twenty-one years. He then took up the study of veterinary
surgery and in 1862 came to the United States, settlitig in Jefferson county, New York,
where he practiced his profession until 1879. That year witnessed his arrival in Grand Forks,
then a tiny little village giving little promise of its future development. He began the
practice of his profession at that point and continued in veterinary work until 1904, when he
was elected to the office of police magistrate, in which capacity he has since continuously
and satisfactorily served, covering a period of more than twelve years. He is fair and
impartial in his rulings, basing his decisions upon the law and the equity in the case.
The 18th of October, 1916, was made the occasion of a notable celebration by his fellow
workers in the city hall, when every official and clerk gathered about a mammoth cake
decorated with eighty-one lighted candles in honor of the eighty-first birthday of Justice
Church. The celebration was a total surprise to the magistrate, who was called in by
the chief of police, as he supposed, to preside for litigation. It was an attractive time of
894 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
merrymaking and a fitting expression of the regard in whicli he \va3 held by his fellow
workers, and on that occasion lie was also presented with a fine cane.
Mr. Church has been married twice. In Canada, on the 8th of October, 1865, he
wedded Miss Lucy Ann Kilborn, a native of that country and a daughter of the late
Mr. and Mrs. Trueman Kilborn, who were originally from New York. Mrs. Church passed
away in Canada in 1886, leaving five children: Edwin, Henry, John, Ida and Richard.
The daughter is the wife of William Edwards, now a resident of New York city. In
1889 Mr. Cliurch was married in Grand Forks to Miss Nora Elston, a native of Minnesota
and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Elston, pioneer settlers of that state. They reside
at No. 901 North Third street.
Politically Mr. Cliurch is a republican and has always taken an active part in polities,
while in Canada he served for many years as a member of the county council. He proudly
wears the little bronze button that proclaims him a member of the Grand Army of the
Republic. He is a Civil war veteran, having served in Company C, Twentieth New York
Cavalry, as a private from 1864 until the close of the war. He participated in a number
of minor engagements and was on provost duty and at the close of hostilities was honorably
discharged. He holds membership in the Church of God and is known as a very devoted
Christian man, reading and studying his Bible daily and making every effort to conform
his life to its teachings and to secure the adoption of its principles among hs fellowmen.
ANDREW G. ANDERSON.
The home farm of Andrew G. Anderson on section 21, South Bend Township, McHenry
county, about a mile west of Velva, is known as the Pioneer Farm and is one of the splen-
didly improved and productive farm properties of the state and its attractive appearance is
due to the enterprising efforts and progi'cssive methods of the owner. A native of Sweden,
born in March, 1862, Andrew G. Anderson is a son of Andrew and Sophia (Peterson) Ander-
son, who were likewise natives of that country. The father followed the occupation of
farming in Sweden throughout his entire life and passed away in October, 1915, liaving for
about a year and a half survived his wife, who died in April, 1914.
Andrew G. Anderson was reared and educated in Sweden, where lie reniaiiicd to tlie age
of nineteen years, when he crossed the Atlantic and made his way to Jlinnesota. For two
years he worked on the section at Northern Pacific Junction and then removed to McHenry
county. North Dakota, where he filed on a liomestead tliat has since been his place of resi-
dence. It is [ilcusantly and conveniently situated a mile west of Velva, so that the ad-
vantages of town life are easily secured, while those of rural life are always to be enjoyed.
With characteristic energy he set about the arduous task of developing and improving his
tract of wild prairie. He first built a log cabin which is still upon the farm although long
since abandoned as a residence. He worked diligently and untiringly to develop the fields
and as his labors brought forth good crops and thereby added to his financial resources he
purchased more land from time to time until he now owns si.\ hundred acres, con.stituting
one of the finest and best improved farms in the northwestern part of the state, supplied
with all modern conveniences and accessories found ujion the model farm of the tweiitiith
century. He has lived upon tliis farm since 1882, or for a period of more than a third of a
century, and it bears every evidence of his [nogressive spirit. He makes a specialty of
handling shorthorn cattle, keeping one hundred head. He is a stockholder in the Farmers
Elevator at Velva.
On the 15th of February, 1895, Mr. Anderson was married to Miss Mary Roulier and
to them were bom four children, of whom Clarence and George are yet living, while Ruth has
passed away and one died in infancy. The jiarents are members of the Methodist church
and Mr. Anderson is also an exemplary representative of the Masonic fraternity and belon;;s
to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Knights of Pythias. His political
allegiance is unfalteringly given to the republican party and he served as county commis-
sioner from 1908 to 1912, while for twenty years he has been a member of the school board
and has been its president several terms, doing everything in his power to promote the
ANDREW G. ANDERSON
as;
TiLB."
HISTORY OF NORTH D-AKOTA 897
interests of education. He is one of the pioneer settlers of McHenry county and with tlie
work of improvement and development has been closely associated for several decades, while
throughout the entire period he has occupied a position as one of the leading agriculturists
of this part of the state.
tUSTTON LALLUM.
Anton Lallum, mayor of Bottineau and assistant cashier of the Bottineau County Bank,
is a representative of that class of substantial and progressive citizens that Norway has fur- ,
nished to this state. He was born December 19, 1879, in the land of the midnight sun, his par-
ents being Gunder and Anna (Olson) Lallum, who came to the United States in 1886, settling
in Barnes county. The father purchased a farm near Fingal, acquiring three hundred and
twenty acres of land which he still owns, but he ceased the active operation of his farm
in 1913 and retiring from business life removed to Longbeach, California, where he now
makes his home.
Anton Lallum was a little lad of but. seven summers when he became a resident of
North Dakota, and after attending the public schools he continued his education in the Valley
City Normal School, subsequent to which time he devoted five years to educational work.
He afterward pursued a business course in the Globe Business College of St. Paul and in
the fall of 1904 arrived in Bottineau, where he secured a position in the Bottineau County
Bank as bookkeeper. His faithfulness and capability led to his advancement to the position
of assistant cashier of this institution, which shows deposits of over a half million dollars
and ranks among the most important banking concerns of the northwestern part of the state.
In 1905 Mr. Lallum was united in marriage to Miss Inga Hendrickson, of Brooten, Minne-
sota, by whom he has a daughter, Bernice Eleanor. Mr. Lallum has always voted with the
republican party and at the spring election of 1915 was the popular candidate for the
mayoralty, being elected by a good majority. He is now the chief executive of his city,
to which he is giving a businesslike and progressive administration characterized by needed
improvements and progressive measures. In his work as mayor he avoids all useless expendi-
tures and needless retrenchments and seeks to build not only for the present but for the
future. His devotion to the general good stands as an unquestioned fact in his career.
J. P. LEGLER.
J. P. Legler, actively connected with commercial interests in Eolla, is now senior partner
in the firm of Legler & Mangan, handling the Oakland, Dodge and Jackson automobiles
and conducting a well equipped garage. He was born at Eagle Grove, Wright county, Iowa,
September 2, 1883, a son of P. J. and Matilda (Long) Legler, who were natives of the Key-
stone state. The father went to Iowa early in the year 1879 and engaged in railroading at
Eagle Grove for many years but is now living retired, making his home at Oskaloosa,
Iowa. His wife also survives.
J. P. Legler was reared and educated at Eagle Grove and in earl}' manhood learned tlie
barber's trade in Sioux City, Iowa. He has worked along that line almost continuously
since. In 1905 he removed to Berwick, North Dakota, where he engaged in barbering for
a year, and afterward spent a similar period at Rolette. He then removed to Rolla, the
county seat of Rolette count}-, n-here he conducted a barber shop for a time. Later he
removed to Bisbee, where he carried on business for eighteen months, after which he returned
to Rolla and bought a shop, which he conducted for six years. He then sold out and purchased
a pool hall and at the same time he conducted a lunch room and sold soft drinks and did
barbering. In the spring of 1916 he turned his attention to the automobile business, entering
into partnership with M. J. Mangan under the firm style of Legler & Mangan. They handle
the Oakland, Dodge and Jackson cars and have developed a business of gratifying pro-
portions.
898 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
On the 28tli of October, lUOo, Mr. Lcglcr was uuited in marriage to Miss Alice M.
Golden and to them have been born three children, Melburn D., Blanche M. and Phillip W.
The (larents are members of the Methodist church and Mr. Lcgler is also identified with the
Ancient Order of United Workmen and with the Yeomen. Politically he is a republican but
the honors and emoluments of ollice have no attraction for him as he prefers to concentrate
his attention upon his business art'airs, hoping therebj' to win a substantial competence, which
is the ultimate goal of all business endeavor.
GLAUS 0. LEE.
Olaus O. Lee, who is successfully engaged in the hardware business in Roth, Bottineau
tounty, North Dakota, was born on the 12th of September, 1865, in Ilolmestrand, Norway, of
which country his parents, Ole and Andrena (Lian) Lee, were also natives, ile was only
two years of age, when in 1867 the family crossed tlie Atlantic and took up their residence in
Wisconsin, where the father worked at his trade as a stone mason for several years. In
18T7, however, he came to North Dakota and securing a homestead in Traill county turned his
attention to agricultural pursuits. He continued to farm throughout the remainder of
his life, dying in 1887. His widow still survives him.
Olaus 0. Lee began his education in the public schools of Wisconsin and after tlie removal
of the family to this state continued to attend school for some time in Traill county, where
he grew to manhood. He early became familiar with the work of the farm while aiding
his father in its operation and he remained with his parents until of age. In i'JOO he filed
a claim on land near Roth in Bottineau county and was engaged in its improvement and
cultivation for five years. For a time he worked for others and hired his own farm operated
but in 1907 he removed to Roth and has since engaged in the hardware business, owning
the only store of the kind in the village. He carries a large and well selected stock of shelf
and heavy hardware and enjoys a large patronage. He still owns his farm in Bottineau
county.
In October, 1907, Mr. Lee was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Klizabeth La Bar, and
they have two children: Elton, born October 14, 1909; and Archie, born February 14, 1911.
Mr. Lee is serving as township treasurer at the present time and is an ardent supporter of
the republican party. In religious faith he is a Lutheran. His business career has been
most commendable and he has the confidence and high rcganl of all who know him.
LAUREAT L. MARTINEAU.
Laureat L. Jlartineau, attorney at law, general merchant and dealer in farm lands
at St. John, was born July 12, 1883, in the town in which he still makes his home, his
parents being Fortunate and Cedulie (Plante) Martineau, the father a native of the city of
Quebec, while the mother, a daughter of Capitan Plante, M. C, was born on the Isle of
Orleans, in the St. Lawrence river. They were married in Quebec and in 1880 came to
North Dakota, establisliing their home in Rolette county. This was nine years before the
division of the territory. At that time there was a trading post at St. John, to which
point the father made his way and homesteaded a mile east of the post. His was one of
the first families to settle in that locality. He embarked in business there and for a number
of years traded with the Indians while for thirty-six years he has been a prominent factor
in the business life of St. John, his interests and activities contributing in sub.stantial
measure to the upbuilding and prosperity of the village and surrounding country. Laureat
L. Martineau is the oldest of a family of twelve children, ten of w^hom are now living.
Six have finished their university education, one having received the M. D. degree from
the University of Chicago, on the completion of the medical course, two being graduate
dentists from the same school, one having comjileted the pharmacy course at the North
Dakota Agricultural College and another being a graduate of the Mayville Normal School.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 899
Laureat L. Martineau was educated in the public schools of Rolette county and in
the University of North Dakota, in which he took up the study of law, winning the LL. B.
degree upon graduation with the class of 1905. He then successfully passed the required
state bar examination and was admitted to practice. He opened a law office in St. John,
where he devoted about three years to professional work, but in 1907 he became a partner
of his father in the mercantile business and also engaged in the land business. Gradually
he withdrew from law practice in order to give his entire time to his land and mercantile
interests, which are extensive and of an important character, while in the conduct of his
aflaira he displays sound judgment and marked enterprise. He and his father have heavy
land holdings, owning eighteen or twenty quarter sections in this state and in Canada.
In 1909 Mr. Martineau was united in marriage to Miss Martha Alice Jones, a daughter
of Henry B. Jones, now in the real estate and banking business in San Diego, California,
who was one of the pioneer settlers of Casselton, North Dakota. Mrs. Martineau is a
graduate of the Valley City Normal School of North Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Martineau have
become the parents of two children, Laureat H. and Grace Lorraine.
In politics Mr. Martineau is a republican, believing fu-mly in the principles of the
party. He and his wife are members of the Catholic church. They are both well known
in Rolette county, where they have a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle
of their acquaintance.
HON. EDWARD L. GARDEN.
Hon. Edward L. Garden, a hardware merchant of Souris, has been prominently iden-
tified with events shaping the history of the state as a member of the house of represen-
tatives and also as a member of the state senate and his official service has heen a tangible
evidence of his public-spirited devotion to the general good. He was born in Decorah,
Iowa, on the 30th of November, 1873, a son of Halver and Isabelle (Opdahl) Garden, who
came to the United States in 1843, being among the first of the Scandinavian people who
came to America. Halver Garden settled in Dane county, \Visconsin, and .became one of
the founders and one of the dominant factors in the upbuilding of the first Scandinavian
Methodist church in the world. He was instrumental in organizing a society and erecting
a house of worship at Cambridge, Wisconsin, and after he removed to Winneshiek county,
Iowa, two years later he was the leading spirit in the building of the second Scandinavian
Methodist church in the world. He was also connected with the material development
of the districts in which he lived as a pioneer settler. He bought land from the government
at a dollar and a quarter per acre and transformed the raw prairie into richly productive
fields. He was also quite active in republican polities but was never an office seeker, and he
passed away in 1909 at the age of eighty-four years. His wife died the same yeai^ surviv-
ing her husband but thirty days, passing away at the age of eighty-one.
Edward L. Garden supplemented his public school training by study in the Decorah
Institute. He was twenty-six years of age when in 1899 he came to North Dakota and in
that year he filed on a homestead in Bottineau county west of the river. Later, however,
he sold his relinquishment and in 1901 turned his attention to mercantile pursuits, estab-
lishing a hardware store in Souris. In 1904 he opened a branch store in Lansford and in
1905 established another store in Landa. In 1909 his Lansford store was destroyed
by fire and the following year he sold his Landa establishment. The Souris store, which
is the parent store, is one of the leading hardware enterprises of Bottineau county and in
addition to carrying a large line of shelf and heavy hardware he does an extensive plumb-
ing and heating business. In 1916 he again broadened the scope of his activities by
establishing a branch store at Carbury. His business affairs have been carefully and wisely
managed and a spirit of enterprise actuates him in all that he undertakes. He owns the
controlling stock in the Souris Messenger, one of the leading weekly publications of
the county. In addition to his other interests he owns two quarter sections of farm land
in Bottineau county and in his various business affairs is meeting with well earned and
well merited success.
In 1906 Mr. Garden was united in marriage to Miss Lucy Purdy, of Pembina county,
900 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
North Dakota. They have one son, John Stone. Fraternally Mr. Garden is a Mason, holding
membership in Tuscan Lodge, No. 44, A. F. & A. M.; Phoenicia Chapter, No. 17, R. A. M.;
Lorraine Commandery, No. 2, K. T.; and Kem Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Grand
Forks. He also belongs to Souris Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., while he and his wife are connected
with Alpha Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star at Bottineau. He is likewise a member
of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Garden is a republican in politics and for many years
was a prominent leader in local political circles. In 1906 he was elected to represent his
district in the state legislature, in which he served for four years, giving thoughtful and
earnest consideration to the questions which came up for settlement. Subscijucntly he
was elected to the state senate and served for four years in that honorable body, during
which period he was connected with much important constructive legislation, doing every-
thing in his power to promote the welfare of the state and to place upon its statute books
laws that would work not only for immediate but also for future benefit. He is recognized
as a man of broad and liberal education which has been self-acquired. He has ever held
his mind receptive and has been an apt pupil in the school of experience. While his bus-
iness affairs have been of growing importance, he has never allowed commercial interests
to so monopolize his time as to leave him no opportunity for activity in other fields but
on the contrary has recognized his duties and obligations in other connections and stands
today among those citizens whose worth is widely acknowledged.
HOWARD ATWOOD WILLSON.
Howard Atwood Willson, agricultmist and banker, to whom the experiences of pioneer
life in North Dakota are familiar and who in his career has met with many difiiculties and
obstacles, but through perseverance and energy has become one of the men of aflluence in
Barnes county, makes his home in Leal. His birth occurred in York county, Ontario, Canada,
May 18, 1860, the third of the nine children of Samuel Lundy and .Jane (Walks) Willson.
The father was born in York county September 9, 1818, a son of James Willson, wiio was
born September 26, 1783, and died December 12, 1852. He wedded Mary Widdifield, a
daughter of Henry and Martha (Willson) \\'iddifield. The ancestry can be traced back still
farther, for the grandfather, Jonathan Willson, who was born March 27, 1748, was married
April 15, 1767, at Hardwick, Sussex county, New Jersey, to Abigail Schmuck. Jonathan
Willson was a son of Robert W'illson, who was born in Warren county. New Jersey, in
1716 and died in 1807. He wedded Mary Lundy, of that county, who was a daughter of
Richard Lundy II. and Elizabeth (Large) Lundy, through the former of whom the ancestry
is traced back to Sylvester Lundy, of Axniinstcr, England, who spent his entire life in that
country. He was the father of Richard Lundy I., who was born in England and became
the progenitor of the family in America, crossing the Atlantic in 1670, at which time he
settled in Bucks county, Pennsylvania. He was prominent in religious work and was an
elder in the Society of Friends. Fos the genealogical record we are indebted to the history
of the Lundy family, compiled by William Clinton Armstrong, M. A., and jjublished in 1902.
Richard Lundy I. married Jane Lyon, of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, and their son, Richard
Lundy II., married Elizabeth Large. The daughter of this marriage was Mary L\indy, who,
as stated, became -the wife of Robert Willson, the great-great-grandfather of Howard A
Willson. His father, Samuel Lundy Willson, became a farmer and carpenter. On the 21st
of May, 1855, he married Jane Walks and on the 20th of September. 1878, he passed away.
Howard A. Willson was a youth of eighteen years at the time of his father's death.
He had attended school in York county and when his father died he started out to earn his
own living, working for wages. Five years later, or in 1883, he came to North Dakota,
reaching Barnes county on the 4th of April, filing on homestead on the 8th of June. For
three years he worked out and in 1886 he started farming for himself and during the first
years he was his own housekeeper but on the 19th of June, 1893, he wedded Miss Mary E.
Uilborn, a native of York county, Ontario, and a daughter of Henry A. and Elizabeth M.
Ililborn, her father being one of the leading farmers of Barnes county for a number of
years but now a resident of California. His ancestors came to America with William
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 901
Penn and some of their descendants are still living in Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Willson
became the parents of ten children, Milton Hilborn, Clifford Henry, Fred Stewart, Gordon Lee,
Edith laline, John Burwell, \'ivian Beatrice, Irwin Atwood, Howard Bruce and Merrill Ross.
The eldest son wedded Bernice May Widdilield and is now farming on his own account.
The parents have ever taken a deep and active interest in the cause of education and have
given their children excellent advantages in that direction. The two eldest sons after
attending the public and high schools entered the North Dakota Agricultural College high
school from which they were graduated and took up the college course.
There is no phase of pioneer life in North Dakota with which Howard A. Willson is
not familiar, for locating here at an early day, he met all the hardships and privations inci-
dent to life on the frontier. His first wheat crop was harvested from only ten acres and
he then hauled the wheat five miles to have it threshed, after which it was put in a granary,
which was destroyed by a prairie fire. While he thus faced many difficulties and discourag-
in* situations, his persistency and determination enabled him at length to achieve success
and today he is the owner of several sections of farm land. He owns six quarter sections
in Griggs county, which includes his original homestead tract, a quarter section in Stutsman
county, four quarter sections adjoining the town of Leal, where he now resides, two quarter
sections three miles north of Leal and three quarter sections eight miles north of the town.
He is extensively engaged in growing wheat, corn, oats and other cereals and he is also well
known as a stock raiser, handling pure bred Percheron horses and shorthorn cattle. In addition
to his other interests he became one of the founders and is now the president of the Bank of
Leal, one of the prosperous moneyed institutions of Barnes county. While a resident of
Griggs county he served for seven years as county commissioner, but has never been a politi-
cian in the sense of office seeking, nor has he desired political preferment as a recognition of
his fealty to the democratic party. He has served, however, as a member of the school
board and the cause of education finds in him a stalwart champion. Fraternally he is con-
nected with the Ancient Order of L'nited Workmen and the Modern Woodmen of America.
Ml-, and Mrs. Willson are spoken of in their community as "the salt of the earth." They
are rearing a fine family '"in the nurture and admonition of the Lord," closely and constantly
following the teachings of the Methodist Episcopal church. They take an active part in all
uplift work, are broad-minded, generous, hospitable, kindly and charitable, and the influence
of their lives is a force for good throughout the community in which they make their home.
OLOF 0. WAEEBERG.
Olof 0. Wareberg, a leading merchant and business man of Carbury, Bottineau county,
was born in Norway on the 22d of March, 1883, a son of Ole and Birgit (Ulshagen) Ware-
berg, both of whom are still living in Norway. In the public schools of that country their
son Olof pursued his preliminary education and afterward attended the Crookston (Minn.)
Business College and also the Scandinavia Academy at Scandinavia, Wisconsin. He came
alone to the United States when a youth of sixteen years and worked for the first year
upon the farm of Hon. M. N. Johnson, of Petersburg, North Dakota. The following year
he was employed by a cousin in a hotel at Conway, North Dakota, and it was subsequent to
that period that he attended the Crookston Business College. He next worked for a short
time for the Great Northern Railroad Company and afterward continued his education in
the Scandinavia Academy for three years, teaching school during summer terms to pay his
way. He was ambitious to gain a good education that would qualify him for life's practical
and responsible duties and he utilized every opportunity to win intellectual advancement.
In January, 1905, he entered the employ of Berdahl & .Jensen, general merchants of Rugby,
and while with them laid the foundation of his later success in the business training
which he there received. He remained with that firm until 1907 and later became associated
with H. A. Brown & Company of Waseca, Minnesota. His connection with that house
■was maintained until January, 1908, when he accepted a position with L. H. Olson, of
Willow City, North Dakota. He remained with the firm until January, 1911, when he
came to Carbury to accept the management of the Farmers Cooperative Mercantile Com-
902 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
pany iiTul has since controlled its interests in tliat capacity, building up a business of large
and prolitable proportions. He is a man of sound and discriminating judgment and his
enterprise and energy are bringing to him and to the establislimcnt well merited success.
In 1909 Mr. Wareberg was married to Miss Magnhild Endora Hagen, of Arkdale, Wis-
consin, by whom he has two cliildren, Hagbarth Omar and Birgitto Marie. In liis political
views Mr. Wareberg is a repul)lican and is now filling tlie office of postmaster of Carbury,
■while of the school board he is treasurer. He and his wife are members of tlie Lutheran
church and their influence is always given on the side of those forces which work for the
betterment of the individual and the community. Coming to America when a youth of
sixteen years, he has steadily worked his way upward and has never had occasion to regret
his determination to find a home in the new world. Embracing the opportunities wliich
he has met and which in some form or another lie before every individual, he has today
gained a position among the progressive and representative business men of Bottineau
county wliose enterprise contributes to the business development of the community, as well
as to individual success.
THOMAS S. JOHNSTONE.
Among the prosperou.s business men of Mcintosh county who have won success tlirough
their own unaided efforts is Thomas S. Jolnistone of Ashley, who is prominently identified
with banking and other liusiness interests. He comes from the land of liills and lieatlicr,
for he was born in Scotland, .July 29, 18(jfi, ami his parents. Charles S and Helen (.'^im])Son)
Johnstone, were likewise natives of that country. There the father was employed in coal and
iron mines until 1868, when he brought his family to America and located in Bradford county,
Pennsylvania. He continued to work as a coal miner in that region until 1874, when he
removed to Boone county, Iowa, and there he was similarly employed for a time. In 1876
he went to the Black Hills and worked in the gold mines for about a year, after which he
returned to Boone county, Iowa, making his home there until his removal to Mcintosh county,
North Dakota, in 1885. Here he took a homestead, which he continued to improve and culti-
vate until 1901, when he retired from active labor and removed to Ashley, where he still makes
his home at the age of seventy-one years. In his farming operations he met with excellent
success and was the owner of one thousand acres of land at one time. His wife died on the
18th of June, 1910.
Thomas S. Johnstone passed his boyhood and yoiith under the parental roof and was
educated in the schools of Pennsylvania and Iowa. On starting out in life for himself he
worked in coal and gold mines for several years but later turned his attention to agricultural
pursuits, taking up a homestead in Mcintosh county, North Dakota, in 1893. He improved the
place and engaged in its operation for eight years. In 1901 he was appointed postmaster of
Ashley and served in that capacity until 1911, when he and others purchased the Union State
Bank, which they reorganized and changed the name to the First National Bank. It has a
capital of twenty-five thousand rollars, a surplus of five thousand and deposits amounting
to two hundred and sixty-five thousand dollars. Its officers are T. S. Johnstone, president;
C. S. Johnstone, vice president; and R. S. Johnstone, cashier. Their bank building being
destroyed by fire, they erected another in 1912, which is thoroughly modern and up-to-date in
its equipments. Thomas S. Johnstone is also president of the Merchants National Bank,
at !Mandan, and the German-American Bank of Linton. The First National Bank of Ashley is
the largest and strongest institution of the kind in Mcintosh county and its success is due in
a large measure to the \intiring edorts of Mr. Johnstone, who is a man of excellent business
and executive ability.
On the 21st of August, 1890, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Peacock, by whom
he has two children, namely: Margaret, now the wife of V. S. Collins, who is engaged in the
livery business in Ashley; and Cliarles, who is still attending school. Mr. .Tohnstonc is also
rearing tw-o of his brother's children, Anella and Keith.
In religious faith the family are Presbyterians and take an active interest in the church
to which they belong. Mr. .Johnstone is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd
THOMAS S. JOHNSTONE
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 905
Fellows, the Yeomen and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. His political support is
given the republican party and he is now acceptably serving as chairman of the town board
of Ashley. He is one of the leading and representative citizens of the place and wherever
known is held in high esteem.
WILLIAM 0. HALES.
William 0. Hales, editor and proprietor of the Maxbass Monitor published at Maxbass,
North Dakota, was born in Van Buren county, Iowa, on the 16th of August, 1890, and is
a son of William and Lilly (Mankin) Hales, natives of Iowa and Ohio respectively. For many
years the father was a traveling salesman but at length came to North Dakota and turned his
attention to farming. In 1900 he filed on land in Pierce county, this state, and for some
time engaged in its development but finally sold that place and bought a farm in McHenry
county. There he engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred August
16, 1916. His wife had passed away on the 12th of August, 1910.
William O. Hales began his education in the public schools of Iowa and after the removal
of the family to this state continued his studies in Rugby and Willow City. He remained
with his parents until eighteen years of age, when he began learning the printer's trade, at
which he worked in the employ of others for six years. During that time he became thor-
oughly familiar with the newspaper business and in the spring of 1915 removed to Maxbass
and purchased the Maxbass Monitor, which he has since conducted with good success. He
has a good advertising patronage and the circulation of the paper has steadily increased
under his management. The Monitor is now a bright, newsy sheet, well edited and well
printed. In addition to his paper Mr. Hales has some farming interests in Bottineau county.
On the 4th of October, 1911, he was united in marriage to Miss Carrie M. Deming, and
they have become the parents of two children: Francis, born April 9, 1913; and Mildred,
born February 37, 1915. Mr. and Mrs. Hales are members of the Congregational church and
he is a republican in politics. He is now filling the office of justice of the peace and is
untiring in his support of any worthy object which he believes will benefit his town, county
or state.
JAMES SMITH.
Long years of successful activity in business have enabled James Smith to put aside ardu-
ous cares and responsibilities and now live retired, deriving a substantial income from property
Interests. He was born in Vermont, November 10, 1844, and has therefore passed the sev-
enty-second milestone on life's journey. His parents, Thomas and Ellen (Lynch) Smith,
were natives of Ireland and in 1840 came to America, settling in Vermont, where the father
worked at his trade, that of milling, until 1849, when he removed westward to Wisconsin.
He had previously served as a soldier in the Mexican war under General Winfield Scott. On
going to Wisconsin he took up government land upon which not a furrow had been turned nor
an improvement made and with characteristic energy began its development, continuing its
cultivation until 1856. He then removed to Minnesota and settled at Dutch Charlie's Creek,
where he remained for two years, at which time the whole settlement left that district
and went to Nicollet county, Minnesota, where Mr. Smith resided until 1860. At that date
he became a resident of Renville county, Minnesota, where he was killed by the Indians on
the 18th of August, 1862. His widow long survived and passed away in 1890.
James Smith was reared and educated upon the western frontier of Minnesota and in
1861, in response to the country's call for military aid, he enlisted as a member of Com-
pany E, Second Minnesota Infantry, with which he served for four years and seven days.
He was wounded in the elbow but not seriously injured, and he remained at the front until the
close of hostilities, making an excellent record by his loyalty and his bravery upon southern
battlefields as he followed the stars and stripes. With the close of the war he returned to
Vol. 11—46
906 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Renville eounty, where lie engaged in farming for nineteen years. He raised wheat through-
out that period but barely made a living, finding it impossible to lay by anything. He then
removed to St. John, Rolette county, North Dakota, in June, 1889, and filed on forty acres
of land which he improved. Later he bought eighty acres more and continued the cultiva-
tion of that tract until 1898, when he established his home in St. John and was appointed
postmaster of the town, acting in that capacity continuously for sixteen years, when he was
relieved, as the democratic administration came into power. He is the owner of three
hundred and twenty acres of land in Montana and still owns his homestead in Rolette
eounty, comprising one hundred and twenty acres adjoining the corporation limits of St. John.
On the 13th of January, 1874, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Annie L. Tomp-
kins, by whom he had ten children, as follows: Esther L., who is the wife of Morris Rice, of
St. Paul, Minnesota; Elsie, who gave her hand in marriage to Jay Gregory and resides at
Carpenter, Xorth Dakota; Walter, living in Madoc, Jlontana; Henry and George, both at
home; ^Yinnie, the wife of Clarence Hanson, who resides on a farm near Miiiot: Lila, who
is the wife of Fred Grosith and also makes her home near Minot, North Dakota; Emily, who
passed away at the age of eighteen years; Ruth, who died when thirteen years old; and
Phillip T., who died on a claim in Montana at the age of twenty-four years. In religious
faith the mother is a Catholic.
Politically Mr. Smith is a republican and he has served as county commissioner in
Rolette county for three years and also as a member of the school board for three years.
He maintains pleasant relations with his old military comrades through his membership in
the Grand Army of the Republic and delights in meeting with them whenever ojiportiinity
offers. He has always been as true and loyal in matters of citizenship through days of
peace as in times of war and is a respected and honored resident of Rolette county.
JOHN J. FITZGERALD.
John J. Fitzgerald, chief of the fire department of Grand Forks and thus occupying an
important position in relation to the public welfare, was born June 9, 1870, in Wabasha
count}', Minnesota, a son of Garrett and Margaret (Costello) Fitzgerald, both of whom were
natives of Ireland. The father was born in County Kerry and about 1856 came to America,
settling in Wabasha county, Minnesota, where he took up the occupation of farming and
continued to follow agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred on the 11th of April,
1904. He was a democrat in his political views and while interested in the success of the
party would never consent to hold any other than local township offices. In religious faith
he was a devout Roman Catholic. He wedded ]\largaret Costello, who came from the Emerald
isle to the new world with relatives in 1800 and settled in Wabasha county, Minnesota,
where she formed the acquaintance of Garrett Fitzgerald, who sought her hand in marriage.
She died on the home farm in Minnesota in 1876 at the age of forty years. She was the
mother of ten children, of whom John J. was the sixth in order of birth.
To the district school system of his native county .Tohn J. Fitzgerald is indebted for
the educational opportunities which he enjoyed. Ilis early life was spent upon the home
farm and he was thoroughly trained in the work of the fields. At the age of eighteen years
he started out to earn bis livelihood independently and was first employed by railroad con-
tractoi-fe on the construction of the Great Northern Railroad between l\Tinot. North Dakota,
and Great Falls, Montana. He worked as a freighter for a year and afterward was engaged in
various lines of business, including farming and machinery repairing. In 1SS9 he became
a resident of Grand Forks and in the early days of his connection with the city was employed
by a local implement firm in the assembling and construction of farm machinery, becoming
quite expert in that line. He displayed and operated machinery for the firm, thus giving dem-
onstration of its worth. On the 20th of December, 1892, he became connected with the city fire
department, being appointed to the position of driver. Two and a half years later, or on the 1st
of May, 1896, he was advanced to the position of assistant chief and continued to occupy
that office until appointed chief on the 1st of June, 1913, With the exception of a period
of eight months during 1903 he has been continuously with the fire department since first
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 907
entering upon connection therewith. He is a most capable official in his present position,
thoroughly understanding the needs and the work of the department and in the discharge of
his duties ever found prompt, fearless, faithful and capable.
On the 19th of Jul}', 1913, in Grand Forks, Mr. Fitzgerald wedded Miss Mary C. Morin,
a native of Benson county, Minnesota, and a daughter of August Morin, an early settler
of Red Lake Falls, Minnesota, who is of French descent. Her parents are still living and
reside at Red Lake Falls.
Mr. Fitzgerald has a interesting military record through connection with the North
Dakota National Guard as a member of Company F of the First North Dakota Regiment
from 1898 until 1904. He takes no active part in politics aside from exercising his right of
franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party. His religious faith
is that of the Roman Catholic church and he belongs to the Knights of Columbus. He is
also a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and of the Commercial Club and
is president of the Fire Department Relief Association of Grand Forks. He has the full
confidence and respect of the men who serve under him as well as of his fellow townsmen
in general and he has made an excellent record in office.
W. C. WESCOM.
W. C. Wescom, connected with the business interests of Edmimds as a dealer in imple-
ments and lumber, comes to the west from New England, his birth having occurred in
Belvidere, Vermont, November 28, 1866. His parents, Joseph E. and Julia M. (Smith)
Wescom, were likewise natives of the Green Mountain state, where the father engaged in
farming and stock raising, but at the time of the Civil war he put aside all business
and personal considerations in order to espouse the cause of the Union, joining the army
as a member of Company A, Eighth Vermont Volunteer Infantry, which was assigned to
the Army of the Gulf. He served for three years and ten months and although he par-
ticipated in many hotly contested battles was never wounded. When the war was over
he returned to Vemiont, where he resided until 1883, when he disposed of his property
there and removed to North Dakota, securing a homestead in Stutsman county, about
two miles south of Edmunds. He proved up on that claim and made his home there until
he retired from active business. In the meantime he purchased more land and cultivated
three-quarters of a section but in 1907 disposed of his property and returned to Vermont
where he lived for a year. At that time his son, W. C. Wescom, returned to the east
and brought his father back to North Dakota, where he passed away in April, 1908,
at the age of about sixty-eight years, his birth having occurred on the 25th of August, 1840.
His wife, who was born April 30, 1845, died in the spring of 1903. In their family were eight
children: Frank, who is a section foreman on the railroad and lives at Vashti, North
Dakota; W. C; Minnie, deceased; Edward, a farmer living three miles southwest of Edmunds;
Hubert, who makes his home in the village, where he operates an elevator and is also engaged
in farming; EfEe, the widow of E. W. Hall and a resident of Jamestown; Laura, living near
Outlook, Saskatchewan, Canada; and Walter, who died in the spring of 1903.
W. C. Wescom attended the public schools in his native state and also continued his
education in Brighara Academy at Bakersfield, Vermont. Later he was employed at farm
labor until 1886, when he came west. In 1892 Mr. Wescom secured a. homestead claim
a mile and a half west of Edmunds and began the development of the property, which he
still owns. He has since purchased another quarter section in Stutsman county and
he continued to reside upon the farm until 1902. His labors wrought a marked trans-
formation in the appearance of the place, which he converted into a valuable and productive
farm. In the fall of that year he was elected county assessor and in the spring of 1903
he erected a store building in Edmunds where in connection with his brother Hubert he
engaged in general merchandising, continuing in business for five years. He then traded
his stock for a farm and rented the building. He had held the office of assessor four
years, being elected to that position on the republican ticket. He afterward went to
work for the Lutz Lumber Company, with which he was connected for eight years, when
908 HISTORY OF NORI II DAKOTA
the business was sold to the Salzcr Lumber Company, of wliich Mr. Wescom is now a
representative, having built up a good business for the company. In 1904 he became one
of the organizers and original stockholders of the First State Hank of Kdmunds, of which
he was elected a director and vice president, occupying those positions until 1915, when
he sold his interests in the bank. For ten years lie operated a threshing machine
in the vicinity of Edmunds and thus he has been actively and prominently connected with
various lines of business but now makes his home in Edmunds.
On the 31st of October, 1894, Mr. Wescom was married to Miss Miriam Hall, a
native of Iowa, who in her girlhood daj's accompanied her parents on their removal to
St\itsman county. She was born January 7, 187G, and by her marriage has become the
mother of three children, Margaret, Joseph and Mildred, all at home.
Fraternally ]Mr. Wescom is connected with the Odd Fellows and with the Modern
Woodmen camp at Edmunds, of which he is past vice consul. As a pioneer settler he
has experienced many of the hardships and privations incident to frontier life in North
Dakota. It was necessary for the settlers of his locality to haul lumber fnmi Jamestown
and he even worked on the section for twelve months in order to get the money to supply
his needs, for no credit was given in those days. He attended Jamestown College, real-
izing the value of education as a preparation for life's practical and progressive duties,
after which he hired out on a ranch and for a number of years was foreman, remaining on
the ranch of T. S. Wadsworth xmtil the spring of 1892. When he went to Kdmunds the
village contained only a hotel, an elevator and a small house. He has erected a number
of buildings in the village and in fact has been one of the most active and influential of
its citizens, doing more to promote its progress, upbuilding and improvement than almost
any other man. His activities have been broad and varied and each one has constituted an
element in progress as well as in individual success.
W. N. SHAVER.
W. N. Shaver, hotel proprietor at St. Julin and one of the pioneers of Rolette county,
was born in County Stormont, Ontario, Canada, .lanuary (>, 1847. His parents. Nicholas aiul
Margaret (Morgan) Shaver, were both natives of Ontario and were of Irish and German
extraction. They S])('iit their entire lives in their native province and there reared a family
of thirteen children, all of whom are still living as far as is known. The father was a farmer
by occupation and thus ])rovided for the support of the members of his household.
W. N. Shaver acquired a district sclinnl education and in early boyhood became a wage-
earner, working as chore boy and farm ha ml in the neighborhood in which he was reared.
In 1877 he became identified with the grain trade and for twelve years was engaged in buy-
ing grain at Lucan, Ontario, and for two years in Ivondon. Ontario. In 1892 he came across
the border and established his home in St. .John, North Dakota, where for seven years he
was the representative of the St. Anthony & Dakota Elevator Company. In the meantime
he had purchased one hundred and si.xty acres of land about four miles south of St. John
and in the spring of 1903 he removed to his farm, whereon throughout the following four
years he engaged in the cultivation of his land. He left the jilow, however, in the fall of
1905 and returned to St. John, where he purchased the La Fayette Hotel and with the able
assistance of his wife he has since conducted that hostelry, which under its present manage-
ment has become one of the best hotels in Rolette county. They have built up a large
business and many of the traveling men visiting this section of the country look forward
with pleasurable anticipation to their stay at the La Fayette.
In 1880 Mr. Shaver was united in marriage to Miss Mary J. Kitt, of Lucan, Ontario, and
to them was born a son, Russell N., a hrakeman in the railway service between Hrandon and
St. John. The wife and mother passed away September 19, 188."!, and on the 18th of March,
1885, Mr. Shaver wedded Miss Rachel McRobcrts, of Lucan, Ontario, and to them were born
five children: Agnes May, deceased; Margaret Ray, the wife of R. D. Van Camp, of Minot;
Ethel Mary, deceased; Irene Mabel, at home; and Cliarles Wesley, who has departed this life.
Mr. Shaver has taken out his naturalization ]iapers and has become a champion of republi-
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 909
can principles, giving his support to tliat party at tlie polls. He belongs to the Independent
Order of Foresters and both he and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church. In
business affairs his course has been marked bj' steady progress owing to his close application
and indefatigable energy, qualities which always win success when intelligently directed.
ARTHUR STIENECKER.
Arthur Stienecker, cashier of the First State Bank of Venturia and one of the leading
business men of that place, was born on the 15th of October, 1881, in Medina, Wisconsin,
and is a son of Henry William and Clara (Muehlmeier) Stienecker, the former a native of
Germany and the latter of Wisconsin. The father was a boy of sixteen years when he
came to the new world and located in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he worked for several
years. He finally studied for the ministry of the German Reformed church and has engaged
in preaching ever since. In 1893 he came to North Dakota and secured a homestead near
Ashley in Mcintosh county, where he still resides. His wife is also living and they are
held in the highest esteem by all who know them.
Arthur Stienecker was about eleven years of age when he accompanied his parents on
their removal to this state. He was reared on the home farm and attended the common
schools for some time but completed his education at Mission House College in Sheboygan,
Wisconsin. Being thoroughly equipped for life's practical duties, he then accepted the posi-
tion of assistant cashier in the Ashley State Bank of Ashley, North Dakota, and eight
months later was made cashier, in which capacity he served for four years. In 1906 he
removed to Venturia and has since filled the position of cashier of the First State Bank, also
being a stockholder and director of that institution, of which P. T. Kretschmar is president.
The bank has a capital of ten thousand dollars and its deposits amount to one hundred and
sixty thousand dollars. It will thus be seen that they are doing an excellent business and
have the confidence and support of the community. In partnership with Mr. Kretschmar,
Mr. Stienecker is also engaged in the grain business under the firm name of Stienecker-
Kretschmar Company, operating an elevator at Venturia and another at Ashley.
On the 20th of June, 1906, Mr. Stienecker was united in marriage to Miss Ava Jane
Mock, a daughter of Joseph and Ordelia Mock, who were pioneers of South Dakota and now
reside in Ellendale, North Dakota. Mr. and Mrs. Stienecker have three children: Milton
Arthur, born October 1, 1910; Thelma Lorraine, born September 29. 1912; and Walter Otto
born December 30, 1914. They are members of the German Reformed church, and in politics
Mr. Stienecker is a stalwart republican, taking an active interest in public affairs. For four
years he has served as secretary of the county republican central committee, has been school
director several terms and is now school treasurer. His influence is always on the side of
right and progress and he does everything within his power to promote the educational,
moral and material welfare of his community.
E. J. LILLIE.
E. J. Lillie, who is now manager for the Imperial Elevator Company at Maxbass, North
Dakota, was born in Marion, Linn county, Iowa, on the 24th of October, 1885, a son of
George A. and Mary (White) Lillie. The mother was also a native of Iowa, but the father
was born and reared in Vermont, remaining there until after the Civil war. He enlisted in
a Vermont regiment and served for one year. In 1866 he removed to Iowa, and purchased
land in Linn county, where he continued to follow farming throughout the remainder of his
life. He died in September, 1900, and his wife passed away in September, 1895.
E. J. Lillie passed his boyhood and youth in Linn county, Iowa, attending school and
assisting in the work of the home farm. In 1902 he came to North Dakota and located in
Bottineau county, where he was in the employ of diff'erent elevator companies for some time.
In 1910 he took charge of the Imperial Elevator Company's business at Maxbass and in its
910 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
management he lias displayed excellent business ability. He is a wideawake, energetic man
and his services have proved very satisfactory to the company he represents.
Fraternally ilr. Lillie is a Mason, belonging to the lodge at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and he is
also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at that place. His religious
faith is that of the Congregational church, and in politics he is a republican. He takes a
deep interest in the questions and issues of the day and keeps well informed on current events.
J. HAJVaiN DENNING.
J. Hamlin Donning's connection with Dickey county dates back to pioneer times and
throughout the intervening period he has ranked with the leading citizens and is today num-
bered among the wealthy residents of his part of the state. He is senior member of the firm
of Denning & Dyer, proprietors of the Oakes Steam Laundry, and in this connection has built
up a business of large and gratifying proportions, yet it does not cover the extent of his
activities, for he is associated with various other business projects which have given him high
standing as one of the representative residents of the southeastern part of the state. He
■was born in Holmes county, Ohio, October 29, 1850, a son of Jacob and JIary (Wiley) Den-
ning, both of whom were natives of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where they were reared
and married. In 1836 they removed to Ohio and resided in Wayne and Holmes counties, at
length establishing their residence in Stark county, where the father died in 1858. The
mother, with their family of six sons and a daughter, removed to Bloomington, Illinois, in
1859 and there passed away in 1907, when in the eighty-fourth year of her age.
J. Hamlin Denning was but a young lad when his father died but was carefully reared
by his mother, who gave him excellent educational opportunities and thus qualifii'd him for
life's important and responsible duties. After attending the district schools in JIcLean county,
Hlinois, he continued his studies in the Illinois Wesleyan College at Bloomington during the
years 1871 and 1872. He was identified with farming interests in McLean county, Illinois,
from 1859 until 1883, when he came to North Dakota, settling at Ellendale, Dickey county,
which was then the terminus of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, at that time
the only railroad that had been built into the county. The earliest settlers of the locality
had arrived in 1883 and Mr. Denning, being but little later, was numbered among the pioneer
residents and took up a preemption and a tree claim situated on sections 35 and 34, Clement
township, respectively. For two years after his arrival he engaged in merchandising at
Ellendale and subsequently became interested in tlie coal, grain and implement business as a
member of the firm of Denning Brothers, wliich association was maintained until 1894, the
brother, Samuel R. Denning, looking after the business while J. Hamlin Denning remained
upon the farm and gave his attention to the cultivation and development of the land and to
the raising of cattle, horses and sheep, which business lie carried on very extensively. From
time to time he made other purchases until ho increased his land hohlings to eight hundred
acres, which property he still retains. In November, 1904, however, he gave up active farming
and established his home in Oakes, where be has since resided, although during the past four
years he has spent the winters elsewhere — one winter in Florida and three in smithern Cali-
fornia. In addition to his other business interests he became one of the organizers of the
Oakes National Bank, of which he has been a director from the beginning and is now second
vice president.
In 1874 Mr. Denning was joined in wedlock to Miss ilary Etta Price, of McLean county,
Illinois, by whom he had seven children, six of whom survive, as follows: Lilly May, who
acts as superintendent of the Benson Hospital at Benson. Minnesota; Warren W., an agricul-
turist of Dickey county, North Dakota; Anna B., who is employed as bookkeeper by the firm
of Klein & Sutmer, of Oakes, North Dakota; Ira P., who cultivates a part of his father's
farm; Ina E., who is the wife of II. F. Brown, cashier of the First National Bank of Oakes;
and Addison H., at home.
Fraternally Mr. Denning is identified with the Masons, belonging to Hope Lodge, No. 29,
A. F. & A. M.; Oakes Chapter, No. 12, R. A. M.; and the Order of the Eastern Star. Mr.
Denning and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and their interest in
Jim. AND jmS. J. HAMLIN DENNING
7lLi)
Jt
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 913
its work and development is not of a perfunctory character. Mr. Denning gives generously
to the support of the church and does all in his power to promote its growth and extend its
influence. His has heen an active and useful life, actuated by laudable ambition, character-
ized by indefatigable energy and crowned with honorable success.
H. H. GRAVSETH.
H. H. Gravseth, cashier of the State Bank of Koth, was born in Norway, June 9, 1892,
a son of Hans I. and Rena (Raannaa) Gravseth, both of whom remained in Norway,
where the father passed away in 1913, while the mother is still living on the old homestead.
The father was a farmer by occupation, devoting his entire life to the work of tilling
the soil.
H. H. Gravseth was educated in the public schools of Norway and in 1909 came to
the United States, landing at New York city on the 3d of November of that year. He made his
way directly westward to Roth and the following winter attended school, continuing
his education in the American Business College at Minneapolis and the Crookston College
at Crookston, Minnesota. In the summer months he worked on farms and in the summer of
1911 he began farming on his own account by renting land. For three summers he was
thus engaged and during the summers of 1914 and 1915 he worked for others. During
the month of July, 1915, he was employed in the State Bank of Roth and in the fall
of that year secured a situation in the Farmers Bank at Newburg, with which institution
he was associated for six months. In March, 1916, he came to Roth and was assistant
cashier of the State Bank until the following July, when he was advanced to the position
of cashier, being promoted to that position after only ten months' connection with the
banking business, a fact which indicates with what readiness he has mastered the work of
the ofTice, showing notable adaptability in this connection.
Always realizing the value of education, he attended a business college in Minneapolis
in the winter of 1912-13 and Crookston College in the winter of 1913-14. He has a
receptive mind and a retentive memory and he is doing everything in his power to further
qualify himself for the responsibilities of business life. He belongs to the Norwegian
Lutheran church and his entire course commends him to the confidence, goodwill and high
regard of those with whom he has been brought in contact. He is yet a young man and
already has attained a position which many an older business man might well envy.
BLAKE LANCASTER, M. D.
Dr. Blake Lancaster, the founder and proprietor of a splendidly equipped modern hospital
and actively engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery at Crosby, was born in Culloden,
Ontario, Canada, May 25, 1881. His father, Dr. David Henry Lancaster, was also a native
of Ontario and was educated in London, Ontario, where for some time he was tutored by his
father. Dr. Joseph Lancaster, who was one of the leading physicians of that city and a man
of marked distinction and fame in the profession. Dr. David H. Lancaster further qualified
for the practice of medicine as a student in the Michigan State University at Ann Arbor,
subsequent to which time he opened an ofllce in London, Ontario, and afterward removed to
Culloden, where he continued successfully in practice for many years, retiring after long and
honorable service in the field of medicine and surgery, during which time fame and distinction
came to him. He passed away in Culloden in April, 1916, at the age of seventy-nine years,
Iiaving for a considerable period survived his wife, who bore the maiden name of Aveline
McArthur and was born at Thorald, Ontario, in 1848, while her education was acquired in
tlie village schools of Culloden.
It was there that Dr. Blake Lancaster began his education, which he continued in the
high school at Woodstock, Ontario, and at Tillsonburg. He took up the study of medicine in
Trinity Medical College at Toronto, thus following in the professional footsteps of his father
914 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
and grandfather, and was graduated with tlie class of 1904. His high scliolarsliip and ability-
led to his appointment to the position of house surgeon at Kosston Hospital under Dr.
MeKinnon at I'osston, Minnesota. A year later, or on the 29th of August, 1905, he removed
to Crosby, North Dakota, and became the first practicing physician of Divide county, where
he has since remained. In fact, he was the lirst medical practitioner west of Portal, North.
Dakota, and throughout the intervening period he has been accorded a very liberal practice,
while his work attests his right to be ranked with the leading jdiysieians of the state. Ini
1906 he built a hospital in Crosby which is supplied with all modern equipment and the
accessories of surgical work. Finding the first building inadequate for his increased patron-
age, he is now erecting a three story hospital building which will be completed in the falll
of 1916 and will meet every demand of scientific surgery at the present daj-. The institu-
tion has a capacity of thirty beds and receives patients from Jlontana, Saskatchewan and
south to the Great Northern line. The hospital has been built with the utmost regard to
sanitary conditions and the most improved surgical instruments are found as a part of its
equipment. Jliss Emma Thompson, a graduate nurse of Fargo, North Dakota, is now matron.
In 1913 Dr. Lancaster went abroad, studying surgery in the hospitals of London, Paris and
Berlin, having at difi'erent times attended the clinics and studied under the most expert
surgeons in America and Europe. While he specializes in surger)', he also engages in the
general practice of medicine to some extent.
In Maj', 1908, Dr. Lancaster was married at West Lome, Ontario, to Miss Maud Carson,
who was there born, a daughter of S. W. and Mary (Sinclair) Carson, who were likewise
natives of Ontario. He has long been identified with farming interests in the vicinity of West-
Lome, where Mrs. Lancaster acquired her early education, completing a high school course.
She afterward attended the Toronto Conservatory and is an accomplished musician. Eleanor
May, born February 27, 1916, is an only daughter.
Dr. and Mrs. Lancaster hold membership in the Presbyterian church and his jiolitical
allegiance is given to the republican party. He is now serving on the board of commissioners
of insanity for Divide county but otherwise has not sought nor held public office. He is,
however, a progressive citizen and has been president of the Crosby Commercial Club. He
organized the Divide County Rural Telephone Companj', which was the first farmer's line
in Divide county, and he takes a helpful interest in everything pertaining to the advancement
of his part of the state. Fraternally he is connected with the Elks at Minot and along
strictly professional lines is connected with the Northwestern District Medical Society of
North Dakota, the North Dakota Medical Society and the American Medical Association.
He is surgeon for the Soo Railroad and the Great Northern Railroad Company and he con-
centrates his efi'orts upon his professional interests. There are few towns of the size which
have as splendidly ecpiipped a hospital as that which Dr. Lancaster has established at Crosby
and the town is ]iroud to number this among its institutions.
A. M. HALSTEAD.
A. M. Halstead has gained a competence by well directed labor in former years and
is now living retired in Jamestown, Stutsman county. He was born in Indiana on the
28th of October, 1860, a son of John and Sarah (Martin) Halstead. the former a farmer
by occupation. The mother died when o\ir subject was a child and the father passed away
when his son, A. M., was twenty-one years of age. The two brothers of our subject are
J. E., who is proprietor of the Jamestown Steam Laundry, and A. P., of Canada.
A. M. Halstead was educated in the common schools and in the normal school at
Ladoga, Indiana, and made his home with his grandmother until he began his independent
career. Before he became of age he became connected with merchandising and in 1883 he
came to North Dakota and located in Jamestown, where he engaged in the livery business
for ten years. At the end of that lime he formed a partnership with H. 1!. Wood for the
conduct of a livery barn and they also owned a furnitine store. Subsequently Mr. Halstead
sold the livery business to his partner and became the sole proprietor of the furni-
ture business, which he conducted successfully for ten years. He then closed out and
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 915
purchased a bowling and billiard hall and bottling works, of which he was the proprietor for
twelve j'ears. His various ventures were successful and he is now living retired. He still
owns five quarter sections of fine land which he rents and he is a director of the Hebron
Fire and Pressed Brick Company, which manufactures pressed and fire brick, which is
used in the construction of many of the principal buildings in this section. He was an
organizer and is a director of the Farmers & Merchants National Bank of Jamestown, which
was established in 1889.
In March, 1908, Mr. Halstead was married to Miss Augusta Schultz, a daughter of
Gottlieb Schultz, and three sons have been born of this union: Harold, seven years of
age; Everett, aged three; and Stanley born in 1915. Mr. Halstead is a democrat and
has served as chairman of the central committee. He is active in politics and has
been called to office, having served as county treasurer and as mayor of Jamestown. He
finds a great deal of pleasure in outdoor life and spends a great deal of time in the open.
During the winter seasons he lives in Florida but his chief interest is in North Dakota
and he has great faith in its future development.
REGINALD T. WOOD.
Reginald T. Wood, a resident of Newburg, Bottineau county, was born on the Sd of April,
1881, in Essex, England, of which country his parents were also natives. They never came
to America. His mother is still living. Mr. Wood of this review was educated in the schools
of England and at the age of fifteen years began learning the printer's trade, at which he
worked in his native land until 1901.
In that year he crossed the Atlantic and located in Winnipeg, Canada, where he
remained seven months, and then engaged in the newspaper business in Holland, Manitoba,
Canada, for three years. During the following four years he was similarly employed at
Saltcoats, Saskatchewan, but since that time he has been a resident of North Dakota.
Going to Newburg in 1908 he bought the Newburg Sun, which he published for fifteen
months, and then removed to Russell, three miles distant, where he purchased another paper.
He consolidated the two and engaged in the publication of the same at Russell for five years.
He also conducted a poolroom and barber shop at that place for two years, but finally sold
out and moved to Souris. At the end of three months, however, he again became a resident
of Newburg and is now operating a poolroom at that place. He owns residence property
both in Russell and Antler, North Dakota, and now writes for the Bottineau Courant.
On the 5th of October, 1911, Mr. Wood was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Olson,
and tliey have become the parents of two children, Leslie William and Dorothy Rae. Mr.
Wood is a Methodist, but his wife is connected with the German Lutheran church. Both
are held in high esteem and have many friends in Bottineau county. In politics Mr. Wood is
independent but takes a deep interest in public aftairs and is well posted on the questions and
issues of the day.
TORGER OLSEN.
Torger Olsen, who is carrying on general farming in Pleasant township, Cass county,
was born in Norway, April 14, 18-44, his parents being Ole and Anna Olsen, who were likewise
natives of the same country, in which they resided until 1878, when they made the voyage
across the briny deep to the new world and afterward lived with their son Torger, both
passing away at his home in Cass county.
Torger Olsen is one of a family of five children, four of whom are yet living. His
youthful days were spent in his native country, where his education was acquired in the
public schools. He came to America in 1871, when twenty-seven years of age, and made his
way to North Dakota, casting in his lot with the pioneer settlers of the c'ounty in which he
still resides. He first worked as a farm hand for five years, during which period he care-
916 . HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
I'uUy saved liis oarnings until liis industry and economy liad brought him suflicii-nt capital
to enabh' him to purchase land. He tlicn bought the farm upon which he now resides and has
since improved it with good buildings, with modern farm machinery, with well kept fences
and, in fact, all the accessories and conveniences of the model farm of the twentieth century.
To his original purchase he has added as liis financial resources have increased and has thus
extended the boundaries of his place until it now comprises four hundred acres on section 1,
Pleasant township.
On the 2d of February, 1S83, Mr. Olsen was married to Miss Antonetta Lee, a native of
Norway, who was brought to the new world when four months old. Twelve children have
been born to this union: Amelia, the wife of Ole Agge, a resident of Tleasaiit township,
Cass county; Hartvig, living in Stanley township; Matilda, the wife of Joseph Stiles;
Tideman, who remains upon the home farm, which he is operating; Anna, the wife of L.
Mickleson, of Fargo; Clara, who married Bernard Ertsgaard, of Fargo; Laura, the wife of
Hjalmar Thorson, of Fargo, who is a member of the North Dakota National Guard and has
gone to the Mexican border; Melvin, Clarence, Tina and Odin, all at home; and Alvin,
deceased.
Mr. Olsen and. his family are all members of the Lutheran church and guide their lives
according to its teachings. In politics he is a republican and has served as school director
for a number of years but has never filled political positions. He has ever preferred to con-
centrate his energies upon his business affairs and he deserves much credit for what he has
accomplished, for when he came to the new world he was empty handed. He has builded
his success upon the sure foundation of industry, perseverance and honorable dealing and
is now numbered among the substantial farmers of his county.
HON. LOUIS \Y. SAUER.
Hon. Louis W. Sauer, one of the partners in the firm of Sauer Brothers, general mer-
chants of ToUey, was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, October 26, 1860. The family name
indicates his German lineage, his parents, John M. and Rebecca (Appier) Sauer, both being
natives of Germany. They came to America in early life and after living for a time in
Indianapolis removed with their family to Ohio and later to Pennsylvania. Subsequently
they became residents of Minnesota and in the vicinity of ^Minneapolis Mr. Sauer pur-
chased land and followed gardening throughout his remaining days, his death there
occurring April 4, 1916. At the time of the Civil war he responded to the call of the
country for aid and served for two years at the front with a Pennsylvania regiment. He
had long survived his wife, wlio passed away in 1886.
Louis W. Sauer was reared and educated in Minneapolis and remained with his parents
until after he attained his majority. In 1883 he removed to Barnes county. North Dakota,
and fded on a homestead near Valley City, after which he began the arduous task of
developing and improving the property, upon which he continued for many years. As his
financial resources increased he extended the boundaries of his place, buying more land
from time to time until he owned a section. When the town of ToUey was started in
1905 he took up his abode there and e8taJ>lishcd a lumberyard which he conducted for four
years. On selling out he turned his attention to general merchandising in partnership,
with his brother Peter, and under the firm style of Sauer Brothers they have since con-
ducted a large and growing business. In 1909, they erected a modern t.wo story cement
block building, one hundred and twenty by twenty-four feet, and they now carry an at-
tractive line of goods, while the business methods of the house are bringing to them an
increased patronage aninually. Louis W. Sauer has also made extensive investments in
property and is now the owner of one thousand acres of farm land in Renville county
which he rents, thus adding materially to his income.
On the 24th of March, 1896, Mr. Sauer was married to Miss Lettie Peterson and they
have eight children, namely: Roy, Louis, Andrew, Earl, Esther, Ruth, Grace and Dorotliy
Rebecca. Mr. and Mrs. Sauer are faithful members of the Methodist church and he is
a popular and prominent figure in several fraternal organizations. He has attained the
nOX. LOUIS W. SAUER
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 919
thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite in Masonry and he belongs to the Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Ancient Order of United
Workmen. He has always voted with the republican party since age conferred upon him
the right of franchise and he has served as a member of the town board at intervals since
the town was established. He is now president of the school board and does everything
in his power to further local progress and improvement. Still higher political honors,
however, have been conferred upon him, as he was elected to represent his district in the
state legislature in 1911, serving two years. He was on several committees in the legis-
lature, the more important being those on railways, means, agriculture, education and
penal institutions. He is an esteemed and valued resident of Renville county, holding at
all times to high standards of manhood and of citizenship.
J. wn.BER MORELAND, M. D.
Dr. J. Wilber Moreland, engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery at Maxbass,
is a native of Vermilion county, Illinois. He was bern January 7, 1876, of the marriage
of Pearly B. and Emma {.Jamison) Moreland, both of whom were natives of Ohio. The
father devoted his life to educational work, teaching school from his nineteenth year to
the time of his death, which occurred at the comparatively early age of thirty-six years.
His wife had passed away some years before.
Dr. Moreland was thus left an orphan when a little lad of eleven years. There were
four children in the familj' and he and an older sister kept them all together and with some
little assistance from an uncle they thus managed to remain together until they reached
manhood and womanhood. Dr. Moreland attended the public schools at Potomac, passing
through consecutive grades to the high school, and when about twenty-one years of age he
began teaching, devoting his time to educational work for four years. In 1902 he took up the
study of medicine, entering the medical department of the Northwestern University in
Chicago, from which he received his professional degree as a member of the class of 1906.
Laudable ambition to make good use of his time, talents and opportunities and win for
himself a creditable place in the world has prompted him at every point in his career.
Following his graduation he located in Highland, Illinois, and a year later removed to
Penfield, that state, where he was successfully engaged in practice for five years. In
1913 he removed to Maxbass and in the intervening period has built up a remunerative
practice, for his fellow townsmen recognize that he is well qualified for the onerous and
responsible duties that devolve upon him in a professional connection. He closely studies
the scientific phases of medical practice and keeps in touch with the most recent discov-
eries and theories.
In 1908 Dr. Moreland was united in marriage to Miss Alice Maud Cole, of Ottawa,
Illinois, by whom he has two children, James Wilber, Jr., and Alice Cole. Dr. Moreland
is a member of Potomac Lodge, No. 782, F. & A. M., of Potomac, Illinois; of Genevieve
Lodge, No. 160, I. 0. 0. F., of Penfield, Illinois; and the Woodmen of the World. His
wife is a member of the Baptist church. Along strictly professional lines he has connection
with the Northwestern District Medical Society, the North Dakota State Medical Society
and the American Medical Association and he is deeply interested in anything that tends
to bring to man a key to the complex mystery which we call life.
GEORGE WHITCOMB NEWTON.
George Whitcomb Newton, for many years an active, able and distinguished member of
the bar, is now living retired in Bismarck, in which city he took up his abode during
territorial days, remaining an active practitioner there until a recent date. He was born
at Swanton, Vermont, February 12, 1838, a son of Silas ^Vhitcomb and Cliarlotte Amanda
(Smith) Newton, both of whom were natives of the Green Mountain state and representatives
920 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
of old colonial families. The Xewton family was founded in the new world by Kichard
Newton, the great-gieat-gieat-great-giandfatlier of George W. Xewton, who came from
England during the early period of the new world colonization. Alvin Newton, the great-
grandfather in the paternal line, was a member of a Massachusetts regiment of Continental
soldiers in the Kevolutionary war and was present at the battle of Concord, while John
Austin, great-grandfather in the maternal line, was also one of those who fought for the
independence of the nation. The paternal grandfather, Alvin Newton, was a soldier of the
War of 1812. The family has through many generations been one of prominence in
Vermont and in that state the parents of ilr. Newton continued their residence until called
to their final rest.
Reared in Vermont, George W. Newton completed his literary education by graduation
from the Thetford Academy of Orange county, Vermont, as a member of the class of
1860. The succeeding two years were devoted to the study of law and in 1863 he was ad-
mitted to the bar, after which he located for practice in Franklin county, Vermont, where
he successfully engaged in the prosecution of his profession until 1883. The growing
northwest attracted him, however, and in that year he removed to Bismarck, Dakota terri-
tory, where he opened a" law office and soon won recognition as one of the foremost members
of the North Dakota bar. He argued many cases and lost but few. His course in the
.courtroom was characterized by a calmness and dignity that indicated reserve strength
and his handling of a case was always full, comprehensive and accurate. He saw without
effort the relation and dependence of the facts and so grouped them as to enable him to
throw their combined force upon the point they tended to prove. His briefs always showed
wide research, careful thought and the best and strongest reasons which could be urged for
his contention, presented in cogent and logical form and characterized by a style unusually
lucid and clear.
Mr. Newton has been twice married. On the 9th of May, 1866, in Vermont, he wedded
Miss Mary L. Skeels, who passed away in Bismarck, North Dakota, ilarch 37, 1906, leaving
three sons, as follows: William Skeels Newton, of Seattle, Washington; George Gordon
Newton, of Superior, W^isconsin; and John Henry Newton, of Mandan, North Dakota.
On the 22d of February, 1913, in Fargo, North Dakota, Mr. Newton was again married,
his second union being with Elizabeth D. Young nee Moore, the widow of .John Young.
Fraternally Mr. Newton is a Master Mason, while his religious faith is that of the
Congregational church. His political allegiance has always been given to the republican
party but he has neither sought nor held any office outside the strict path of his profession
and even then has cared little to fill public positions. However, in 1874 he was made states
attorney of Franklin county, Vermont, and occupied that position for two years. He
remained in the active practice of his profession in Bismarck until 1914, when he retired,
for he has passed the seventy-seventh milestone on life's journey. To him have come
"the blest accomplishments of age — honor, riches, troops of friends."
JOHN H. CANHAM.
.Tohn H. Canham of .Jamestown, Stutsman coimty, is manager and part owner of
the Western Electric Company, which is one of the important industrial concerns of the
central part of the state. He was born in Nova Scotia, October 27, 1864, a son of
John and Mary (Henderson) Canham. His father, who was a farmer by occupation,
settled in North Dakota in the fall of 1879, homesteading land on the Wild Rice river.
Subsequently he removed to Idaho and he and his wife are now residing at Moscow,
that state. There are nine children in the family, seven sons and two daughters.
•John II. Canham received his education in the Dominion of Canada, attending school
during the winters. From the age of eight years he worked during the summers and
when sixteen years of age he learned steam engineering. He worked for two years on
the Missouri river and was subsequently employed in Bismarck for three years. For
twenty-six years he has been connected with the Western Electric Company, which he
and his wife purchased thirteen years ago and of which she is president and he is
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 921
manager. The capacity of the plant has been increased a number of times and it
supplies light to the city of Jamestown, pumps the water for the city and also furnishes
heat. It has nine blocks of mains in the city and represents an investment of one hundred
and fifty thousand dollars. It furnishes employment to fifteen men and its business is
of such volume that an up-town office is maintained.
Mr. Canham was married on the 33d of Februar}', 1888, to Miss Agnes McHarg,
a daughter of John McHarg, a veteran of both the Mexican and Civil wars. Three
children have been born to this union, Lottie, Norma and Louise.
Mr. Canham casts his ballot in support of the republican party and he has served
on the city council, and fraternally is connected with the Elks, the Odd Fellows, the
Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen and the Masonic order, in which he has attained
the Knights Templar degree, and has crossed the desert with the Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine. He holds membership in the Young Men's Christian Association, which affiliation
indicates the high standards that govern his conduct. He is a public-spirited citizen and
cooperates heartily in the various projects of the Commercial Club, of which he is a
member. He believes firmly in the great future in store for North Dakota and does all
in his power to further its development along all lines.
HON. LOUIS K. HASSELL.
America has no more loyal citizen among the native born than Judge Hasscll, of Grand
Forks, a man of high character and ideals who has been a stalwart champion of state and
national interests. At the same time he is fair and impartial in his rulings, while in manner
he is modest and unassuming. The specific office of biograpliy, however, is not to give a
man's modest estimate of himself and his accomplishments but to leave the record establish-
ing his position by the consensus of opinion on the part of his fellowmen.
Judge Hassell was born in Biri, Norway, August 19, 1863. His father. Christian Hassell,
also a native of that country, born August 1, 1834, was a traveling man and farmer of
Norway. He wedded Oline Fremstad who was of German parentage but was born in Norway
in 1837. In the year 1881 Cliristian Hassell crossed the Atlantic to America with his family
and settled in Walsh county. North Dakota, becoming a pioneer resident of that district,
where he successfully engaged in farming for many years or until 1903. At that date he was
stricken with blindness, after which he returned to Norway, where he passed away March
6. 1912. His wife had died in Walsh county, November 17, 1889, at the age of fifty-two
years. They were the parents of five children, of whom three are yet living: Louis K.;
Nettie, the wife of W. E. Lasham, a resident of Hollywood, a suburb of Los Angeles, Cali-
fornia ; and Edwin, who occupies the old homestead in Walsh county.
Judge Hassell pursued his education in common and high schools and in the college of
Hamar, Norway, being graduated from the last named institution in 1880 on the completion
of a literary course. His early training and experiences were those of the farm bi'ed boy
and in 1S81, when a youth of nineteen j'ears, he started out to earn his own living. He was
first employed in the law office of Major J. G. Hamilton, of Grand Forks, following the
arrival of the family in the new world, and in the fall of that year he became editor of the
Grand Forks Tidende, a Norwegian newspaper, which is now one of the largest Norwegian
papers of the United States. It has been a daily for the past thirty years and is now
published in Minneapolis. After three years' connection with that paper Judge Hassell was
made a deputy in the office of the city auditor and treasurer under Dr. W. T. Collins, a
pioneer and Civil war veteran. From the fall of 1884 until January, 1887, .Judge Hassell
served as clerk in the office of the register of deeds of Grand Forks county. The need of a
Scandinavian paper in Grand Forks, following the removal of the Tidende to Minneapolis,
led him to begin the publication of the Normanden, which he conducted imtil the summer
of 1888, when he sold out. He afterward spent several months as an employe in the office of
the county auditor and in the fall of 1889 was elected on the republican ticket to the position
of clerk of the district court. Four times he was reelected to that office, making a most
notable record for faithful, efficient and commendable service. After retiring from that
922 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
position lie served for a time as deputy sheriff under James Collins and was then elected
to his present position, that of county judge of Grand Forks county. He has been elected to
the bench eight times, his service covering sixteen years to the 1st of January, 1917, and in
the fall of 1916 he was renominated without opposition — a record perhaps unequalled in
the history of the state.
On the 9th of August, 1885, Judge Hassell was married to Miss Sophia A. Anderson,
a native of Korway and a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Anderson, who were early
settlers of Grand Forks county and are now deceased. Judge and Mrs. Hassell have five
children: Selma L., born July 7, 1886; Olga O., May 10, 1888; Qarence L., born August
4, 1892; Agnes F., November 14, 1894; and Dagny M., July 10, 1902.
The family residence is at No. 413 South Fifth street, where Judge Hassell owns a pleas-
ant home. He and his wife hold membership in the Lutheran church and he belongs to various
fraternal organizations, including the Masons, the Klks, the United Workmen and the
Knights of Pythias. He is also identified with the Commercial Club and is in hearty
sympathy with all projects for the public good. In politics he is a republican and cooperates
in every movement that tends to advance civic ideals and raise the standards of citizenship.
In manner modest and unassuming, the worth of his character is acknowledged by all. He-
is charitable in his opinions of the individual and upon the bench is thoroughly just, recog-
nizing, however, that justice should often be tempered with mercy. The otlicial record of
few county judges in the state has extended over a longer period and none has been more
faultless in honor, fearless in conduct or stainless in reputation.
HALLDOR HALLDORSON.
Halldor Halldorson, United States customs officer at St. John, was born in Iceland,
April 15, 1873, a son of Halldor and Sigridur (Thorlakson) Halldorson, who were natives
of Iceland. The father was a farmer in that country, where he continued to engage in
agricultural pursuits until 1882, when he crossed the Atlantic and made his way to Pembina
county. North Dakota. There he filed on a homestead and developed and improved land,
continuing its cultivation throughout his remaining days. Both he and his wife passed
away in December, 1889.
Halldor Halldorson spent the first nine years of his life in his native country and then
came with his parents to the new world, so that he was largely reared in Pembina county.
He is indebted to its public school system for tlie educational opportunities which he
received supplemented by a term's study in the University of North Dakota. He next
entered the Mayville Normal and was graduated therefrom in 1901. He took up the
profession of teacliing in Pembina, Walsh and Grand Forks counties, devoting his attention
to the professional work until 1907, his efforts being a contributing force in advancing and
upholding the educational standards of the state. In 1899 he filed on land in Pierce
county. North Dakota, twelve miles soutli of Rolette, and owned and operated his farm there
until 1910. In 1907, however, he took the civil service examination for railway mail
service and a little later also took the examination for inspector and deputy collector of
customs. He received appointment to the railway mail service, in which he continued
until appointed in December, 1907, to the customs service and on the 4th of January,
1908, he was assigned to the Pembina oflice, where he remained for eight months, when
he was transferred to Portal, North Dakota, where he remained for two years. On the
let of August, 1910, he was assigned to duty at St. John, where he has since remained,
promptly and capably discharging the duties of this position.
On the 10th of October, 191fi, Mr. Halldorson was united in marriage to Miss Pearl
Ellen Louise Richardson, a daughter of Alfred W. Richardson, now of Howard Lake,
Minneisota. Her father is a native of Australia and her mother of Canada, and both
are of English descent. They became pioneer residents of. South Dakota. Mr. and Mrs.
Halldorson occupy a pleasant home in St. John and he is the owner of one hundred and
seventy-seven acres of land four miles west of the town. Fraternally he is connected
with the Masons, belonging to Rolla Lodge, No. 66, A. F. & A. M. His religious faith
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 923
is that of the Lutheran church and his political belief that of the republican party. Much
of Ilia life has been spent in this section of the state and he has ever been keenly interested
in all those forces that work for the development and progress of the community in which
he makes his home.
F. W. LEWIS.
F. W. Lewis, senior partner of the firm of Lewis & Wright, hardware dealers and
leading business men of St. John, was born in Oxford county, Ontario, November 18, 1876,
a son of Irwin and Ellen (Galloway) Lewis, both of whom were natives of Ontario, where
they were reared and married. In 1886 they came to the United States and established
their home in Rolette county two and a half miles from the present town site of Rolla.
This section of the state was then largely undeveloped, unclaimed and unimproved. The
father preempted one hundred and sixty acres and thereon the family took up their abode,
making it their place of residence until 1904, his labors having in the meantime converted
the wild prairie into richly cultivated fields. Again the father became a frontier settler,
going west to Williams county, where he filed on a homestead. He proved up on that property
and afterward sold it, subsequent to which time he returned to Eolla, where he is now living
retired.
F. W. Lewis was educated in the public schools of Rolla and on reaching manhood
began cooperating with his father in the cultivation of the home farm. His life has been one
of unremitting industry and his earnest toil has brought him the success which he now
enjoys. In 1905 he became identified with the grain business as buyer for the Imperial
Elevator Company, being placed in charge of its elevator at Perth. There he remained as
manager for seven years and developed a good trade for the company. Desirous, however,
of engaging in business on his own account, in 1912 he established an agricultural imple-
ment store at Perth, but in the fall of the same year disposed of that business and went to
St. John, where he opened a hardware store. In the intervening period he has developed
one of the leading business houses of the town, having now an extensive and gratifying
patronage which returns to him a good profit. He is also the owner of one hundred and
sixty acres of farm land in the Turtle mountains.
In 1904 Mr. Lewis was united in marriage to Miss Melita McLaughlin, of Rolla. They
are members of the Presbyterian church and in social circles occupy an enviable position.
Politically Mr. Lewis is a republican and fraternally lie is connected with the American
Yeomen. For thirty years he has lived in Rolette county and this section of the state and
has been closely associated with movements resulting in its upbuilding and development.
HANS C. BJONE.
Hans C. Bjone, a farmer residing on section 14. Black Loam township, Lamoure county,
was born in Norway, September 29, 1873, his parents being Crist and Kjariste Bjone, who
were also natives of the same country, the father there following the occupation of farming
throughout his entire life. He died February 7, 1888, but his widow is still living in Norway.
Hans C. Bjone was a lad of but fourteen years at the time of his father's death. He
acquired his education in the schools of his native country and in 1893 came to America,
settling in North Dakota, where he worked for his brother for several years, carefully
saving his earnings throughout that period until he was able to purchase his present place
of six hundred and forty acres. In 1908 he erected a modern nine room house with all
modern conveniences which is one of the best homes in Lamoure county. His land ^Vas
wild and undeveloped when it came into his possession but he at once set about improving
it and has since operated the farm, his labors bringing about a marked transformation in
its appearance, as it is today one of the highly cultivated and productive farm properties
of Lamoure county. Capable management and indefatigable energy have led to his success
924 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
and he is now one of the substantial citizens of liis district. He became one of the organizers
of the Farmers & Merchants State Bank at Verona, of which he is the vice president, with
his brother Gilbert as president and Hans Bjone. a nephew, as cashier. The bank is capitalized
for liftccn thousand dollars, is housed in a fine modern bank building and was opened to
business on Saturday, August 19, 1916.
In March, 1904, Mr. Bjone was united in marriage to Jliss Betsey Anderson and they
became the parents of a son and daughter, Crist G. and Helen B. The wife and mother
passed away in 1908, after a month's illness, and in November, 1911. Mr. Bjone wedded ■Mary
Blaken, by whom he has one child, Christena.
Mr. Bjone is identified with the Modern Woodmen of America and the Brotherhood of
American Yeomen and his religious faith is that of the Lutheran church. He gives his
political endorsement to the men and measures of the republican party but does not seek
nor desire office, feeling that the pursuits of private life are in themselves abundantly worthy
of his best efforts. He came to America when a young man of twenty years and tliroiighout
the intervening period of twenty-three years has lived in Xorth Dakota, where he found
the business opportunities which he sought, and in their utilization he has demonstrated the
fact that America offers excellent advantages to the man who is willing to work and utilize
her natural resources.
HON. JOHN J. DOYLK.
One of the most prominent and influential citizens of the southern part of North Dakota
is John J. Doyle, who is not only an important factor in public affairs but is also one of
the representative business men of Mcintosh county, now serving as president of the
Security State Bank of Wishek. He is a native of Scott county, Minnesota, and a son of
Patrick and Elizabeth Doyle, who were born, reared and married in Ireland. It was in
1864 that they crossed the Atlantic to the United States and located in Minnesota, where
for some years the father was engaged in railroad work. For a time he was subsequently
engaged in farming near Redwood Falls and from ISSO until 1885 was in the emph)y of the
Northern Pacific Kailroad, having charge of the surfacing of their track from Dickinson,
North Dakota, to Helena, Montana. In 1885 he brought his family to ilclntosh county.
North Dakota, and here preempted a quarter section of land and also took up a tree claim
of similar size about ten miles south of Wishek, on which he lived until 1896. Dining the
following two years he was engaged in the cattle business and in 1898 removed to Wishek,
where he resided up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1907. His wife had jiasscd
away in 1895.
John ,T. Doyle was reared in m\ich the usual manner of boys in the west and is indebted
to the public schools of Minnesota and Bozeman, Montana, for the early education he
acquired. It was in 1883 tliat he became a resident of Bozeman and two j'cars later he
accompanied the family on tludr removal to Xortli Dakota, remaining under the parental
roof until 1889, when he preempted a quarter section of land and began farming on his
own account. He also entered a tree claim and proved up on both tracts, continuing to
engage in their operation until 1895, when he sold out. During the following three years
he was interested in the cattle business and on disposing of that turned his attention to the
grain trade, with whieli he has since been prominently identified. He owns two elevators in
Wishek and a half interest in another, also one at Asliley; and operated another at Burnstad
from 1909 to 1915, wlien he sold it. From 1898 to 1903 he was engaged in the mercantile
business in Wishek and in 1905 turned his attention to the banking business, establishing
the First State Bank at Richardton, Nortli Dakota. In July of the same year he founded
the First State Bank of Glen UUin, this state, and also built an elevator and opened a
lumberyard at the same place, but in January, 1906, sold his interests there and returned
to Wishek, where he established a lumberyard. He disposed of it, however, in May of the
same year and embarked in the land business, in which he is still engaged, buying and sell-
ing land on an extensive scale. In September, 1909, he organized the Security State Bank
of Wi.shck, of which he is the principal stockholder and president. In March, 1914, he was
HON. JOHN J. DOYLE
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 927
one of the princiiiiil incorporators of the Wishek Lumber Company, of which he is secretary
and general manager. He acquired some four thousand acres of valuable land, for which
lie paid tlie top market price, but he has since sold some of this property and bought other
tracts from time to time, his present holdings being somewhat less than four thousand
acres. He possesses remarkable business and executive ability and usuallj' carries forward
to successful completion whatever he undertakes.
In 1909 Mr. Doyle married Miss Catherine E. Scanlan, of Page, North Dakota, and to
them have been born three children, of whom two survive, namely: John Myron and Walter
James. The family are communicants of the Catholic church, and Mr. Doyle is also a
member of the Knights of Columbus. In politics he is a stanch republican and his fellow
citizens recognizing his worth and ability have called upon him to fill official positions of
honor and trust. In 189S he was elected to represent his district in the state legislature,
was reelected in 1910 and again in 1912. In 1909 he was one of the men to advocate the
appointment of a committee to investigate the state educational institutions and to place
them on an economical basis after finding out what" was necessary to maintain them but
the proposal met with but little approval at the time. In 1915, however, the legislature
was forced to appoint such a committee on account of lack of funds. At all times Mr. Doyle
advocated the initiative and referendum and was one of the members to support the meas-
ure for tlie exemption of taxes on farm improvements, etc. He has always kept thoroughly
informed on the questions and issues of the day and never withholds his support from any
enterprise which he believes will prove of public benefit. He stands deservedly high in
business and financial circles and is a man of whom an\' communitj' might feel justly proud.
IVER YTREEIDE.
Xorway has contributed largely to tlie citizenship of North Dakota. Her sons, in-
dustrious and diligent, have labored earnestly along the lines of business which have been
the chief factors in the development and upbuilding of the state. A representative of this
class is Iver Ytreeide, who was born in Norway. February 2, 1880, a son of Peter and Anna
Ytreeide, who were born, reared and married in the land of the midnight sun. They
remained there until called to their final rest and the father followed the occupation of
farming in order to provide for the support of liis family of five children, all of wliom are
yet living.
Iver Ytreeide, who was the second in order of birth, pursued a common school education
in his native country and when a youth of nineteen years started out in tlie world on
his own account. The favorable reports which he had heard concerning America and its
opportunities led him to the determination to try his fortune in the new world and,
crossing the Atlantic, he made bis way to Iowa, where he was employed for a time as a
farm hand. In the fall of 1906. however, lie came to North Dakota, settling in Steele,
where he secured a clerkshi]i in a general store, spending a year in that waj'. In 1907 he
accepted a position in the .James River National Bank at .Tamestown and later went to
Montpelier to become teller in the bank, whicli position he occupied for ten months. At
Pingree he held the office of assistant cashier, continuing at that place for five years,
when he returned to ilontpeliev in May, 191.".. and has since been actively identified with its
financial interests. He is now a stockholder of the .Tames River Bank Syiulicate and he
has served as cashier of the Montpelier bank for tliree years. The bank was organized in
1906 by the James River Valley Bank of .Jamestown and has had a continuously successful
existence. In addition to his banking interests Mr. Ytreeide has investments in farm
lands and in town property and in fact the bank conducts a large real estate department
and is also agent for different insurance companies. Since his arrival in America Mr.
Y'treeide has given financial aid toward bringing to this country two brothers and a sister.
all of whom have become successful in the new world.
On the 6th of May. 1914, Mr. Y'treeide was united in marriage to Miss .\nna Wahl.
who was born in Norway, a daughter of Lars and fngeborg Wahl. the former now deceased.
■while the latter resides in Missouri. Mrs. Y'treeide was the fifth in order of birth in their
Vol. n— 47
f)28 HISTORY Ol- XORTJI DAKOTA
tamilv ol twelve tliildreii. Mr. and Mrs. Vtreeide have become the parents of a little son,
Leland, who was born April 20, 1915.
They are members of the Montpelier Lutheran iliiinh, uf which Mr. Ytreeide is serving
as treasurer and to the support of the church he is a liberal contributor. In politics he is
a republican, and while he does not seek nor desire political ollice, he is serving at the
present time as school treasurer. Never has he regretted his determination to come to the
new world, for he found that in America labor is king and that tlie way of advancement
is always open to the man of ambition and energy— qualities which are numbered amon"
his salient characteristics. Year after year he has worked on along well defined business
lines and has continually jH'ogressed toward the goal of success.
DUGALD CAMPBELL.
Dugald Campbell, manager for the .John D. Gruber Company, dealers in agricultural
implements, lumber, coal and harness at Maxbass, was born in Durham, Ontario, Au"U8t
12, 1881, a son of George and Flora (Gilchrist) Campbell, both of whom were natives of
Scotland, whence they emigrated in childhood days to Canada with their respective parents.
The father, who is now deceased, devoted his life to farming. The mother is a resident
of Vancouver, British Columbia.
Dugald Campbell was educated in the public schools of Durham, Ontario, and became
a wage earner in his sixteenth year, at which time he secured employment as a farm hand.
In the spring of 1900 he came across the boundary line to the United States and established
his home in Bottineau county. North Dakota, where for two j'ears he engaged in farming.
He subsequently spent a similar period at work at the carpenter's trade and for one year
was in Bottineau and one year at Westhope. In 1904 he filed on a homestead in Lewis town-
ship, Bottineau county, a mile south of Maxbass, and thereon resided until 1908, when he
took up his abode in the town and accepted a position with the John D. Gruber Company,
working in both the office and the yards. Two years later, in recognition of his ability and
fidelity, he was advanced to the position of manager of the business, in which capacity
he has since continued and under his guidance the enterprise has become a growing and
profitable concern. At all times he displays a progressive spirit and his activity has been
a forceful element in promoting the progress of the community.
In 1910 Mr. Campbell was united in marriage to Miss Anna May Greenwood, of Durham,
Ontario, and to them have been born three children, Walter G., Donald E. and Islay G. Mr.
and Mrs. Campbell are members of the Presbyterian church. His political allegiance is
given to the democratic party and he is the present town treasurer of Maxbass, while for
two years he served as clerk of the village. He is regarded as one of the representative
citizens of his town and in his life exemplifies the spirit of western enterprise and prog-
ress— a spirit that is leading to the rapid development and substantial upbuilding of North
Dakota.
.JOHN McINTYRIC
John Mclntyre, who is farming near Cuba, Barnes county, was born in Rochester,
Minnesota, August 29, 1876, a son of Thomas Archibald and Mary (Luscomb) Mclntyre,
the former a native of Adrian, Michigan, and the latter of London, England. About
1873 the father removed with his family to Rochester, Minnesota, where he remained
until 1880, when with team and wagon he started overland to Barnes county, North
Dakota, arriving at Valley City on the 2d of June. lie took up a homestead eight
miles south of the county seat and added to it by purchase, continuing to engage in farming
there throughout his remaining days. He at first put up a small shed house reinforced by sod
and later erected the residence now found upon the place. He was a progressive agricul-
turist, nor did he neglect his duties of citizenship, but bore his part in promoting the
community interests. He passed away in 1909 at the age of fifty-six years and his
widow is now living in Los Angeles. California. Their family numbered five children.
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 929
of whom John is the eldest. One son, Thomas A. Mclntyre, Jr., after attending the higli school
and the State Normal School at Valley City began a course of medicine at Des Moines,
Iowa, and later was graduated from a medical college at Los Angeles, where he is now
making his home. A daughter, Melissa, has become the wife of S. P. Southwick, also a
resident of Los Angeles. The other two children of the family have passed away.
When a little lad of six years .John Mclntyre became a pupil in the district schools near
his father's home and in due time was graduated from the high school at Valley City.
He has since that time devoted his attention to the conduct and operation of a farm and
is now the owner of eleven hundred and twenty acres of rich, valuable and productive
land. He raises the small grains, wheat, oats and barley, in large quantities, and in addi-
tion is well known as a successful stock raiser, having usually a herd of seventy-five or
more cattle, largely Holsteins, breeding from registered high grade stock. He also has
about thirty-five or forty head of Chester White hogs, breeding with registered sires. His
business interests are most carefully and v.isely conducted and his unremitting diligence
has been the source of his success.
Mr. Mclntyre keeps in touch with the latest questions and issues of the day, politically
and otherwise, as manifest in the trend of the times. Fraternally he is connected with
the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Knights of Pythias and the Moose. His
friends, and they are many, know him as a modest man of genuine worth, reliable and
enterprising in business and loyal in matters of citizenship.
ELMER J. WRIGHT.
Elmer J. Wright, a hardware merchant of St. .John, was born in Hornellsville, Steuben
county. New York, February 11, 1867, a son of Gilbert and Sarah (Thomas) Wright, the
former a native of Steuben county. New York, and the latter of Pennsylvania. The father
was a farmer by occupation and also followed carpentering throughout his entire life, always
remaining a resident of New York. He served for three years in the One Hundred and
Seventh New York Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war, enlisting in 1862, and on one
occasion he was wounded in the face, his jaw being broken. He has now reached the age
of seventy-nine years, while his wife is seventy-five years of age.
Elmer .J. Wright was reared in his native county and supplemented his public school
education by study in the Alfred University of Allegany county, New York. He learned
the carpenter's trade of his father and afterward pursued a civil engineering course in
college. Taking up the profession of teaching, he was thus engaged for eleven years, spend-
ing eight years in that connection in New York and three years in Cass county, North
Dakota. He came to this state in 1896 and settled in Cass county, where he continued to
make his home until 1900, when he removed to Rolette county. Upon the opening of the
reservation he filed on land which he improved and cultivated for seven years. He then
sold his property and went to St. .John, where he has since engaged in surveying. He is
now county surveyor of Rolette county, having occupied the position continuously for the
past fourteen years, having been reelected at each biennial period without specially seeking
the office or making effort to win the election. In the spring of 1916 he purchased a. half
interest in a hardware business, becoming a partner of Fred Lewis under the firm style of
Lewis & Wright. They carry an extensive stock of goods and enjoy a large patronage, theirs
being the only store of the kind in the town.
In November, 1898, Mr. Wright was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Solberg, a
daughter of John and Matilda (Larson) Solberg. who were natives of Norway. They came
to America at an early day. soon after the Civil war, and the father worked in sawmills in
Wisconsin. After his removal to North Dakota he worked at the carpenter's trade. He also
homesteaded land in this state and he now resides at St. John with Mr. and Mrs. Wright, his
wife having passed away on the 30th of June, 1903. Mr. and Mrs. Wright have become the
parents of three children: Fern E., who was born October 4, 1899; Nina L., born May 24,
1902; and Floyd K.. born July 2, 1908.
Mr. Wright holds membership with tlie Modern Brotherhood of America and for six years
was secretary of the local organization. His religious belief is that of the Presbyterian
930 HISTORY Ol" XOKTll DAKOTA
uliiiicli, while ill Ills |i(ilit ifiil I'aitli lie if- n i r|iiililicaii. lie is nciw |ii (.siilnit uS tlic tiiwii IkiuicI
of St. .Idliii and for four years was assessor, while lie has also been a member of the sehool
board. He still has farming interests in the eoiiiity and he is connected with many of those
forces which are working for the upbuilding and substantial development of the district. His
worth as a citizen is widely acknowledged and his reliability in business is above question.
HON. PHILIP jrcL(3Ur,HLIN.
Hon. Philip JIcLoughlin. justice of the peace at Grand Forks, Xortli Dakota, was born
in the village of Bonmahon, County Waterford, Ireland, on the IGth day of .fanuary, ISGU,
a son of Michael and Mary (O'Mahoney) McLouglilin. His father was compelled to leave
Ireland in the year 1867 and come to America. This year was the year known as tlie year
of the rising, as the Fenians of Ireland revolted against the cruel laws of England and
against landlordism. He located in Michigan and after a few years went to Duliith and
Brainerd, Minnesota, and followed the line of the Xorthern Pacific Railway, finally settling
at what is now known as Valley City, then called the second crossing of the Sheyenne river.
.Judge McLoughlin left the Emerald isle August 25, 1873, on the steamship Java,
when only thirteen years old and arrived at 8t. Paul, Minnesota, September 10th of the
same year. He then went to Fargo after a few weeks staj' at St. Paul, and then to \'alley
City, where he met his father for the first time since he left Ireland. After a few weeks
in Valley City he went to Jamestown, North Dakota, then Fort Seward, and entered the
employ of Hon. D. Kelligher, then in charge of the Northern Pacific at Jamestown. Fort
Seward was commanded by Captain Paterson, Company A, Twentieth Infantry. .Judge
McLinighlin spent the winter of 1874-75 at Jamestown. The Northern Pacific shut down
all traffic in the winter months and all transportation was by teams and governnu'uL
mules. Jamestown at that time was inhabited by Indians. While at Jamestown .ludge
McLoughlin became intimately acquainted witli the army ollicers of the west, among his
friends being (ieneral Custer, Colonel Tom Custer, Colonel Kehoe and other notable men
that went down to death on the 25th and 26th of June, 1876, at the battle of the Little Big
Horn with Sitting Bull and his thirsty followers. He was personally acquainted with
all the Seventh Cavalry that were in that fight, having bid good-by to them at Fort Lincoln
in May that year as they went west on the ill-fated expedition. While on the frontier he
also became acquainted with Major Mcl>aughlin. now Indian inspector, and his family and
many of the old Catholic missionaries, notably Kev. J. B. M. Oenin. and many ])niniiiH'nt
territorial oflicers of that period.
In the spring of 1875 William Fit/patrick, roadmaster of the Dakota division of the
Northern Pacific, induced Judge JIcLoughlin to go out on the work train as water boy
for the large crew of men then employed, and on May 23d he left Jamestown, where he
had resided from the 15th of October, 1874, and then entered the employ of the Northern
Pacific Railway Company. He worked all that summer as water boy and saw many wonder-
ful things during tliat time. Game of all kinds was abundant, deer, antelope, wolves, foxes,
badgers and in fact all the animal kingdom was to be seen on the western prairie of Dakota
territory. In the fall of 1875 his sister, Miss Bridget McLoughlin, arrived in Valley City,
and that winter was spent in a log house about three miles south of where the city now
stands. He spent a large part of his time at the section house west of the railroad bridge
with Patrick Flood and wife, attending to the mail horses that were kei)t there for a change'
as the mail arrived. It was during that winter that he met Billy Budge, of Grand Forks,
Mr. Kslelman, David Holmes, James A. Jenks, Al Kenny, Bill Merick and others on their
way to the gold fields of the Black Hills. In that winter Colonel Lounsberry came through
on the mail team from Bismarck. The only passengers on that trip were the colonel and a
lady named Miss Bridget Downey on her way to Fargo, while the colonel continueil his
trip to St. Paul, and there issued one million copies of the Bismarck Tribune to advertise
the Black Hills gold. Miss Downey afterward married Peter Malloy, of Bismarck, and botli
are now dead.
During the summer of 1875 while a water boy on the Northern Pacific west of .lames
town, an incident occ\irred that Judge JIcLoughlin remembers well. On the 15th day of
HISTORY OF XORTH DAKOTA 931
June, 1875, the gravel train crew was at breakfast when the conductor, Jim Fitzpatrick,
requested him to take a look at the water tank car and see what water was there. He
jumped on the car and reported not enough for that day, and the brakeman was ordered
to get the car on tlie main track and run to Crystal Springs, east of where the gravel train
was, and fill the car tank witli water and return. The brakeman said that if the car was
jacked up on a screw jack that water enough for the day could be obtained, and in that way
the engine could make the trip after supper for fresli water. "Well, all riglit," said the
conductor. Now, mark the irony of fate! This was on .June 15, 1875. The pay car was
attached to the regular train that day and on its way west with Superintendent J. H.
Sullivan and Roadmaster Fitzpatrick riding on the pilot of engine 46, Engineer Clint Eany,
Fireman Charles Foster, Conductor Beety, Brakeman Clem Probert, Expressman Swift and
.1. Rogers, operator. The trains carried an operator with a box relay on the mixed trains
as there were no stations between Fargo and Bismarck except .Jamestown and in case of
accident the operator would cut in and call help. The train was going a fair gait and when
west of the l.^th siding the engine gave a jerk and tipped over on ber side. Fitzpatrick was
killed, Sullivan was badly hurt, the engineer and tlie fireman escaped with slight bruises,
and Charles Saunders, an ex-engineer who was riding on the engine, was also killed. The
gravel train that was to go east for water that morning was saved the fate of the regular
train.- About 5 P. M. that day th" gravel train was at the 15th siding waiting the pas-
senger to pass by and of course to pay tlie men. No smoke appeared and no signs of a
train and the men began to show signs of uneasiness and kicked for supper. Then at 6
P. M. the conductor gave the signal to back up and the train and crew started for the
boarding car on the 14th siding. The conductor and Mr. ilcLoughlin were on the top of
the caboose on the back up to the siding, and Mr. ilcLoughlin noticed an object far down
the track, and called the conductor's attention. He could not see any sign then, but as they
came nearer he could see. He at once signaled Engineer Al Kimbal, engine 31, Mike McDon-
ough, fireman, to back up quick and as they approached they soon found Cliarles Calmer,
Ihe boarding boss, on his way to the train to get help. Conductor Fitzpatrick was told that
his brother was dead. .Judge McLoughlin washed two dead men that night. Saunders was
shipped to Bismarck for burial and Fitzpatrick to Kansas. On the lOtli of the following
month the Brainerd bridge went down carrying death and destruction with it. .James
Paterkin, engineer, and Dick Grandin. fireman, were both killed. Mr. McLoughlin left
Valley City in the fall of 1876 and came to Fargo. His father died at Fargo in September,
1876, and was buried at Holy Cross.
Judge McLoughlin was employed by the firm of Harwood & Hummell, who organized the
Bank of Fargo, and in the spring of 1878 he was employed by Harry O'Neil on the water
wagon. Leaving Fargo in June, 1878, he went to Barnesville, Minnesota, and entered the
employ of the St. Paul & Pacific Railway Company, now the Great Xorthcrn, as wiper, and
that fall he fired a locomotive for John Kilbane, engine 6, a Norris make. In the winter of
that year he went to St. Paul, and returned in the spring of 1879 and went to work for
the railway company again as fireman, and continued in the service of the company.
Judge McLoughlin was married at Ciookston. August 7, 1879, to .Johanna Mulchina, and
as a result of said union they have the following children: Michael Maurice, was born in
Crookston, is now a conductor on the Great Northern and resides at Crookston; Philip John,
of Duluth, is foreman of a telephone crew; Robert Emmet is conductor on the Great
Northern at Everett. Washington: Walter James is at Crosby, Minnesota, and is a machinist;
Leo Edward is at home attending school; Mary E. Mathers is at Crosby. Jlinncsota;
Josepliine Kroll resides at Red Lake, Minnesota; Katherine Wilson lives at Billings, Mon-
tana, anil Genevieve Verchota at Arvilla. North Dakota. Francis and Rose Anna are at
home. The Judge boasts of his large family and seven grandchildren, and, as he puts it, has
no real estate in the cemetery to date, November 4. 1916, and all are healthy.
Judge McLoughlin moved to Grand Forks May 1, 1883, and was still with the railway
company in charge of their pumping station at Grand Forks. Like all Irishmen, he took
a look at politics and was elected a county constable in 1884. On December 18, 1891, he
was appointed a justice of the peace in and for Grand Forks county and has held the office
to the present day, and is on the ballot for reelection without opposition. .Tud<re Mc-
Loughlin is a member of the Roman Catholic faith and boldly asserts it, and is a fourth
932 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
degree niembiT of the Knights of Columbus. He is a strong republican. Always when
talking to friends lie insists on getting a word in for Ireland, and is iu favor of Germany in
the present war. The Judge likes to speak with the old timers and of old times, and his
memory is a storehouse of events of the early days. He is a member of the Old Settlers
Society and a member of the Historical Society of North Dakota. He is now fifty-six
years old.
MATT CLOOTEN.
.Matt I louten is the proprietor of an up-tu-datc livery at Bismarck and also o|jeratcs his
line farm, which comprises three-quarters of a section. He was born in Jasper, Minnesota, on
tlic 2d of June, 18fi7, a son of Clements and Delia (Vandeberg) Clootcn. The family removed
to North Dakota in the fall of 1881 and here the father engaged in farming and later in
truck gardening. Both he and his wife are now deceased. To tlieiii w<rc born seven sons
and two daughters and si.\ of their children are still living.
-Matt Clooton lias received the greater part of his training in the school uf experience as
his early educational opportunities were limited. He worked with his father until he was
married, at the age of twenty-three years, and then began farming on his own account. He
continued to concentrate his energies upon agricultural pursuits until April, 1911, when he
entered the livery business in Bismarck, since which time he has given much of his attention
to his interests along that line. He still, however, operates his farm of four hundred and
eighty acres and derives therefrom a handsome return. He makes his home in Bismarck
and is recognized as one of the substantial residents of the city.
On the 6th of April, 18U0, Jlr. Clooten was united in marriage to Miss Sofia Martinson,
a daughter of Cliristian and Mary Martinson, the latter of whom is still living. To this
union have been born the following children: Harry, Louis, Delia, Clements, Elizabeth,
Lillian, Agnes, Margaret and Magdalen.
Mr. Clooten is a stanch republican and has been called to office, having served as
school director and as a member of the police force. He is connected with the Yeomen,
and in religious faith is a Roman Catholic. Ho finds much pleasure in motoring and hunting,
in fact is fond of all forms of outdoor sport. He has tlioroughly identified his interests with
those of his state and is confident that a great future awaits it.
CHRISTIAN BAERTSCH.
Christian IJaeitsch. farmer, banker and business man. wlio is connected with farming
interests in Sheridan township, Laraoure county, and who was the founder and promoter of
the village of Marion, where he makes his home, was born in Buffalo county, Wisconsin,
December :!0, 18.j3, a son of Andrew and Mary (Perry) Baertsch, both of whom were natives
of Switzerland, although the latter was of French descent. They were married in the land
of the Alps and immediately afterward came to the United States, spending three years in
Galena, Illinois, after which they removed to Buffalo county, Wisconsin, where they resided
until called to their final rest. In early life the father devoted his attention to merchandis-
ing but afterward became a farmer.
Christian Baertsch was educated in tlie public schools of his native state and spent
his youthful days there in tlie \isual manner of farm lads, work and play dividing his time.
In ]ST8 he wed<Ied Miss Eliza Dell, of Buffalo county, Wisconsin, and after their marriage
he operated a portion of his father's farm until 1882, when he came to North Dakota and
took up a preemption on section 2, Sheridan township, Lamoure county. lie jirovcd up on
that claim and occupied it for si.x years, after which he honiesteaded his present farm, to
which he removed on the 1st of October, 1889. On this farm he platted the town of Marion
when the railroad was built to that point in 1900 and has since been prominently identified
with the upbuilding of the village. He now owns the west half of section 11 and the west
Iialf of section 2.!, Sheridan township, Lamoure county, together with what remains of the
CHRISTIAN BAERTSCH
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 935
old homestead, his holdings embracing altogether seven hundred acres, making him one of
the substantial citizens of his part of the county. He is also a stockholder and one of the
directors of the First National Bank of Marion and he was one of the dominant factors in
the organization of the Farmers Elevator Company of Marion, of which he is now a director.
While a firm believer in democratic principles, Mr. Baertsch would never consent to
liold public office. He belongs to Dickey Lodge, No. 63, F. & A. M., has attained the thirty-
second degree of the Scottish Rite in Dakota Consistory, No. 1, A. & A. S. R., and also has
membership in Lincoln Lodge, No. 57, L 0. 0. F.
Mr. and Mrs. Baertsch have become parents of eight children, six sons and two daugh-
ters: Edmund, an agriculturist of Lamoure county; Estella, the wife of Alden Angevine,
who follows farming in Barnes county; Lena, the wife of W. K. Bishop, of Leola, South
Dakota; Lewis, who is the cashier of the First National Bank of Marion; William, a mer-
chant of Lead, South Dakota; Earl, who is engaged in the banking business at Conde.
South Dakota; Dell, an agriculturist of Lamoure county; and Dudley, at home. The family
is one of prominence in the community and Mr. Baertsch has so directed his eflforta and
activities that he is recognized today as one of the most successful as well as one of the
most progressive and enterprising citizens of Lamoure county.
ISAAC L. O'DELL.
Isaac L. O'Dell, a merchant of Eldridge, has been engaged in the conduct of this business
for about seven years, but has resided in the state since 1905. He was born near Cumberland
Gap in the northeast part of Tennessee, January 18, 1863, a son of Lacj' and Sarah
(Owerby) O'Dell, the latter a daughter of a plantation and slave owner of Virginia. How-
ever, Mr. O'Dell, the father of our subject, joined the Union army and because of liis position
on the question of the right of the south to withdraw from the Union he was forced to
secretly leave his Tennessee home at night in order to save his life, and went to London,
Kentucky. He died of fever in that state and was there buried. To him and his wife were
born four children: Mrs. Elizabeth Parman, living in Kentucky; John Henry, of Indiana;
William Franklin, of Oklahoma ; and Isaac L.
The last named was but two years old when he went with his motlier to Kentucky
and spent his boyhood in the family home near London, acquiring a district school education.
On the 22d of February, 1878, he was married in Laurel county, that state, to Alcie Phelps,
a native of Kentucky, and they have become the parents of nine children: Dora E., the wife
of W. T. Moore, who follows farming near Salem, Oregon; Flora A., who died at the age of
twenty-five years; John Franklin, who died when a year old; William, who is farming in
North Dakota; Catherine B., who became the wife of Roy Tory and died at Lakota, North
Dakota, in 1915; Helen, the wife of Frank Alexander, of South Dakota; Robert, who was
born in Indiana and is now with the Rock Island Plow Company at Minneapolis; Ida
Belle, at home; and Lacy Paul, at Jamestown.
Mr. and Mrs. O'Dell began their domestic life in Kentucky, but after seven years
removed with their family to Indiana, settling near Crawfordsville, in Montgomery county,
where for nine years Mr. O'Dell was employed by James A. Mount, for four years chief
executive of that state. He lived there until 1905, when he sold out all his interests in
Indiana and made his way to Jamestown, North Dakota. For four years he cultivated a
rented farm and then purchased a stock of merchandise from Alvin Vessey, continuing the
business in the same building for five years. In 1914 he purchased ground and erected a
substantial business block costing about five thousand dollars, and in this he has a stock
of general merchandise and machinery valued at forty-five hundred dollars. He is doing
a good business and his trade is steadily growing. His store is neatly and tastefully
arranged and his goods attractively displayed. In addition to conducting his mercantile
interests he served as postmaster of Eldridge for eight years.
Mr. O'Dell has put forth every possible effort to aid in the upbuilding of his village.
He was one of the organizers of the Eldridge Commercial Club in 1915 and became its first
president. Since that time the club has been instrumental in securing the establishment of
\
936 TIISTORV Ol' NORTH DAKOTA
a bank, a blacksmitli siiop ami a ri'staurant in tliis place. Politically Mr. 0"Dell is a
republican, anil for two years filled the olTice of ju.stice of the peace. He belongs to the
Masonic 'lodge at Jamestown and is an exemplary representative of the craft, loyal to its
teachings and its purposes.
J. HENRY PITTMAN.
J. Henry Pittnian. editor of the Russell Sentinel, has been identified with newspaper
work since reaching man's estate and has met with success in his chosen calling. He was
born in Bloomington, Indiana, August 25, 1889, his parents being Sethiel and Dorothy E.
(Badgley) Pittman, also natives of the Hoosier state.'. There the father followed farming
until his removal to North Dakota in 1904. He first located in McHenry county, where he
took up a homestead and engaged in its operation for six years. At the end of that time
he removed to Bottinea\i county and purchased a farm near Bottineau, to the cultivation
and improvement of which he has since devoted his energies. His wife is also living and
they are highly esteemed citizens of the community.
J. Henry Pittman spent the first fifteen years of his life in his native state and then
accompaniecl his parents on their removal to North Dakota. He attended school in both
states and after laying aside his textbooks began learning the printer's trade in 190fi,
to which occupation he has since devoted his energies. He edited the Souris Messenger for
two years, then the Maxbass Monitor for two months, and then removed to Russell, Bot-
tineau county, where he purchased the Russell Sentinel of R. T. Wood and has since
engaged in its ]iublication. making it one of the best country pajiers in that part of
the state.
On the 4th of October, 1911, Mr. Pittman married Miss Thankful \. Deming, by whom
he has three children, namely: Edward H., born August 5, 1913; David L., born March lii,
1914: and Nettie A., born February 12, 191G. The parents are earnest and consistent mem-
bers of the Baptist church, and Mr. Pittman is a republican in politics. He is now serving
as school clerk and he does everything within his power to promote the moral and educa-
tional welfare of his community. He is a ])ublic-spirited citizen whose labors have been
etfeitive for flic public good.
DON V. MOORE.
Don V. Jloore. of Grand I'orks, secretary of the North Dakota State Fair Association,
has in this connection done much to atinuilate local pride in the achievement of the com-
monwealth, making the annual fairs a matter of inspiration to activity along various lines.
Ohio claims Mr, Moore as a native son. his birth having occurred at Edgerton, that state,
on the 2d of May, 1871, He is a son of Sam\iel .T, and Nancy (Lewis) Moore, who were
also natives of Ohio, The latter was a descendant of an old Kentucky family connected
with Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark exjiedition. The Moore family, of Scotch
descent, was early established in Ohio and for several generations before that time had been
represented in America by ancestors who came to the new world prior to the Revolutionary
war, Dr, Moore was a dental surgeon and became ii pioneer settler of South Dakota,
taking up his abode in Mitchell, then in the territory of Dakota, in 188.'!. There he opened
an office and continued to follow his )irofession to the time of his death, which occurred May
19, 19flfi, when he Avas sixty-seven years of age. He exercised his right of franchise in
support of the jirinciples and candidates of the republican party and his religious faith was
that of the Presbyterian church. At the time of the Civil war he put aside all business
and personal consideration and joined the army as a member of the Eightieth Ohio Volunteer
Infantry, with which he served throughout the entire period of hostilities. He was in all
the Confederate states save Florida and Texas and was on active duty under Generals
Grant and Sherman, taking part in many hotly contested engagements, including the battles
HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA 937
of Shiloh, Fort Donelson and Vicksburg. While he was often in the thickest of the fight
he was never wonnded or taken prisoner. He afterward became a vahied member of the
Grand Army of the Eepublic and was adjutant general of South Dakota. His widow
survives and is now a resident of Flandreau, South Dakota. In the family were two
children, the younger being Jlorgia, the wife of .J. D. Anderson, of Flandreau.
Don V. Moore was educated in the common schools and from the age of fourteen years
has been dependent upon his own resources for a living. He was apprenticed to the
printer's trade and after completing his term of indenture served as a journeyman printer
for five years. He also spent five years as confidential clerk and bookkeeper in the First
National Bank at Mitchell and afterward was for five years connected with mercantile
lines. In 1898 he came to Grand F'orks, where he engaged in the grain and stock business
as a representative of C. E. Lewis & Company, of Minneapolis. He was thus engaged until
1906 and in the meantime he served as secretary of the Commercial Club in 1904 and 1905,
being the first working secretary of that organization. In the latter year he was made
the first secretary of the North Dakota State Fair Association at Grand Forks. In 1906
he returned to South Dakota, settling at Crow Creek, where for six years. he was engaged
in merchandising. He sold his interest at that place February 1, 1913, and returned to
Grand Forks to again assume the duties of secretary of the North Dakota State Fair
Association, which position he has since capably filled, making his work of inuch worth in
that connection.
On the 12th of December, 1804, Mr. Moore was married at Mitchell, South Dakota, to
Miss Minnie Anderson, a native of Missouri. They have become the parents of two chil-
dren: Lewis A., born in Mitchell, April 18, 1898; and Mary D., born in Grand Forks,
November 10, 1901.
Mr. Moore has a military chapter in his life history, having at one time been a member
of the old Dakota National Guard. In politics he has ever been a republican, active and
stalwart in support of the party. His religious faith is that of the Episcopal church, while
fraternally he is a Mason. He was initiated into the order in Mitchell and is now a member
of lodge, chapter, commandery and Mystic Shrine. He is also identified with the Com-
mercial Club of Grand Forks, and there is no plan or project put forth for the benefit and
upbuilding of city and state which does not arouse his keen interest and in most cases
receive his support. In fact he stands at all times for advancement and improvement and
his work in that direction has been far-reaching and beneficial.
AUGUST ARNDT.
August Arndt, manager of the Farmers Elevator at Jlaxbass, was born in Carver county,
Minnesota, on the 10th of October, 18T6, a son of August and Catherine (Barlage) Arndt,
who were natives of Germany, and in childhood came to the United States with their
respective jiarents, who settled in Minnesota. At the time of the Civil war August Arndt,
Sr., responded to the country's call for troops, enlisting as a member of Company H, Ninth
Regiment of Minnesota Volunteers. He served throughout the period of the Civil war and,
being captured, was incarcerated for several months in Andersonville prison. He had three
brothers and a brother-in-law who also were Union soldiers, enlisting from Minnesota, and
one of the brothers died in prison. August Arndt, Sr., met an accidental death at Buffalo
Lake, Minnesota, about 1896. His widow survives and is now residing in Norwood. Min-
nesota.
To the public school system of his native state August Arndt is indebted for the edu-
cational privileges which he enjoyed, but from an early age he has been dependent upon
his own resources for a living. In his twelfth year and for two or three summers thereafter
he worked in a brickyard and subsequently he was employed in various ways, but eventually
secured a position in the flouring mills at Norwood, Minnesota, and was there employed for
fourteen years, during which period he thoroiighly mastered the trade and steadily worked
his way upward in that connection. In August, 1909, he removed to Newburg, North
Dakota, in order to take charge of the Heising elevator, which six years later was sold
938 HISTORY OF NORTH DAKOTA
to the St. Anthony & Dakota Elevator Company. Mr. Arndt remained with the new
proprietors for a year and on the 1st of August, 1916, was placed in charge of the Fartaers
Elevator at Maxbass, which he now manages. He has always been very thorough in anything
that he has undertaken and persistent in carrying forward his well formulated plans to
successful completion.
On the 13tli of July, 1S97, Mr. Arndt was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Eklund,
of Young America, Minnesota, by whom he had eight children, seven of whom still survive,
as follows: Milton, who is employed as bookkeeper in the State Bank of Maxbass; Lloyd,
who acts as bookkeeper in the State Bank of Newburg; and Louise, George, Julius, Esther
and Theresa, all at home.
In his political views Mr. Arndt is independent. He has served as mayor of Newburg
and as a member of the school board of that place for several years. He and his wife are
members of the Lutheran church and he belongs also to Russell Lodge, F. & A. M., of Rus-
sell, North Dakota, and to the Modern Woodmen camp. He is one of the representative
men of Bottineau county, well known and highly respected, his business ability contributing
to the upbuilding of the district, while his social qualities render him a favorite among
those whom he meets in business and other relations.
LOUIS DOENACKER.
Louis Dornacker, cashier of the First State Bank at Tuttle, Kidder county, has always
lived on this side the Mississippi and the spirit of western progress and enterprise has
found manifestation in his active business career. He realized at the outset that industry
wins, and he has made industry the strong motive force in his career. His birth occurred
in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1882, his father being Nicholas Dornacker, a native of Germany,
and one of the pioneer residents of Nebraska. He early learned the carpenter's trade and
became a contractor, but dining his later years gave his attention to the occupation of
farming. His wife, Mrs. Henrietta Dornacker, was a native of Holland and both are now
deceased. Their family numbered seven children, all of whom are yet living.
Louis Dornacker. the youngest, pursued his education in the schools of Omaha and of
Blair, Nebraska, and after his textbooks were put aside he became connected with the
giocery trade in the latter place, devoting three years to that work in Blair. In August,
1905, he became a resident of Steele, North Dakota, where he accepted the position of
assistant cashier of the First National Bank, in which capacity he faithfully and capably
served for seven years. He then removed to Tuttle, where in connection with John F. Rob-
inson. .Tohn 0. Taylor and F. D. Jones he organized the First State Bank, becoming cashier
at that time and so continuing to the present. This bank is capitalized at ten thousand
dollars and its surplus now amounts to six thousand dollars. They not only conduct a
general banking business, but also have an insurance department and handle real estate,
buying and selling both farm and town property. They have gained a good patronage and
the business has proven a growing and profitable one. Mr. Dornacker is also interested in
farming, owning land which he rents.
In September, 1911, was celebrated the marriage of Louis Dornacker and Miss Amanda
Holland, who was born in Mayville, North Dakota, in 1886, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
E. H. Holland, who were early residents of this state, having settled on a homestead claim
in pioneer times when Fargo was their nearest market. Mr. and Mrs. Dornacker have
become the parents of two children: Eldred N., born December 25, 1912; and John L., born
July 7, 1914.
Mr. Dornacker is an independent voter, supporting the candidates whom he regards sis
best qualified for the office. Wliile in Blair, Nebraska, he filled the position of city clerk,
and he was also the first chairman of the board of trustees of Tuttle. His interest in com-
munity affairs is manifest in many tangible ways for the upbuilding and progress of the
district. He belongs to the German Lutheran church and his life has ever been actuated
by high and honorable principles which make him a man whom to know is to respect
and honor.
INDEX
Abbott, L. N '. 127
Adams, Paul 333
Adams, E. C 594
Adams, E. S 11
Adams, W. S 36
Aibrecht, Albert 557
Albreeht, C 492
Aibrecht, Frederick 538
Aibrecht, L. C 537
Albus, J. W 717
Alexander, W. H 793
Allen, F. P 51
Allen, H. W 858
Ames, A. J 437
Anderson, A. G 894
Anderson, A. P 854
Anderson, B. C 85
Anderson, C. A 200
Anderson, C. R 511
Anderson, C. T 658- Berg, Fred .
Anderson, F. L 285 Berget, A. M
Anderson, Hans 817
Anderson, M. C 527
Anderson, M. S 517
Anderson, N. C 411
Andrus, E. C 369
Angell, E. D '. . . 218
Aplaiid, Martin 607
Aiduser, C. A 595
Arndt, August 937
Arnold. Edward 258
Arveson, N. B 887
Atkins, A. B 576
Atkinson, C. S 088
Backen, Arthur 739
Baer, De Witt 598
Baertsch, Christian 932
Bagley, Horace 628
Baker, John 330
Bakke, K. A 451
Banks, C. C 801
Barnett, I. T 295
Barnett, W. H 271
Barron, E. E 659
Bartlett, Arthur 563
Batcheller, C. E 241
Bates, D. P 644
Batzer, H. 0 593
Batzer, E. K 548
Baumgartner, Michael 613
Baxter, William 464
Bayley, A. L 250
Beal, Henry 75
Beaton, Lemuel 185
Beck, J. A 748
Begtrup, 0. N 855
Beighle, C. S 455
Beighle, M. M 311
Beiseker, T. L 831
Bemis, G. E 104
Bennett, F. P 351
Benson, Asmundur 808
Bcnz, Valentine 739
Berdahl, J. T 750
Berdal, Mons 189
Berg, A. C 697
605
762
Berget, A. P 704
Bergh, H. H 643
Bergman, August 25
Bergman, W. W 816
Berner, W. E 818
Bieber, C. J 621
Bierly, C. E 13
Bixby, J. S 421
Bjerke, H. E 184
Bjone, H. C 923
Bjornson, J. A. T 335
Black, E. M 482
Blades, J. N 830
Blake, D. E 469
Blanchard, G. W 340
Blanco, M. F 365
Bliss, J. W 843
Boatman, J. G 243
Bohnet, F. J 808
Boise, E. J 412
Boman, F 350
Bonzer, A, F 327
Booth, J. F 460
Boreson, Peter 765
Borgen, E, G 650
Bowen, G. W 113
Bowker, D. W 730
939
940
INDEX
Bowman, Elias 182
Hoynton, A. E 187
Braee, C. E 780
Braeger, G. F 728
liraiiiard, A. C 681
liiakkc. N. 0 164
IJiattoii. L. H 619
Bifwcr, Charles ;i75
Brink. (.'. O ;i76
Brockhotr, B. F 878
Broten, H. G 244
Brown, Perry 488
Brown, R. A 626
Bruce, A. A 358
Brunsdale, K. H 38
Biyant. G. A 525
Buik, C. J 250
Buck, C. S 784
Bue, Sigurd 347
Bunn, I. M 260
Burges, C. W 383
Burgess, A. A 384
Burke, K. T 870
Burton, F. A 139
Buttles, C. L 214
Buttz. 1). H 580
Bye, J. A 584
Byoruni, H. E 471
Cain, 1!. K. M 40S
('aMi]il)cll, Dugalil 928
( anliani, J. H 920
Carlblom, A^ N 45
Carley, F. A 829
Carlson, George 17
Carmondy, John 10:i
Carroll, W. J 174
Casey, J. B 393
Casey, P. M 310
Casjierson, I. A 252
Chaffee, H. F 877
Chaniljerlain, C C 470
Cliap.'k. \V. H 633
Chatlicid, M. M :i7()
Cliisnian, W. E 281
Cliristianson, C. J 794
Christianson, Hans 426
Christie, F. J 590
Cliurch, F. G 403
Church, J. R 893
Clabaugh, B. W 132
Clapp, I. P 197
Clapp. T. F 74
Clark, C. A 377
Clark, C. J 396
Clark. David. .Jr 383
Clark, D. \V 604
Clemenson, A. H 155
Clenienson. G. H 162
Clendening, Robert 763
( lillord. A. J' 842
( lillord. T. J 869
Clooten, Matt 932
Cofl'ey, J. A 190
t ole, \V. H 473
Collins, C. S 44
Colter, J. M 443
Colton, L. D 708
Colvert, L. R 717
Condit. C. M 733
Conklin, F. L 393
Cook. G. R 32
Coons, B. W 298
Cooper. \V. J 707
Cooper, W. T 576
Cotton, Robert 524
Covell. C. L 696
Coyle. .r. J S3
Crane, A. ii 372
CVanston, A<lam 651
Crichton, R. M 547
Ciuni, Taylor 714
Cnllen. William 196
Cunningham, A. W 394
Curren. \V. .1 375
Currier, :\Irs. L. E 719
Dahl, Mads 414
Dana, H. C 884
Davis, C. E 891
Da vis, C. W 524
l):iy. S. K ; 693
Deiseni. C. S 423
Dcnison, \V. A 451
Dinning. .1. H. . 910
l)e Puy, R. G 824
Dewitt, Thomas 742
Dexter, G. H 474
Dickey, R. W" 502
Dickinson. F. H 275
Dickinson. \V. E 463
Dill, A. B 188
Dille, F. B 590
Dinnie, D. A 173
Divet, A. G 41
Divine, A. A 138
Doerr, Jacob 596
Doerschlag. L. M 453
Dokken, N. 1 880
1 )omier, William Ill
Dornacker, Tx>uis 938
Douglas, W. B 280
Dow, Daniel 830
Dovle, J. J 924
INDEX
941
])iakf, A. J 695
Diawz, Charles 841
Dumoiit, Grace E 604
Uunnell, William 49
Diinton, E. F 533
Dwyer, J. A 99
Dyar, M. D 719
Dyste, H. X 573
Eukes, \V. E 65
Kdblom, H. C 174
Ikhvards, Marion 811
JOisele, P. T. G 823
Elliard, George 804
lOllinsson, H. \V 626
Elliott, E. E 379
Ellis, T. C 713
Emanuel, Emil 169
Emery, H. F 752
i;ngesetli, M. J 84
Engeseth, P. J 238
Engle, M. L 62
luck, Conrad 526
Krickson, Emil 689
Erickson, G. T 863
luiekson, Henrj' : 705
lOrickson, H. M 784
JOynon, A. W 652
Fairweather, A. D 685
Falk, X. P 807
l''argo College 886
I'armer, F. H 84
Farmer, R. H 319
Faiichakl, Julius 151
Feinstein, L. E 807
Feltis, S. C 415
Ferguson, James 42
Fischer, Jacob 598
Fischer, J. S 499
Fischer, M. J 556
Fish, B. A 736
Fisher, J. W. N 797
Fitzgerald, J. J 906
Fitzgibbons, J. E 585
Fitzmaurice, E. S 522
Fitzmaurice, Thomas 170
Fjosee, N. E 875
lligelman, Louis 157
Flint. R. F 409
FoKleu, F. O 352
Folsom, J. B 50
Forbes, J. G 660
Ford, JI. J 260
Fornian, W. C, Jr 109
Fouts, C. E. 741
Fox, T. E 747
France, H. H 462
Eraser, Robert 819
Freeberg, F. 0 629
Freeman, Will 810
Frost, Holland 289
Fruh, A. M 888
Fugelso, Peter 135
Furnberg, C. C 195
(harden, E. L 899
Garden, W. H 741
Gardner, H. 0 124
Gaustad, T. K 334
Gee, J. S 398
Geister, Andrew 803
George, L. E 137
Getty, Robert 779
Gibson, C. F 360
Gibson, G. P 765
( ;iedt, I. E 643
(Jilbertson, E 761
(iilbertson, Ole 637
Gilbertson, Thomas 307
Gillis, F'. N 529
Gillmore, G. E 786
(iilseth, J. J 472
Gits, J. J 434
(ilenn, J. 0 596
(ilitschka, Charles 778
(ioldberg, P. S 232
( Jooler, L. D 862
(;order, O. B 300
( iorder, O. L 727
Goss, E. B 318
Gould, G. L 614
(irady, Charles 674
Grady, C. E 403
(Iraliam, A. 0 843
. (Jranger. Seymour 81
(Irant, (ieorge 560
(Graves. C. W 773
Gravseth, H. H 913
Gray, Austin 232
(Jray, A. W 500
Gray, J. D 167
Gray, O. B 270
Green, John 178
Green, Walter 127
Gross, E. H 406
Grove, (iuy 331
Grow, C. A 159
(lUhlen, L. M 436
(iunkel, J. L 283
Cuss, Sara C 673
Guy, A. P 555
942
INDEX
Haakensoii, Haaken 170
Habberstad, H. M 107
Hage, R. T 489
Hagen, H. J 114
Hagen, K. T 388
Haks, W. 0 905
Hall, E. W 578
Hall, Thomas 766
Halldorson, Halldor 922
Halldorsoii, M. B 608
Halstead, A. M 914
Halter, William 279
Halverson, John 202
Hanna, G. W 69
Hansel, J. W 15
Hansen, J. B 839
Hanson, CSiarles 150
Hanson, H. L 61
Hanson, John 686
Hanson, 0. K 438
Hanson, Sam 167
Hardy, A. H. 662
Hardy, J. P 314
Harris, Harvey 485
Hassell, L. K 921
Headland, A. 0 259
Headland, E. H 757
Healy, E. S 689
Heckle, C. 0 774
Hein, Charles 476
Heinrich, Fred 450
Heitman, J. H 487
Helgerson, A. J 751
Hendricks, H. B 446
Henry, A. J 186
Henry, W. D 90
Herberg, J. M 811
Horbranson, Ole 107
Henlina, Rudolph 122
Herman, W. H 519
lie imann, N. N 445
Herre, Jalmer 386
Hcrre, X. A 340
Herrmann, J. H 407
Hicks, Ole 378
Higgins, H. G 636
liilLorn, E. C 449
llildreth, Henry 13
Hill, S. J 418
IlitK-kley, A. C 892
Hoag, S. V 292
Hocking, J. S 652
Hocking, R. C 263
Hoel, S. C 353
Hogy, H. T 226
Holbein, W. E 442
Holes, James 142
Holm, J. E ; 121
Holman, J. E 672
Holmen, J. M 214
Hohnen, O. P 193
Holmes, D. M 777
Holt, Edward 520
Holte, E. H 52
Homnes, G. P 758
Horton, G. R 802
House, 0. T 504
Howard, Gunder 34
Hubbard, N. K 28
Hudson, J. E 93
Hulm, Peter 538
Humiilirey, Joseph 339
Hunger, Edward 168
Hunt, T. S 317
Hunter, W. G 206
Hurley, E. J 146
Hurly, R. E 74
Huxley, \\'. J 888
Hynes, J. M 740
Ingebretson, I. M 803
Ingebriktson, P. 0 73
Ingvaldson, Harold 508
Ira, J. F 337
Irgens, O. H. de S 23
Irish, F. A 262
Irvine, W. 1 195
Iverson, Nels 448
I wen, William 72
•laborg, J. F 627
•hu-kson, A. U 612
Jacobson, C. 0 712
Jacobsen, C. T 130
.Jacobson, D. R 138
.Jacobson, J. E 641
.Jacobson, Joseph 342
.Jacobson, Martin 208
Jensen, J. 0 412
Jensen, ^'. C 398
.Johnson, A. E 743
Johnson, F. JI 337
■lolinson, F. 0 441
Johnson, George J 432
Johnson, Gilbert J 161
Johnson, H. J 560
Johnson, Hans 149
.Johnson, James IS
.Jolinson, Julius A 84s
Johnson, J. B 141
.Johnson, .T. S 110
.Johnson, J. W 19!)
•lolinson, L. E 600
.lolinson, L. J 161
INDEX
943
Johnson, Mark 452
Johnson, Peter 231
Johnson, Walter 365
Johnson, W. L 465
Johnstone, T. S 902
Jones, A. E 444
Jones, C. E 330
Jones, Freeman 321
Jones, G. W 359
Jones, .J. R : 238
Jones, 0. M 334
Jones, R. W 427
Jorve, G. M 861
Kachelhoffer, C. J , 690
Kahellek, Theodore 872
Kalblleisch, G. H 721
Kaldor, 0, A 175
Kaldor, Theodore 156
Kalishek, F. J 389
Kantrud, G. 0 633
Kaz, C. F 441
Keenan, W. P 377
Kelley, E. D 89
Kelley, G. W 271
Kelling, Jolin 680
Kellogg, W. R 773
Kempf, F. W 501
Kent, John 796
Kermott, L. H 102
Kesler, A. J 575
Keup, F, A 397
Keyes, G. H 493
Kienenbergor, Sarah 321
King, C. J 431
Kinneberg, T, P 319
Kinneberg, T. T 385
Kinney, C. H 879
Kirkeby, C. A 671
Kirkeby, G. W 887
Klein, Karl 749
Klein, M. A 510
Kleve, E. 0 665
Klinger, Fred 231
Kluver, H. A 225
Knapp, E. B 475
Knapp, G. E 514
Knight, G. H 64
Knox, C, E 480
Knudson, Andrew 21
Knudson, Hans 480
Knudson, K. 0.. 647
Koto, S. M 734
Kraabel, A. T 428
Kraft, Conrad 666
Kretsehmar, P. T 634
Krick, W. E 249
Ivrumm, A. L 773
Kyllo, Oluf 79
Kyllo, Theodore 63
Lackey, W. H 755
Laingen, J. E 564
Lallum, Anton 897
Lambert, P. H 56S
Lancaster, Blake 913
Landblom, A. P 711
Lane, A. A 850
Laney, George 840
Langbell, P. N 650
Langemo, H, P 498
Langemo, N. P 520
Lano, Charles 509
Larson, C. E 880
Larson, Hans 21
Larson, Henry 35
Lasell, M. C 682
Laiighlin, Leigh 542
Lauinger, Damian 559
Lee, C, J 783
Lee, H. T 291
Lee, J, J 37
Lee, O. 0 898
Lee, R. N 251
Lee, S. E 166
Lee, T. J 561
Lee, W. R 611
Lee, W. W 642
Legler, J. P 897
Lehr, A. F 583
Leick, G. H 385
Leighton, K. E 59
Lemonnier, W. R 60
Lenhart, G. A 481
Leppert, J. M 56S
Lewis, E. C 297
Lewis, F. W 923
Lewis, R. F 416
Lian, 0. M 216
Libby, H. A 820
Lies, A. P 329
Lillie, E.J 909
Limburg, Henry 80
Lindberg, Carl 80
Lindberg, N. P 734
Linde, H. J 625
Lindemann, Carl 374
Lindemaiin, William 380
Lindland, T, S 466
Liudahl, N. A 40S
Lloyd, David 346
Lord, B. E 698
Lutz, George 883
Lynch, Frank 322
944
INDEX
l.viicli, .Matlicw 207
1..V11I1. C. \V 615
JU<U-ar.v, J. G 48S
JkC'liirc, G. E 201
:\rc('.isli, William 261
.Mofull.v, T. J 311
.McDonald, Alexander 293
ilcDonald, Alexander 26
McDonald, Angus 86
.McDonald, J. D 649
.McDonald, William 88
.McFarland, G. A 744
McCialian, L. D 494
ilcGray, O. F 718
.McGuigan, John 21.")
McGuirc, J. F 121)
Mcintosh, .lames 621
.Mclntyrc, J. .1 130
.Mclntyre, John 928
McKay, Andrew 817
McKenna, G. M 549
:McKenzie, D. J 189
McKenzie, J. D 542
McKinnon, N. H 876
McLean, J. A 862
JIcLennan, D. J 801
JIcLou-hlin, Philip 930
McMalion, M. J 185
Jlaclvay, A. E 857
.Macomber, W. P 497
.Madison, Peter 24
Jladson, E. A 390
JIaercklein, C. .J 600
.Maercklein, E. H 491
JIaercklein, W. B 436
Magollin, Beriah .'541
Maf^oflin, Ebenezer 577
Mahowahl, L. F 725
.Mahinder, C. A 550
Malchose, H. A 297
.Malen, Ole 70
.Malin, A. H 507
.Mallory, .M. X 270
Mallough, B. H 422
Malloiigh, D. M 274
Malthy, .J. H 178
.Mannint;, D. L 869
.Manson, Spero 30:!
.Mantz, ,J. H 484
Marlenee, J. B 507
.Marshall, T. F 545
.Martin, V. H 119
.Martin, H. E 770
Martin, W. T 635
.Martineau, L. L 898
Mutliieii, F. A .•!49
.Mathison. Oscar GO:i
Maxwell. A. C 850
-Mtnill. A. H 258
.Metcalf , A. C 47:i
Metcalf, G. E sio
Meuwissen, F. J 839
.Meyers, J. H 588
Meyers, R. G 850
.Michael, T. C 764
.Micheel, F. H 405
ilikalson, S. A ; 486
Miller, Hjalmar 339
Miller, Rasmus 796
-Miller, S. X 019
.Minar, W. .A 502
.Misfcldt. C. C .' 523
.Moe, I. J 676
.Moiisen. T. D 720
Montgomery, H. W 125
.Moore, D. V 936
.Moreland, .1. \V 'Jiu
Mork, L. J 703
Mork, T. K 329
.Morris, M. P 832
Morrow, E. L 360
Morrow, T. D 454
Morten.sen, Morten 406
Mortensen, Paul 659
Moultrie, L. G 140
-Movius, E. .'V 324
Movius. H. .1 399
Movius, J. H 327
.Movius. \V. R 362
.Mnenz. L. P 530
.Muir. Walter 788
.Munn. W. T 629
Murphy, J. A 771
.Murray, \\'illiani 60
.Muus, Einar 125
-Myhra. E. H 43
.My hre, E. K 224
.My lire. M. (1 203
-Vack, G. W 236
Ncilreloe, .I.J 88
Xelscn, Xels 373
Nelson. .\. L 833
Xelson, .A\igust 223
.N'clson. C. W 550
.Velson. .John 885
Nelson, X. K 273
Xelson, Oluf 10
Xcstos, R. A 345
Xcvcruuui, Ileiwy 539
Ni'wlovc, .1. T 108
NcH ton, f. H 313
NewtoM, (ieorgc Wliitconib 919
INDEX
945
Xichols, H. V 809
Nicholson, A. S 704
Xielson, Christ 876
Xielsou, Thomas 8^3
Xippolt, J. C 578
Nokken, S. P Taa
Nye, r. C 785
Nystrom, Gust 234
O'Connell, D. J 730
ODell, I. L 935
Ogreu, G. S 648
O'Leary, William 82ti
Oliver, H. S 165
Olsen, Lars 201
Olsen, Torger 915
Olsgaid, Lars 269
Olson, A. J 356
Olson, John 253
Olson, M. N 283
Olson, Nels 109
Olson, 0. A 595
Olson, 0. J 12
O'Malley, Darby 657
Omdahl, Jacob 126
Ottis, Bernhard 380
Ottis, G. C 273
Overgard, Simun 99
Owenson, C. A 498
Packard, F. E 424
Packard, W. D 864
I'age, J. L 825
Pagel, G. J 638
Paige, L. H 240
Palda, L. J 14
Parsons, A. L 236
Parsons, W. R 834
Paulson, Christ 221
Paulson, J. E 87
Paulson, Otto 635
Pearson, F. W 222
Peart, A. L 283
Peck, W. A 91
Pedersen, Jens 354
Pence, J. K Ill
Penn, E. L 589
Person, E. S 27
Peters, J. C 812
Peterson, A. A 256
Peterson, G. F 786
Peterson, J. T 368
Peterson, P. B 737
Phillips, F. J 385
Pickett, P. A 857
Piehl, H. C 616
Pierce. B. JM 367
Vol 11—48
Pierce, 0. M 53
Pittman, J. H 936
Pitts, W. K 675
Plante, Alfred 892
Pee, A. D 400
Pollock, C. A 722
Poort, J. J 566
Porter, Benjamin 323
Porter, C. H 531
Porter, M. R 46
Porterfield, \V. P 92
Powell, W. D 404
Pratt, George 433
Pray, E. A 72
Purcell, W. E 393
Quamme, Joseph 819
Quarve, T. L 558
Quinnild, Andrew IGO
Radford, J. B 130
Raith, J. J 386
Ramsett, K. S 335
Ramstad, A. L 405
Ramstad, G. L 90
Eand, D. C 848
Randall, M. E 539
Raney, A. E 798
Easmussen, S. J 33
Ravely, W. E 736
Eawuka, Andrew 538
Reed, R. B 71
Reed, S. D 400
Reed, W. R 54
Remington, H. P 588
Renfrew, S. S 445
Rettinger, Frank 696
Kice, Levi 304
Kinkel, F. A 611
Ritchie, C. K 499
Roach, F. W 25
Roach, Joseph 308
Robinson, A. A '. 580
Robinson, G. L 694
Robinson, W. J 69
Rodsater, G. 1 540
Rognas, R. E 885
Rohe, J. M 348
Roscoe, E. B 461
Roscoe, John 479
Roscoe, R. P 586
Ross, J. A 607
Rotzien, J. F 256
Rourke, P. H 56
Rowan, Thomas 483
Rowe, H. J 563
Rudow, A. R 693
946
INDEX
Rust, Cornelius 255
Kiuid. L. H 756
Hygg, Lars 290
Kystad, (). H 620
Sabiii, Cora F. 350
Sulili, Frank 565
Salverson, E. C 298
Samuclson, J. W 179
Sand, J. N 434
Sandager, Andrew 101
Sanford, Frank 700
Sarles, E. Y 94
Sasse, E. G 217
Sauer, L. W 916
Savage, E. F 447
Schall, Jacob . ..^ 568
Schepler, G. G 443
Sclilaot, Jolin 100
Sdimidt, J. J 569
Sehmitt, Michael 133
Schneider, B. H 240
Scliow, C. J 341
Schulcr, Gustav 47
.Sehur, A. J 48
Scott, W. A 180
Seelig, Annie 312
Seira, Ivar 215
Scneclial, W. F 866
Sevareid, A. E 361
Sovcrson, Filing ; . . 177
Severtson, G. P 597
Shahane, J. F. 762
Shaver, W. N 908
Shaw, W. S 630
Sheils, C. H 844
Sherman, S. F 209
Shick, C. W 410
Shuinan, B. L 671
Sievert. H. E 263
Sim, Josepli 750
Simon, C. R ..357
Simon, Frank r. . . 574
Sinkler, E. R 366
Sjoquist, August 281
Skrivseth, J. L 113
Sleight, T. E 459
Smallwood, .T. G 198
Smette, C. L 756
Smith, A. G 606
Smith, C. L 387
Smith, E. A 518
Smith, F. E 570
Smitli, F. W 841
Smith, J. A 661
.Smith, James 905
Sogn, J. ir 685
Sorcnson, llarbo 110
Sorlien, H. J 448
Spillum, 0. A 679
Sprakc, W. T 291
Stanley, F. L 302
Steele, George 847
Steen, L. H 599
Stenvick, E. H 608
Stevens, R. N 485
Stevenson, C. L 245
Stewart, G. W -. 456
Stienecker, Arthur 909
Stine, L. H 273
Stiteler, J. W 213
St. Mary's Parish 504
Stott, F. E 787
Strehlow, William 296
Stroh, Jacob 338
Strom, C. G 262
Sturgeon, F. H 512
Sundet, C. A 157
Sveinson, S. J 007
Swanson, E. T 602
Sweet, .Jasper 389
Swenson, John 463
Swenson, Nels 43
Swenson, P. G 129
Talmadge, E. B 729
Taylor, A. S 244
Taylor, C. H 638
Taylor, David 521
Taylor, H. H 212
Tempel, Franz 601
Temple, F. 1 681
Tenneson, B. G 76
Thiclc, W. F 797
Thompson, A. M 16
Thompson, A. R 855
Thompson, H. B 302
Thompson, L. J 65
Thompson, M. 0 123
Thompson, O. A 665
Thompson, T. A 295
Thomte, K. H 158
Thorcson, Cliristian 549
Thoreson, Martin 301
Thormodsgrirrl E. 0 (515
Thorpe, J. C 687
Thorson, Harold, 228
Thue, H. H 128
Tibbs, J. F 647
Tofliemirc, F. S 336
Tofsnid, 0. T 152
Tollefsrud, 0.0 425
Tompkins, J. H 552
Torson, L. N 603
INDEX
947
Torson, T. B T31
Town, E. B 355
Trangsrud, Axel 234
Trapp, J. E 453
Treat, J. F 149
Tree, Caister 257
Truax, C. F 246
Tubbs, C. A 48
Turnbull, W. J 314
Tuskind, A. 0 239
Tuttle, H. H 865
Tyler, E. S 276
Uhlenkott, W. H 503
Ulasker, 0. K 113
Ulsaker, S. E 102
Urbach, H. H 428
Valker, G. E 514
\'andenoever, Peter 176
Van Fleet, J. D 163
Van Houten, J 197
\"ain Soest, Maurits 729
^'e^ine, C. 0 346
\'erret, B. D 878
\'ogeIsang, E. H 386
\'oisin. L. P 23
Volk, K. il 527
Vosburg, E. H 698
Wagner, C. I. F 771
Wagner, W. M 147
Walker, A. A 148
Walla, L. C 224
Walla, N. N. 226
Wallace, E. D 389
Walloch, C. A 307
Walseth, J 864
Walther, F. C 622
Wareberg, 0. 0 901
Warren, F. E 413
Watson, George 667
Watt, William 415
Weber, Albert 673
Weber, H. P 465
Weible, E. B 284
Weiser. J. S 532
Welo, Tobias 490
Wendt, W. D 417
Werner, J. H 804
Werner, R. A 371
Wescom, W. C 907
Westergaard, Christen 299
Westergaard, Jacob 300
Westland, S 254
Weatlund, Peter 205
Weston, G. A 795
Wharton, W. C 687
White, W. H 5
Whitford, G. R.. , . , 579
Wickersham, W. S 510
Wicks, F. L 82
\^'idmeyer, J. P 849
Wiebe, F. W 815
Wight, I. D 55
Wigley, L. W 530
Wik, J. A 769
Williams, Fred 97
Williamson, W. L 551
Willson, H. A 900
AVilson, W. D 242
Wiper, A. C 512
Wirch, David 492
Wisnaes, E. J 98
Withnell, Edward 774
Wold, Einer 290
Wood, G. D 164
Wood, R. T 915
Worst, J. H 130
Wright, A. E - 567
Wright, Dana 871
Wright, E. J 929
Wright, F. E 649
Wysong, C. C 194
Young, N. C 204
Young, W. S -216
Youngman, F. W 456
Ytreeide, Iver 927
Ziegler, H. A 674
Zimmerman, Oscar 853
Zink, Scott 395
Zirkle, R. R 642 /
Live Music
Archive
Librivox
Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland
Museum of Art
Internet
Arcade
Console Living Room
Open Library
American
Libraries
TV News
Understanding
9/11